Crandi

Basic Design Atomic Rockets

Leo Migdal
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basic design atomic rockets

For some good general notes on designing spacecraft in general, read Rick Robinson's Rocketpunk Manifesto essay on Spaceship Design 101. Also worth reading are Rick's essays on constructing things in space and the price of a spaceship. For some good general notes on making a fusion powered spacecraft, you might want to read Application of Recommended Design Practices for Conceptual Nuclear Fusion Space Propulsion Systems. There are also some nice examples on the Realistic Designs page. For less scientifically accurate spacecraft design the Constant Variantions blog has a nice article on historical trends in science fiction spacecraft design. Like any other living system, the internal operations of a spacecraft can be analyzed with Living Systems Theory, to discover sources of interesting plot complications.

The improvised space warcraft are the type that seems to hold the most story potential. These would, as mentioned, likely be built by colonies that are in conflict. As they do not have to operate in an atmosphere, and are built by relatively poor colonies, they are likely to be rather crude. The basic components required are structure, propulsion, weapons, life support, power, sensors, control, and communications, and each will be briefly discussed in turn. Here is a rambling example of how I go about computing an atomic rocket. Beware that I am prone to amateurish mistakes in arithmetic so double check the math before you use the figures.

As a model we will use the classic atomic rocketship the Polaris from the Tom Corbett Space Cadet books. Actually, the Polaris is so classic (i.e., 1952) that I fear most younger readers have never heard of it. Tom Corbett Space Cadet was an action packed science fiction series aimed at the juvenile demographic, appearing in hardback novels, comic books, Sunday newspaper comic strips, radio serials, and a TV series. Not to mention coloring books, punch-out books and View-Master reels. What is really sad is that the youngest of the younger readers have never heard of radio serials, View-Master reels, and punch-out books either. Sunday newspapers and hardback novels are on the way out, and I'm sure it is just a matter of time before comic books, coloring books and TV series follow them.

But I digress. Anyway, the Tom Corbett books were "inspired" by Robert Heinlein's classic novel Space Cadet (if you like this website you'll probably like this novel). If you are vaguely interested in the the Tom Corbett novels they are out of copyright and are available as free ebooks (but if you are expecting deathless prose you will be sadly disappointed.). The technical adviser was the legendary Willy Ley who did his best to keep things scientifically accurate but was often over-ruled. As near as I can figure the Polaris in the novels had some sort of closed-cycle gas core nuclear thermal rocket engine. How are rockets made?

The Beginner's Guide to Rockets will introduce you to the basics behind rocket science. The Beginner’s Guide to Rockets will help you learn the basic math and physics that govern the design and flight of rockets. We’ll look at many different kinds of rockets, from stomp rockets, which are a special kind of artillery shell, to bottle rockets, to model rockets, to full scale boosters. We’ll look at the similarities and the differences in these rockets and include some instructions for making and flying your own rockets. Here you can study how rockets operate at your own pace and to your own level of interest. The flight of the rocket involves the interaction of forces, so we include background pages on the fundamentals of forces.

Aerodynamics plays a major role in the flight of toy rockets and in the generation of thrust for full scale rockets, so there are background pages devoted to basic aerodynamics. There are also background pages on thermodynamics and gas dynamics because of the role they play in rocket propulsion. Since we will be sending rockets to the Moon and Mars, we provide some background information on these destinations in addition to our home planet. This article goes through the basics of designing a mid- to high-power rocket. We will be using OpenRocket for design purposes. It is free, open-source, and runs on Java.

Some things to keep in mind while you're designing: If you're starting from scratch, it's hard to nail down exactly where to start. It is often easiest to look at your requirements to determine important parameters such as tube size, weight, height, motor, etc. Tube size is often a good starting point because it constrains several key variables, including your motor options, and available volume for payload/chutes/etc. Some goals could be, "I want to get to the highest altitude I can using an H250 motor." or, "I need to get a Level 3 certification while staying under 5000 feet AGL." or... For our example, we will be designing a rocket for Level 1 (L1) certification.

Protip: Rocket team is full of people with many wonderful and diverse rocketry experiences. Talk to them about the projects they've tried in the past, or how to design a rocket. They'll happily help you get started. This website is dedicated to Robert A. Heinlein and Sir Arthur C. Clarke.And for planting the seed, Jerry Pournelle and his "A Step Farther Out: Those Pesky Belters and Their Torchships"

Your imagination has been captured by the roaring rockets from Heinlein's SPACE CADET or the Polaris from TOM CORBETT, SPACE CADET. But are such rockets possible? How does one go about defining the performance of these atomic-powered cruisers? This document gives some hints and equations that will allow back-of-the-envelope calculations on such matters. Though horribly simplistic, they are far better than just making up your figures. This site was mainly intended for science fiction authors who wanted a little scientific accuracy so they can write SF "the way God and Heinlein intended" (Arlan Andrews's Law).

The technical term is Hard Science Fiction. But anybody who is interested can play with the toys contained within, designing their own Planet Rangers Rocketships. It is assumed that the reader has enough knowledge to know the difference between a star and a planet, high school mathematics, and enough skill to use a pocket calculator. Computer spreadsheet and computer programming skills are a plus, spreadsheets in particular will make your life much easier. Grades 5-8, Grades 9-12, Higher Education Learn about the basic math and physics principles that govern the design and flight of model rockets.

Go to Website Our How To: Series is our organized hub of explanations behind the various parts of a rocket and how they are made. To get your certification for launching rockets, see Rocketry Certification. View our Rocket Team Standards to see the various standards we hold for our own rockets. Make sure your rocket is safe for launch by looking at Rocket Safety. Typical Rocket Parts gives a concise list a rocket's components.

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For Some Good General Notes On Designing Spacecraft In General,

For some good general notes on designing spacecraft in general, read Rick Robinson's Rocketpunk Manifesto essay on Spaceship Design 101. Also worth reading are Rick's essays on constructing things in space and the price of a spaceship. For some good general notes on making a fusion powered spacecraft, you might want to read Application of Recommended Design Practices for Conceptual Nuclear Fusion ...

The Improvised Space Warcraft Are The Type That Seems To

The improvised space warcraft are the type that seems to hold the most story potential. These would, as mentioned, likely be built by colonies that are in conflict. As they do not have to operate in an atmosphere, and are built by relatively poor colonies, they are likely to be rather crude. The basic components required are structure, propulsion, weapons, life support, power, sensors, control, an...

As A Model We Will Use The Classic Atomic Rocketship

As a model we will use the classic atomic rocketship the Polaris from the Tom Corbett Space Cadet books. Actually, the Polaris is so classic (i.e., 1952) that I fear most younger readers have never heard of it. Tom Corbett Space Cadet was an action packed science fiction series aimed at the juvenile demographic, appearing in hardback novels, comic books, Sunday newspaper comic strips, radio serial...

But I Digress. Anyway, The Tom Corbett Books Were "inspired"

But I digress. Anyway, the Tom Corbett books were "inspired" by Robert Heinlein's classic novel Space Cadet (if you like this website you'll probably like this novel). If you are vaguely interested in the the Tom Corbett novels they are out of copyright and are available as free ebooks (but if you are expecting deathless prose you will be sadly disappointed.). The technical adviser was the legenda...

The Beginner's Guide To Rockets Will Introduce You To The

The Beginner's Guide to Rockets will introduce you to the basics behind rocket science. The Beginner’s Guide to Rockets will help you learn the basic math and physics that govern the design and flight of rockets. We’ll look at many different kinds of rockets, from stomp rockets, which are a special kind of artillery shell, to bottle rockets, to model rockets, to full scale boosters. We’ll look at ...