8y !

ames Luke
ropu|s|on systems Modern and Iutur|st|c
Modern

lsaac newLon's Lhlrd law of moLlon sLaLes for every acLlon Lhere ls an equal and opposlLe reacLlon
lL ls on Lhls prlnclple LhaL a rockeL works ropellanLs are comblned ln a combusLlon chamber ln
whlch Lhey chemlcally reacL Lo form hoL gasses whlch are Lhen acceleraLed and pushed ouL a nozzle
aL hlgh veloclLles 1hls glves forward moLlon

1here are Lhree klnds of propellanLs used ln currenL day rockeLs Solld Llquld or Pybrld


Solld
Solld propellanL rockeLs are Lhe slmplesL of all rockeL deslgns 1hey conslsL of a caslng usually sLeel
fllled wlLh a mlxLure of solld compounds (fuel and oxldlzer) whlch burn aL a rapld raLe expelllng hoL
gases from a nozzle Lo produce LhrusL unllke llquld propellanL rockeLs solld propellanL moLors
cannoL be Lurned off Cnce llL Lhey wlll burn unLll all Lhe propellanL ls exhausLed 1hls ls because lL
conLalns all Lhe necessary lngredlenLs for combusLlon (luel Cxygen and PeaL) Solld propellanLs are
easler Lo sLore Lhan llquldfuelled rockeLs because Lhe propellanLs wlll noL evaporaLe or corrode
Lhelr conLalners 1helr slmpllclLy ls useful when large amounLs of fuel are needed and cosL ls a
problem lL ls for Lhls reason LhaL many space shuLLles use Lhls form of propellanL for Lhelr flrsL sLage
of fllghL






Llquld
ln a llquld propellanL rockeL Lhe fuel and oxldlzer are sLored ln separaLe Lanks and are fed Lhrough a
sysLem of plpes Lo a combusLlon chamber where Lhey are comblned and burned Llquld propellanL
rockeLs are more complex Lhan solld propellanL englnes however Lhey offer several advanLages 8y
conLrolllng Lhe flow of propellanL Lo Lhe combusLlon chamber Lhe englne can be LhroLLled sLopped
or resLarLed 8ecause of Lhls Lhe rockeL can be LesLed before use whlle a solld fuel englne has Lo be
checked Lhoroughly durlng producLlon Cne of Lhe ma[or problems caused by llquld rockeLs ls Lhe
way LhaL llqulds acL WlLh forward momenLum Lhe llquld ls pulled Lo Lhe back of Lhe Lank As Lhe fuel
ls used Lhe cenLre of gravlLy shlfLs Lowards Lhe back of Lhe Lank 1hls ls called Lhe slosh effecL
SLeps musL be Laken Lo sLop Lhe slosh effecL oLherwlse Lhe plloL may lose conLrol

















Pybrld
A hybrld rockeL uses propellanLs ln Lwo dlfferenL sLaLes of maLLer Cne solld and Lhe oLher elLher
llquld or gas A hybrld rockeL conslsLs of a Lank conLalnlng Lhe llquld propellanL and a combusLlon
chamber conLalnlng Lhe solld propellanL 1he Lwo propellanLs are separaLed by a valve When
propulslon ls wanLed Lhe valve ls opened and an lgnlLlon source ls lnLroduced 1he llquld propellanL
enLers Lhe combusLlon Lank where lL vaporlses due Lo low pressure 1hls vapour Lhen reacLs Lo Lhe
solld propellanL Pybrld 8ockeLs have advanLages over boLh Lhe oLher rockeL Lypes Compared Lo
solld propellanL rockeLs hybrld rockeLs are less of an exploslon hazard are sLoppable and resLarL
able and hybrld rockeLs can use nonLoxlc oxldlzers lmprovlng safeLy When compared Lo llquld
propellanL rockeLs hybrld rockeLs have denser fuels and so save fuel and space 1hey are
mechanlcally slmpler (havlng fewer valves and slmpler operaLlons) and wlLh Lhe addlLlon of reacLlve
meLals Lhe ouLpuL can be lncreased greaLly When uslng hybrld rockeLs Lhere are a mulLlLude of
hazards ranglng from pressure fallures ln whlch Lhe vessel bursLs Lo valve fallures where hoL gas ls leL
back lnLo Lhe oxldlzer Lank leadlng Lo a masslve exploslon buL Lhese hazards can be avolded Lhrough
careful deslgn and consLrucLlon


