Liquid propellant rocket engines have propelled all the manned space flights, all the space vehicles flying to the planets or deep space, virtually all satellites, and the majority of medium range or intercontinental range ballistic missiles.

This newly reissued debut book in the Rutgers University Press Classics Imprint is the story of the search for a rocket propellant which could be trusted to take man into space. This search was a hazardous enterprise carried out by rival labs who worked against the known laws of nature, with no guarantee of success or safety. Acclaimed scientist and sci-fi author John Drury Clark writes with irreverent and eyewitness immediacy about the development of the explosive fuels strong enough to negate the relentless restraints of gravity. The resulting volume is as much a memoir as a work of history, sharing a behind-the-scenes view of an enterprise which eventually took men to the moon, missiles to the planets, and satellites to outer space. A classic work in the history of science, and described as “a good book on rocket stuff…that’s a really fun one” by SpaceX founder Elon Musk, readers will want to get their hands on this influential classic, available for the first time in decades.

This book is intended for students and engineers who design and develop liquid-propellant rocket engines, offering them a guide to the theory and practice alike. It first presents the fundamental concepts (the generation of thrust, the gas flow through the combustion chamber and the nozzle, the liquid propellants used, and the combustion process) and then qualitatively and quantitatively describes the principal components involved (the combustion chamber, nozzle, feed systems, control systems, valves, propellant tanks, and interconnecting elements). The book includes extensive data on existing engines, typical values for design parameters, and worked-out examples of how the concepts discussed can be applied, helping readers integrate them in their own work. Detailed bibliographical references (including books, articles, and items from the “gray literature”) are provided at the end of each chapter, together with information on valuable resources that can be found online. Given its scope, the book will be of particular interest to undergraduate and graduate students of aerospace engineering.

Liquid Rocket and Propellants

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.

Annotation Since the invention of the V-2 rocket during World War II, combustion instabilities have been recognized as one of the most difficult problems in the development of liquid propellant rocket engines. This book is the first published in the United States on the subject since NASA's Liquid Rocket Combustion Instability (NASA SP-194) in 1972. In this book, experts cover four major subject areas: engine phenomenology and case studies, fundamental mechanisms of combustion instability, combustion instability analysis, and engine and component testing. Especially noteworthy is the inclusion of technical information from Russia and China--a first.

Equips students with an up-to-date practical knowledge of rocket propulsion, numerous homework problems, and online self-study materials.

Solid Propellant Rocket Research

In recent years, it has been important for scientists and chemical industries to introduce and develop new liquid fuels as jet fuels and propellants for propulsion purposes. Different aspects should be considered for the selection of a good candidate such as combustion performance, desired physical properties, noncarcinogenic and less toxicity. New synthetic hydrocarbon fuels with favorable combustion performance and physical properties have been considered as desirable jet fuels. They can be used in aircrafts such as military jets because of their higher volumetric energy density. A liquid-propellant rocket uses liquid propellants for propulsion. Liquid propellants should have the desirable properties of high energy density per unit mass, high specific impulse, and short ignition delays. Hypergolic propellants as important classes of liquid propellants are characterized by spontaneous reaction upon fuel and oxidizer mixing and high energy yield. Moreover, they should be relatively ignitable and have a small ignition time delay. This book reviews some efforts that have been done to introduce new candidates to replace conventional hydrazine fuels because they are acutely toxic and suspected carcinogens, costly safety precautions and handling procedures are required. This book reviews the latest advances in liquid fuels, which may be used as jet fuels and liquid propellants. Important properties for assessment of a suitable liquid are demonstrated. This book can be used for graduate students in the field of chemistry and chemical engineering. It may also be useful for scientists and researchers who work on the development of new liquid fuels with high performance as well as those that are noncarcinogenic or have less toxicity.