Frontiers of Propulsion Science


Book Description

Frontiers of Propulsion Science is the first-ever compilation of emerging science relevant to such notions as space drives, warp drives, gravity control, and faster-than-light travel - the kind of breakthroughs that would revolutionize spaceflight and enable human voyages to other star systems. Although these concepts might sound like science fiction, they are appearing in growing numbers in reputable scientific journals. This is a nascent field where a variety of concepts and issues are being explored in the scientific literature, beginning in about the early 1990s. The collective status is still in step 1 and 2 of the scientific method, with initial observations being made and initial hypotheses being formulated, but a small number of approaches are already at step 4, with experiments underway. This emerging science, combined with the realization that rockets are fundamentally inadequate for interstellar exploration, led NASA to support the Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Project from 1996 through 2002.""Frontiers of Propulsion Science"" covers that project as well as other related work, so as to provide managers, scientists, engineers, and graduate students with enough starting material that they can comprehend the status of this research and decide if and how to pursue it in more depth themselves. Five major sections are included in the book: Understanding the Problem lays the groundwork for the technical details to follow; Propulsion Without Rockets discusses space drives and gravity control, both in general terms and with specific examples; Faster-Than-Light Travel starts with a review of the known relativistic limits, followed by the faster-than-light implications from both general relativity and quantum physics; Energy Considerations deals with spacecraft power systems and summarizes the limits of technology based on accrued science; and, From This Point Forward offers suggestions for how to manage and conduct research on such visionary topics.




Progress in Propulsion Physics


Book Description

La 4e de couverture indique : "The book contains 42 selected, revised, and thoroughly edited papers addressing various issues of propulsion physics written by world-known experts. The papers include critical analyses of previous studies and controversial aspects of novel propulsion concepts, new theoretical and experimental results and findings as well as numerous references to archival publications worldwide. The book is organized in 8 chapters: (1) Solid and Hybrid Rocket Propulsion; (2) Liquid and Gelled Rocket Propulsion; (3) Nuclear and Electric Rocket Propulsion; (4) Air-Breathing and Pulse Detonation Propulsion; (5) Combustion Diagnostics and Modeling; (6) Fluid/Structure Interactions; (7) Environmental Impact of Rocket Emissions; and (8) Mitigation and Removal of Space Debris. The volume was prepared as a reference for research scientists and practicing engineers in the field of aerospace propulsion."




Nuclear Space Power and Propulsion Systems


Book Description

Nuclear propulsion : an introduction / Claudio Bruno -- Nuclear-thermal-rocket propulsion systems / Timothy J. Lawrence -- Application of ion thrusters to high-thrust, high-specific-impulse nuclear electric missions / D.G. Fearn -- High-power and high-thrust-density electric propulsion for in-space transportation / Monika Auweter-Kurtz and Helmut Kurtz -- Review of reactor configurations for space nuclear electric propulsion and surface power considerations / Roger X. Lenard -- Nuclear safety : legal aspects and policy recommendations / Roger X. Lenard -- Radioactivity, doses, and risks in nuclear propulsion / Alessio Del Rossi and Claudio Bruno -- The Chernobyl accident : a detailed account / Alessio del Rossi and Claudio Bruno.




Rocket and Spacecraft Propulsion


Book Description

The revised edition of this practical, hands-on book discusses the launch vehicles in use today throughout the world, and includes the latest details on advanced systems being developed, such as electric and nuclear propulsion. The author covers the fundamentals, from the basic principles of rocket propulsion and vehicle dynamics through the theory and practice of liquid and solid propellant motors, to new and future developments. He provides a serious exposition of the principles and practice of rocket propulsion, from the point of view of the user who is not an engineering specialist.