luLurlsLlc
Cn Lhe 18Lh of May 1969 a rockeL launched from Lhe kennedy Space CenLer llorlda uSA lLs name
was Apollo 10 and lL would soon break Lhe record for hlghesL speed aLLalned by a manned vehlcle
uslng llquld fuel rockeLs lL reached a speed of 39897 km/h AL Lhls speed lL would Lake a rockeL
slmllar Lo Lhe Apollo 10 deslgn 11639 years Lo reach roxlma CenLaurl Lhe closesL sLar Lo us afLer
Lhe sun 1hls ls an asLronomlcally large number buL lf you look aL Lhe raLe of Lechnologlcal
advancemenL Lhlngs look a loL beLLer 1he WrlghL broLher's flrsL fllghL lasLed 12 seconds [usL over
flfLy years laLer nell ArmsLrong Look hls flrsL sLep on Lhe moon lf Lechnology conLlnues Lo advance aL
Lhls asLonlshlng raLe we may be able Lo reach Lhe sLars wlLh relaLlve ease Already sLudles have Laken
place lnLo LheoreLlcal propulslon Lechnologles nASA performed a sLudy ln whlch Lhey ldenLlfled
Lhree llkely propulslon sysLems LhaL may enable lnLersLellar Lravel AnLlmaLLer fuslon and llghL salls


Solar salls

AL Lhls momenL ln Llme llghL salls are Lhe mosL vlable of Lhe Lhree 1hey were flrsL proposed by
8oberL L lorward a sclenLlsL and sclence flcLlon walker ln 1984 1he baslc ldea behlnd llghL salls ls
LhaL phoLons exerL a very small force over ob[ecLs Lhey hlL 8ecause Lhe force exerLed ls so small Lhe
ob[ecL hlL needs Lo be large and very llghL lf Lhe phoLons are absorbed lnLo Lhe ob[ecL Lhe produce
heaL lnsLead of veloclLy and so Lhe lnner surface of Lhe sall musL be reflecLlve 1he oLher slde ls
deslgned Lo be an effecLlve radlaLor Lo expel unwanLed heaL lf a solar sall was used on earLh lL
would face Lhe serlous problem of drag 8uL space ls vlrLually empLy and so Lhls ls noL a problem
LlghL causes a very small push buL a small push over a long Llme equals a blg push


Cne of Lhe llkely fabrlcs Lhe sall could be made of ls Mylar whlch ls boLh Lhln and very sLrong lL
would use huge lasers LhaL would have Lo be almed preclsely for as long as posslble Lo galn deslred
veloclLles 1o send a 16 gram payload Lo alpha cenLaurll Lhe laser would have Lo produce 10
glgawaLLs of opLlcal ouLpuL and be shlnlng on a sall 1 kllomeLre ln dlameLer lL ls sald LhaL Lhls shlp
could reach alpha cenLaurll ln Len years 1he same Lechnology could be scaled up Lo allow for blgger
payloads 1he problem wlLh Lhls ls LhaL Lhe laser power levels qulckly grow A 1000 Lonne shlp wlLh
crew would need a sall wlLh a dlameLer of 1000 kllomeLres powered by a 10 mllllon glgawaLL laser
1hls ls 666 Llmes more energy Lhan Lhe enLlre world used lasL year So whlle posslble lL ls currenLly
unfeaslble


luslon
lasLer speeds could be reached Lhrough Lhe use of fuslon unforLunaLely fuslon ls noL sufflclenLly
well undersLood Lo use ln a propulslon sysLem luslon ls Lhe process LhaL powers all Lhe sLars ln Lhe
unlverse ln fuslon aLomlc nuclel are smashed LogeLher Lo form new elemenLs MosL commonly
hydrogen aLoms are smashed LogeLher Lo form hellum aLoms uurlng Lhe reacLlon some of Lhe mass
of Lhe hydrogen aLoms ls converLed Lo energy 1hls energy Lakes Lhe form of hlgh veloclLy superhoL
plasma LhaL ls Lhen e[ecLed Lo galn momenLum lor fuslon Lo Lake place exLreme condlLlons need Lo
be meL such as LemperaLures of over 100 mllllon kelvln (a LemperaLure scale LhaL uses absoluLe zero
as lLs null polnL) and mllllons of pounds of pressure 1hese condlLlons are very hard Lo meeL whlle
Lrylng Lo keep welghL down Lo allow for hlgh speeds luslon also comes ln a varleLy of reacLlons all
wlLh dlfferenL needs Lo Lake place 1he one Lhlng Lhey all share ls LhaL all Lhe reacLlons creaLe
radlaLlon 1hls means Lhe crew would need heavy shleldlng Lo proLecL Lhem 1he superhoL plasma ls
also radloacLlve maklng lLs use near earLh problemaLlc lf you were Lo overcome all Lhese problems
Lhen fuslon could be an amazlng sLep forward

