SPACE EXPLORATION MERIT BADGE
Rocket Propulsion
- Propellant:
- a rocket carries both the fuel and the oxygen to burn it. This is how a rocket,
unlike any other engine, can operate in the vacuum of space. It is also why rocketry is the
technology of space travel.
- Oxidizer:
- this is the oxygen or an oxygen equivalent that is used to burn the fuel. In reality,
most rocket motors use some other substance to serve the function of oxygen in burning.
One example - the black powder motors in model rockets use saltpeter (potassium nitrate) as
the oxidizer to burn charcoal. Both of these are found in the black powder propellant, so
you could fly your model rocket in space, if you really wanted to. The fuel will burn in a
vacuum.
- Thrust:
- is the force, or "push" the rocket develops, measured in newtons or pounds (or
tons for very big rockets).
- Nozzle:
- increases the thrust of the rocket by increasing the speed of the exhaust.
- Impulse:
- the thrust multiplied by the burn time. This figure tells the "total push" the motor
gives the rocket. For motors using the same propellant (e.g. black powder), a motor with
twice the impulse will usually have twice the propellant, so it can burn twice as long for
twice the total push.
Solid Fuel Rocket:
- uses a solid mixture of fuel and oxidizer for a propellant. Since it has no
moving parts, it is very reliable. However, once a solid rocket is ignited it cannot be shut
down until all the propellant has been burned.
- Liquid Fuel Rocket:
- uses separate liquid fuel and oxidizer, which are combined only at the
moment of combustion. Pumps are required to get the fuel & oxidizer to the motor quickly
enough to develop desired thrust. This makes liquid fuel rockets more complicated,
however liquid fuel is up to twice as powerful as solid. Also, liquid fuel rockets can be
turned off and then turned on again. On the space shuttle, they can be throttled for more
or less thrust. So liquid fuel rockets are not only more powerful, they are more
controllable.
More Fabulous Info on Rockets at
Back to Space Exploration Home Page
Questions
Your questions and comments regarding this page are welcome.
You can e-mail Randy Culp for inquiries,
suggestions, new ideas or just to chat.
Updated 8 September 2008