LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Spacecraft Propulsion: Spacecraft Propulsion Systems
built 262 days ago
Wickman Spacecraft & Propulsion Company (WSPC) is now celebrating its 25th year in business. Founded in 1981 by John Wickman, it's initial mission was consulting on various R&D projects. The company supported Thiokol on the post-Challenger SRB field and nozzle joint redesign and United Technologies Chemical Systems division on the Titan recovery program. In the late 1980s, the founder teamed with Dr. Adolf Oberth to move the company into research and development. WSPC has pioneered the fields of phase stabilized ammonium nitrate oxidizers, gelled metallized liquid oxygen monopropellants, hydrocarbon liquid oxygen monopropellants, powdered propellants and Martian rocket and jet engines.
Source:
Spacecraft attitude control schemes play an important role in defining the detailed characteristics of spacecraft propulsion systems. Essentially, there are three methods for stabilizing a spacecraft: three-axis control, spin control, and gravity gradient. In three-axis systems the body axes are inertially stabilized with reference to the Sun and stars, and utilize rocket engines for control in all six degrees of freedom. Spin-stabilized spacecraft use the inertial properties of a gyroscope to permanently align one of the axes by rotating a major portion of the spacecraft body about this axis. This approach significantly reduces the number of thrusters needed for control. Gravity gradient control is a nonactive technique that relies on the Earth's tidal forces to permanently point a preferred body axis toward the Earth's center.
Source:
Wickman Spacecraft & Propulsion Company (WSPC) is a technological leader in developing low cost, access to Space and advanced propulsion systems for planetary exploration. WSPC technology includes low cost, sounding rockets, LOX monopropellants, Martian jet engines burning carbon dioxide and low cost, environmentally friendly solid rocket motors.
Source:
The Space Propulsion Laboratory, formerly known as the Space Power and Propulsion Lab is the place at MIT where you will find the latest in spacecraft propulsion research. SPL is part of the Space Systems Lab in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Source:
Chemical spacecraft propulsion systems create thrust by thermodynamically expanding heated propellant gas through a nozzle. The energy to heat the propellant is stored in the chemical bonds of the propellant or propellant/ oxidiser combination and released through decomposition in single propellant systems or chemical reaction in multi-propellant systems. Chemical propulsion systems are limited by the available reaction energies and thermal transfer considerations to exhaust gas velocities of a few thousand metres per second. However, many desirable future space missions require velocity increments that are an order of magnitude, or more, higher than this.
Source:
In addition to the spacecraft propulsion systems, Aerojet provided the second stage engine for the Delta II rocket and a small thruster aboard the rocket's third stage. Aerojet has supported more than 250 Delta launches with the Company's reliable and versatile second stage rocket engines with 100 percent mission success. Aerojet has ... provided spacecraft propulsion systems for many space missions, including NASA's Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE), Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR), Mercury MESSENGER, and Pluto New Horizons.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Spacecraft Propulsion Systems