Draco (rocket engine)
Encyclopedia
Draco is a small hypergolic rocket engine (known as a thruster) designed by SpaceX
for use on their Dragon spacecraft
and the upper stage of their Falcon 9
rocket.
and nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer.
Eighteen Draco thrusters will be used on the Dragon spacecraft for attitude control and maneuvering. dual-redundant in all axes: any two can fail and still have complete vehicle control in pitch, yaw, roll and translation
.
Four Draco thrusters will be used on the Falcon 9 second-stage as a reaction control system
.
SpaceX
Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or more popularly and informally known as SpaceX, is an American space transport company that operates out of Hawthorne, California...
for use on their Dragon spacecraft
and the upper stage of their Falcon 9
Falcon 9
Falcon 9 is a rocket-powered spaceflight launch system designed and manufactured by SpaceX. Both stages of its two-stage-to-orbit vehicle use liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene propellants...
rocket.
Performance and use
Draco thrusters generate 90 pounds-force (400 newtons) of force using a mixture of monomethyl hydrazine fuelFuel
Fuel is any material that stores energy that can later be extracted to perform mechanical work in a controlled manner. Most fuels used by humans undergo combustion, a redox reaction in which a combustible substance releases energy after it ignites and reacts with the oxygen in the air...
and nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer.
Eighteen Draco thrusters will be used on the Dragon spacecraft for attitude control and maneuvering. dual-redundant in all axes: any two can fail and still have complete vehicle control in pitch, yaw, roll and translation
Flight dynamics
Flight dynamics is the science of air vehicle orientation and control in three dimensions. The three critical flight dynamics parameters are the angles of rotation in three dimensions about the vehicle's center of mass, known as pitch, roll and yaw .Aerospace engineers develop control systems for...
.
Four Draco thrusters will be used on the Falcon 9 second-stage as a reaction control system
Reaction control system
A reaction control system is a subsystem of a spacecraft whose purpose is attitude control and steering by the use of thrusters. An RCS system is capable of providing small amounts of thrust in any desired direction or combination of directions. An RCS is also capable of providing torque to allow...
.
External links
- Official SpaceX announcement and test video
- Multiple Draco Test Firings, Test firing video of a set of five Draco thrusters for various intervals, SpaceX, 2010-01-27.