Progress in Propulsion Physics


Book Description

La péface indique : "EUCASS (European Conference for Aero-Space Sciences) is a scientific association at the service of research scientists, engineers, and decision makers active in aeronautical and space sciences. EUCASS, which is an international nonprofit association under the Belgian law, addresses all topics of interest to aerospace, from research challenges to long-term programmes and prospective. It organizes regular conferences, workshops, and meetings. Its goal is to attract the best specialists from Europe and elsewhere, and to create a commonwealth of interest and challenges where in-formation and ideas circulate freely and swiftly, where the currently scattered European knowledge is exchanged much faster and cross-fertilised. EUCASS is the cradle that nurtures a friendly and lively community spirit among all players. It started its activities in 2005 by organizing the first-ever European conference in Moscow, followed at a biennial rate in Brussels and Versailles. In order to contribute to the dissemination of scientific knowledge, we have launched this EUCASS Book Series, the first and second volumes of which were dedicated to Propulsion Physics and presented a selection of the lectures given in Brussels in July 2007. EUCASS is organized in several permanent Technical Committees (TC). One of them is the Flight Physics TC. Within the broad EUCASS framework, the specificc purpose of the Flight Physics TC is to promote the technology, sciences, and arts of Flight physics and to help those engaged in these pursuits to develop their skills and those of their students. This third volume of the EUCASS Book Series on Advances in Aerospace Sciences is dedicated to Flight Physics. It comprises a selected collection of 43 papers presented at the 3rd European Conference for Aerospace Sciences held in Versailles, France, July 06-10, 2009. The current volume is the result of a long review process. About 1/3 of the total number of papers accepted for presentation at the conference was later selected by the volume editors, then edited by an international body of peer reviewers. The volume includes six chapters covering experimental, theoretical and numerical aspects of the fight physics: Chapter One Aerodynamics, Chapter Two Shock Interaction, Chapter Three High Enthalphy Flows, Chapter Four Heat Transfer, Chapter Five Aeroacoustics, Chapter Six Flow Control. To easily identify the material of interest, the reader is invited to consult the brief paper summaries compiled at the start of each chapter."




Fundamentals of Rocket Propulsion


Book Description

The book follows a unified approach to present the basic principles of rocket propulsion in concise and lucid form. This textbook comprises of ten chapters ranging from brief introduction and elements of rocket propulsion, aerothermodynamics to solid, liquid and hybrid propellant rocket engines with chapter on electrical propulsion. Worked out examples are also provided at the end of chapter for understanding uncertainty analysis. This book is designed and developed as an introductory text on the fundamental aspects of rocket propulsion for both undergraduate and graduate students. It is also aimed towards practicing engineers in the field of space engineering. This comprehensive guide also provides adequate problems for audience to understand intricate aspects of rocket propulsion enabling them to design and develop rocket engines for peaceful purposes.




Priorities in Space Science Enabled by Nuclear Power and Propulsion


Book Description

In 2003, NASA began an R&D effort to develop nuclear power and propulsion systems for solar system exploration. This activity, renamed Project Prometheus in 2004, was initiated because of the inherent limitations in photovoltaic and chemical propulsion systems in reaching many solar system objectives. To help determine appropriate missions for a nuclear power and propulsion capability, NASA asked the NRC for an independent assessment of potentially highly meritorious missions that may be enabled if space nuclear systems became operational. This report provides a series of space science objectives and missions that could be so enabled in the period beyond 2015 in the areas of astronomy and astrophysics, solar system exploration, and solar and space physics. It is based on but does not reprioritize the findings of previous NRC decadal surveys in those three areas.




Solid Rocket Propulsion Technology


Book Description

This book, a translation of the French title Technologie des Propergols Solides, offers otherwise unavailable information on the subject of solid propellants and their use in rocket propulsion. The fundamentals of rocket propulsion are developed in chapter one and detailed descriptions of concepts are covered in the following chapters. Specific design methods and the theoretical physics underlying them are presented, and finally the industrial production of the propellant itself is explained. The material used in the book has been collected from different countries, as the development of this field has occurred separately due to the classified nature of the subject. Thus the reader not only has an overall picture of solid rocket propulsion technology but a comprehensive view of its different developmental permutations worldwide.




Future Spacecraft Propulsion Systems


Book Description

An understandable perspective on the types of space propulsion systems necessary to enable low-cost space flights to Earth orbit and to the Moon and the future developments necessary for exploration of the solar system and beyond to the stars.