Cne lnLeresLlng ldea ls Lhe 8ussard ram[eL llrsL proposed by 8W 8ussard an Amerlcan physlclsL Lhe
ldea ls LhaL lL ls unnecessary Lo brlng fuel when you can geL lL from space Space ls ofLen LhoughL as
belng empLy buL ln reallLy for every cublc cenLlmeLre of space Lhere are abouL one or Lwo aLoms of
hydrogen gas 8ussards plan was Lo use elecLromagneLlc force flelds Lo scoop up Lhls gas Lhen use
superconducLlng colls Lo dlrecL Lhe gas and Lhen compress lL lnLo a usable fuel ln order Lo sLarL Lhls
collecLlng process Lhe shlp would need Lo be Lravelllng aL 3 4 of Lhe speed of llghL and as such
would need anoLher form of propulslon Lo geL Lo Lhese speeds A 8ussard ram[eL could LheoreLlcally
reach a consLanL acceleraLlon of 1g meanlng Lhe plloL could make very long [ourneys 1o an observer
on earLh Lhe Lrlp would seem Lo Lake hundreds of Lhousands of years buL because of Llme dllaLlon a
Lrlp Lo Lhe cenLer of Lhe unlverse would Lake only 20 years for Lhe crew of Lhe shlp 1echnlcal
problems remaln such as force fleld drag and shleldlng Lhe crew from radlaLlon buL Lhls Lruly shows
whaL fuslon moLors could be capable of






AnLlmaLLer drlve
When anLlmaLLer and maLLer come lnLo conLacL Lhey compleLely and LoLally annlhllaLe each oLher
1hls reacLlon releases even more energy Lhan fuslon 1hls ls because all parLlcles wanL Lo decay lnLo
Lhlngs LhaL have as llLLle mass as posslble When Lwo maLLer and anLlmaLLer parLlcles come lnLo
conLacL Lhey dlsappear and produce phoLons whlch are massless Slnce you cannoL have less mass
Lhen no mass Lhls ls as far as Lhey can decay 1hls ralses Lhe quesLlon why doesn'L everyLhlng
annlhllaLe all Lhe Llme? Why donL Lhlngs [usL bursL lnLo phoLons all Lhe Llme?
1he answer Lo Lhls ls Charge ConservaLlon Charge ConservaLlon sLaLes LhaL elecLrlc charge cannoL
be desLroyed 1he amounL of poslLlve charge mlnus Lhe amounL of negaLlve charge ln Lhe unlverse ls
always Lhe same LlecLrons have a negaLlve charge and phoLons have no charge and slnce charge
musL be conserved elecLrons cannoL [usL become a phoLon 8uL lf you brlng ln a poslLron (an
anLlparLlcle LhaL has opposlLe values from an elecLron for every conserved quanLlLy) lL wlll cancel ouL
Lhe charge of Lhe elecLron and Lhey wlll boLh be able Lo decay lnLo phoLons When proLons and
anLlproLon come ln conLacL lL ls called anLlproLon annlhllaLlon and when elecLrons and poslLrons
come lnLo conLacL lL ls called poslLron annlhllaLlon
When anLlproLon annlhllaLlon Lakes place Lhe reacLlon releases charged and uncharged measons as
well as gamma rays lf Lhe charged measons are channelled Lhrough a magneLlc nozzle Lo produce
LhrusL 1hls deslgn of anLlmaLLer drlve ls noL perfecLly efflclenL energy ls losL because Lhe uncharged
measons cannoL be deflecLed for LhrusL and Lhrough creaLlon of gamma rays AnoLher meLhod of
propulslon uslng anLlmaLLer uses Lhe gamma rays produced by poslLron annlhllaLlon Lo heaL
hydrogen gas whlch ls Lhen expelled Lhrough a nozzle
1he maln problem faced by sclenLlsLs ls noL how Lo use Lhe anLlmaLLer for propulslon buL raLher how
Lo creaLe lL and sLore lL MosL proposed anLlmaLLer rockeL deslgns requlre a large amounL of
anLlmaLLer (around 10 grams Lo reach Mars ln one monLh) lL Lakes [usL as much energy Lo creaLe
anLlmaLLer as Lhe resL energy of Lhe creaLed parLlcle/anLlparLlcle palrs and someLlmes Lens of
Lhousands Llmes more MosL proposed anLlmaLLer rockeL deslgns requlre a large amounL of
anLlmaLLer (around 10 grams Lo reach Mars ln one monLh) and as such lL ls currenLly Loo expenslve
resourcewlse Lo creaLe Lhe needed amounLs
1he nexL problem ls LhaL poslLrons are noL easy Lo sLore ln large quanLlLles 8y Lhelr very naLure
poslLrons are poslLlvely charged and Lherefore repulse each oLher 1hls repulslon ls exLremely
powerful and only Lhe smallesL amounLs of poslLrons can be sLored adequaLely wlLh currenL
Lechnology 1hls makes Lhe ldeal sLorage slLuaLlon would be neuLral anLlmaLLer 1hls ls creaLed by
[olnlng a poslLron wlLh an anLlproLon Lo creaLe an anLlhydrogen 1hls solves one problem buL
anLlhydrogens by Lhelr very naLure wlll annlhllaLe Lhe walls of any conLalner Lhey are sLored wlLhln
1hls ls flxable wlLh Lhe use of pennlng Lraps whlch are speclally deslgned magneLlc sLorage buL are lll
sulLed Lo mass sLorage ln concluslon aL Lhls momenL ln Llme anLlmaLLer drlves are ouLslde our reach
buL wlLh newer Lechnology we may be able Lo harness lLs power and reach Lhe sLars


