Solar Assisted Reusable Rocket System

  • Yeshwanth Dandappanavar SKSVMACET.
  • S. Manoj SKSVMACET
  • Chaitanya G Koppad SKSVMACET.
  • Mohammad Rihan T SKSVMACET.
Keywords: Solar energy, reusable rockets, electrolysis, hydrogen fuel, methane propulsion, renewable propulsion.

Abstract

The growing demand for cost‑effective and environmentally sustainable space transportation has encouraged the development of reusable rocket systems and renewable propellant technologies. This paper proposes a solar assisted reusable rocket system capable of producing its own propellant using renewable energy. Solar panels generate electricity that powers the electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen can be used directly as rocket fuel or converted into methane through a methanation process, while oxygen serves as the oxidizer. The generated propellants are stored in cryogenic tanks and used in the rocket engine for combustion to produce thrust. The reusable rocket design enables recovery and multiple launches, significantly reducing operational costs and environmental impact.

References

[1] F. J. C. Fikes, J. T. Howell, and M. W. Henley, 'Utilizing Solar Power Technologies for On-Orbit Propellant Production,' NASA Technical Reports Server, 2006.
[2] A. Landman et al., 'Decoupled Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting System for Centralized Hydrogen Production,' arXiv:2009.03564, 2020.
[3] A. Landman et al., 'Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting in Separate Oxygen and Hydrogen Cells,' arXiv:2012.04441, 2020.
[4] 'Sabatier Reaction,' Wikipedia, 2025.
[5] 'Cryogenic Propellants and Combustion,' International Journal of Scientific Research and Engineering Development, vol. 6, no. 5, 2023.
[6] 'Propelling Sustainability: Green and Alternative Fuels for Space Missions,' IntechOpen, 2026.
Published
2026-04-19
How to Cite
Dandappanavar, Y., Manoj, S., Koppad, C. G., & Rihan T, M. (2026). Solar Assisted Reusable Rocket System. Asian Journal For Convergence In Technology (AJCT) ISSN -2350-1146, 12(1), 298-301. Retrieved from https://asianssr.org/index.php/ajct/article/view/1570

Most read articles by the same author(s)

Obs.: This plugin requires at least one statistics/report plugin to be enabled. If your statistics plugins provide more than one metric then please also select a main metric on the admin's site settings page and/or on the journal manager's settings pages.