Rockets are defined by many variables and constraints, and ultimately deliver a payload to orbit at some cost. These characteristics provide the basis for an optimization problem. This paper describes the construction and optimization of a two-stage liquid rocket model. At the core of the model, the shooting method was used to calculate the fuel usage and ending altitude of the rocket design. T...

An approach is presented to the construction of a liquid rocket Health Monitoring (HM) system capable of using both, vibratory and thermodynamic data. Preliminary results are obtained in the area of vibration data tracking/identification, using as a test bed a low-order linear dynamic model of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) High Pressure Fuel Turbopump (HPFTP). Limitations and future exte...

Abstract Hydrazine is a hazardous chemical commonly used as a reactant in rocket and jet fuel cells. Animal studies have demonstrated hepatic changes after hydrazine inhalation. Human case reports of hydrazine inhalation hepatotoxicity are rare. We report a case of mild hepatotoxicity following brief hydrazine vapour inhalation in a healthy young man, which resolved completely on expectant mana...

We derive the covariant optimality conditions for rocket trajectories in general relativity, with and without a bound on the magnitude of the proper acceleration. The resulting theory is then applied to solve two specific problems: the minimum fuel consumption transfer between two galaxies in a FLRW model, and between two stable circular orbits in the Schwarzschild spacetime.

The Hy-V project will conduct the first-ever mode-transition flight-test for a dual-mode hypersonic scramjet, which will occur at approximately 90,000 feet onboard a sounding rocket. At altitude, atmospheric conditions and inlet flow speed will match the flow conditions simulated in the UVA Aerospace Research Laboratory (ARL) hypersonic wind tunnel. Geometric similarity between the wind tunnel ...

90 LLE Review, Volume 82 Introduction To achieve ignition and gain in inertial confinement fusion (ICF), a spherical target must be compressed with a highly uniform drive mechanism.1–3 Perturbations in the drive can lead to a distorted fuel core as well as hydrodynamic instabilities, which cause the colder ablator material to mix with the fuel in the central hot spot, effectively quenching the ...