Ion Thrusters – What They Are And How They Work
With so much focus on rocket fuels like hydrogen and new alternatives like liquid methane, it is hard to believe that an advanced form of propulsion known as ion thrusters…
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The Different Orbits Satellites And Spacecraft Follow Around Celestial Bodies
All spacecraft, whether they orbit Earth at altitudes of a few hundred miles or explore Saturn 886 million miles away, always establish a specific orbit around a celestial body after…
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Why And How Rocket Fuel Tanks Are Pressurized
A Falcon 9 rocket unexpectedly exploded on the launchpad in 2016 due to a failure in the helium system used to pressurize the propellant tanks. This raises the question of…
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Why Rockets Perform An Engine Chill Before Launch
When watching a live rocket launch, you may hear the callout “Engine chill has started,” which forms a crucial part of the prelaunch “checklist” performed before each orbital launch. We…
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Using Hypergolic Rocket Fuel – A Double-Edged Sword
When rocket fuels are mentioned, liquid hydrogen, RP-1, or liquid methane typically come to mind. Another liquid propellant, though, called hypergolic fuel, has been used for decades in spaceflight due…
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How Rockets Are Reused To Make Spaceflight More Affordable
During the early years of spaceflight, rockets were considered expendable. However, as private space launch providers started entering the industry at the start of this Century, the importance of reusability…
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Why Most Orbital Rockets Are White
Almost all orbital rockets, from the Saturn V carrying astronauts to the Lunar surface in the 1960s to a modern Falcon 9 or Ariane 6, are primarily white in color….
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How Cryogenic Fuels Are Kept Cold Before And During An Orbital Rocket Launch
The vast majority of liquid rocket propellants, like hydrogen, methane, and liquid oxygen, are cryogenic since they are stored at subzero temperatures to stay in a liquid form. It poses…
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The Purpose Of A Flame Trench At A Rocket Launch Site
Regular viewers of rocket launches will have noticed the white “smoke” plumes produced by a rocket’s boosters expanding horizontally away from the launchpad before billowing up. This is a result…
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Payload Fairings – What They Are And Their Purpose On Orbital Rockets
Regular viewers of rocket launches streamed online by companies like SpaceX and ULA might have seen two objects falling away from the rocket shortly after second-stage ignition. These are known…