LlnsLeln and 8osen 8rldge
A speclal menLlon musL go Lo Lhe LlnsLeln and 8osen 8rldge LlnsLeln and 8osen brldges have long
been dlscussed as a posslble mode of lnLersLellar Lravel and even of Llme Lravel 1hey are meanL Lo
connecL Lwo oLherwlse unrelaLed reglons and presenL paLhs much qulcker Lo Lravel Lhan Lhe paLhs
presenLed by ordlnary space 1he way ln whlch black holes are descrlbed requlres a wormhole aL
Lhelr cenLre 1hese wormholes seem Lo connecL Lhe cenLre of a black hole wlLh a mlrror unlverse on
Lhe oLher slde of spaceLlme Powever Lhe wormhole could noL be Lraversed because Lhe cenLre
of a black hole ls a slngularlLy a polnL where all maLLer ls crushed and gravlLy ls lnflnlLe AddlLlonally
Lo Lravel Lhrough Lhe brldge would requlre fasLer Lhan llghL speeds a physlcal lmposslblllLy 1he only
way lL could work would be lf Lhere had been a black hole aL Lhe blg bang whlch conLalned
anLlmaLLer 1hrough unlverse expanslon lL would now be blg enough Lo flL Lhrough

A slmple dlagram of an LlnsLeln and 8osen 8rldge
Concluslon
All Lhese Lechnologles are as far away now as Lhe aLomlc bomb was Lo Alfred nobel Lhe lnvenLor of
1n1 1haL ls Lo say noL very We may see Lhe beglnnlngs of an lnLersLellar spacefllghL program
before Lhe end of Lhe mlllennlum We wlll slmply need a compelllng reason 1ravel ln lnLersLellar
space represenLs a huge challenge Lo humanklnd lor now lL remalns ln Lhe realm of sclence flcLlon
buL soon who knows? We may yeL llve Lo see Lhe flrsL mlsslons Lo nearby sLars LhaL ls lf Lhe lasL
100 years of hlsLory ls any gulde
Sources
hLLp//orblLalvecLorcom/ueep20Space20ropulslon/luslon208ockeLs/luslon208ockeLshLm
hLLp//wwwbraeunlgus/space/lndexhLm
hLLp//wwwspacecom/3094alphacenLaurlhLml
hLLp//enwlklpedlaorg/wlkl/LlquldpropellanL_rockeL#AdvanLages_of_llquld_rockeLs
hLLp//wwwphysorgcom/news8817hLml
hLLp//wwwnasagov/cenLers/glenn/Lechnology/warp/ldeaknow_prLhLm#ram
hLLp//physlcslnfo/
hLLp//wwwlcaruslnLersLellarorg/blog/anLlmaLLerpropulslonbeglnnlngsLruelnLersLellarfllghL/