Questions tagged [advanced-propulsion]
Questions on spacecraft propulsion techniques that are either theoretical or not yet at a high technology readiness level.
84 questions
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Has any fission rocket engine using thorium as a fuel been considered?
I have checked many web pages and tables and have not found a rocket fission engine that works with thorium. Has any engine been considered that uses a thorium-fueled fission reactor to heat the ...
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Idea for space propulsion [closed]
Do you think this Idea is possible? Thank you It is simillar to EmDrive. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/EmDrive
2votes
3answers
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In Zero G, can excess heat be used propel a spaceship forward?
In Zero G, can excess heat be used propel a spaceship forward? I was looking for a similar answers online, and have bounced around a few places, I found this question, and it's responses thread useful ...
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1answer
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Earth to Enceladus [closed]
Sci-fi writer needs to get from Lunar Orbit to Enceladus Orbit in least amount of time with a travel acceleration of 1.5G no more than 3G for navigation changes. What resources are available that I ...
12votes
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Is there an elegant method to stop an asteroid's spin?
There have been proposals to mine asteroids, perhaps after “tugging” them to a more accessible location. As well, proposals have been made to move asteroids which threaten collision with earth. ...
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What are better ways to deliver heat directly to propellant in a Thermal Rocket design for use in launch than UV such as in the Nuclear Lightbulb?
Most advanced, high-power engine concepts that I came across aren’t suited for atmospheric launch, so I got curious about what kinds of engines could launch a very heavy craft from the surface of a ...
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A hybrid micropropulsion system for CubeSats
I am curious about how much potential would a hybrid (electric & chemical) micropropulsion system have for CubeSats. The chosen propellant is water due to its non toxic nature, cheap cost and high ...
- 101
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Selecting an optimal Isp / what makes an Isp too high (mostly for high Isp)
When, and why, is it possible to have an Isp (usually of an ion or nuclear engine with Isp far beyond the limits of chemical fuel) that's too high? What makes the Isp too high, and (other things being ...
- 9,568
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Solid Core Antimatter Engines: Do they have a point?
On the graph discussed in this question, I was surprised to see "antimatter" listed as one of the engine types... with a disappointing performance equal to solid-core nuclear thermal rockets....
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5votes
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Is the ejection of matter one way to get pushed the other way the only propulsion method we have?
I do mean propulsion (not gravity assist or the like). All the "rocket" engines I've seen (chemical, nuclear, ion, etc) seem to eject material one way to get the craft pushed the other way. ...
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How many existing satellites have a continuously varying orbit because of human design decisions?
In the space community, there is an assumption that changes to an Earth satellite's orbit are infrequent (other than those due to atmospheric drag). Are there any known satellites designed to ...
- 209
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How realistic is the 1 kg/km² solar sail in "Death's End"?
(This question has been migrated from the SciFi StackExchange.) From Cixin Liu's 2010 sci-fi novel Death's End (pages 68–69): "A radiation sail can be made very thin and light. Based on the ...
- 359
3votes
1answer
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Cooling the nozzle extension of a nuclear salt water rocket (NSWR)
The nuclear salt water rocket(NSWR) uses a plutonium salt (at least to my understanding) dissolved in water as its fuel. The mixture is kept stable by filling the fuel tank with boron carbide, which ...
- 832
5votes
2answers
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Using lasers to reach the Karman line
I've just seen this Anton Petrov video: New Type of Laser Levitation Could Help Us Explore the Mesosphere. It's about this new form of levitation that uses lasers to heat up the air underneath a craft,...
- 832
5votes
1answer
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What is the limit on ISP for cooled physical nozzles -- and how hard is it?
High performance chemical rockets, as well as hypothetical gas-core nuclear thermal rockets, can operate with chamber temperatures above the failure point of any available substance, because internal ...
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