Propellants satellite launch vehicles

Explosives, Propellants (Oxidizers, Binders and Plasticizers) and Pyrotechnics for Satellite Launch Vehicles... 

India s four-stage Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 (SLV-3) which put the Rohini Satellite in orbit on July 18, 1980 used a composite propellant based on terpolymer of butadiene-acrylic acid-acrylonitrile (PBAN) for the first and second stage motors whereas LTPB-based composite propellant was used for the third and fourth stage motors [6]. 

ISRO polyol is considered to be a substitute for HTPB binder and propellants based on it are used in sounding rockets (RH-300). Such propellants are also considered as candidate propellants [94] for the booster stages of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The easy availability of castor oil coupled with its low cost makes ISRO polyol more attractive compared with current binders [95] like PBAN, CTPB and HTPB. 

However, its application for bulk manufacture of composite propellants for missiles or satellite launch vehicles is not reported in the literature. 

An example of propellant tailoring is the fuel used to launch the first U. S. satellite into orbit. The original fuel for the launch vehicle was ethyl alcohol. MAF-4 (also known as hydyne or U-DETA), a mixture of 60% UDMH and 40% diethylenetriamine (DETA), was formulated to simulate the physical properties of C2H5OH but provide the increased propellant performance (using liquid oxyen as the oxidizer) requirements of the mission. 

Launched in 2010, the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) was an Explorer-class mission which achieved geosynchronous orbit in order to observe the Sim (Mason and Starin, 2011). SDO required a large amount of propellant, close to half of the overall mass of the vehicle (Willis, 2012). The PMD used on this satellite was a sponge because maintaining a propellant center of mass and reducing liquid slosh were the two main objectives for PMD design. 

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