Reference Mission Propellant Mass Calculation Sheet Version 1.0

Fuel Calculation Sheet

ISP LTV   444.40
ISP Desc  444.40
ISP Asc   290.00

Burn Name                 DV        Mbo         Mi         Mf     Applied to 
LEO I                 10,572.00   8,600.00  18,014.19   9,414.19  LTV/Asc
TEI                    3,212.00  18,014.19  22,551.57   4,537.38  LTV/Asc
Asc Liftoff/Insert/RV  6,136.00   1,600.00   3,088.34   1,488.34  Asc
Land on Moon           6,696.00  19,988.34  31,927.33  11,938.99  Desc/Hab/Asc
LTV Plane Change         159.00  20,951.57  21,185.86     234.29  LTV
LTV LUNO Circ            100.00  21,185.86  21,334.55     148.69  LTV
Desc Orbit Init          206.00  53,261.88  54,034.80     772.92  Stack
LUNO Insert            2,807.00  54,034.80  65,755.79  11,720.99  Stack
TLI                   10,018.00  65,755.79 132,502.18  66,746.38  Stack
Orbit Maneuver            27.00 132,502.18 132,752.62     250.45  Stack

  Total Mass to LEO  132,752.62
  Total LTV Fuel      93,825.29

Release Notes:

This is the initial release of the Reference Mission Propellant Mass Calculation sheet. It is designed to illustrate the source of each of the Reference Mission vehicles' propellant usage figures. Some abbreviations are defined as follows:

1. DV: Delta (or change in) Velocity, the velocity change experienced during a burn, and is in ft/sec

2. Mbo: Mass at BurnOut, the vehicle mass after the burn has finished, and is in lb

3. Mi: Initial Mass, the vehicle mass at the start of the burn, and is in lb

4. Mf: Fuel Mass, the mass of propellants consumed during the burn, and is in lb

The engine specific impulse (ISP) values used in computing the propellant masses are displayed at the top of the table. They are based on using an RL-10A-3-3A engine for the LTV and Descent Stage, and 3 Kaiser Marquardt R-40A engines for the Ascent Stage.

The fuel (propellant) mass values contained in this sheet are thought to be reasonable estimates of the fuel that would be required during each stage of the Reference Mission if the vehicle dry masses were known. However, since the vehicle dry masses that are used to compute these fuel masses are subject to a good deal of uncertainty, the fuel masses themselves must also be treated as rather uncertain.

Future version of this page will feature:

• Updated Delta-V and mass numbers
• More detailed propellant usage breakdowns for all craft