The STAR 13B incorporates the lightweight case developed for the STAR 13 with the propellant and nozzle design of the earlier TE-M-516 apogee motor. The motor case has been stretched 2.2 inches to provide for increased propellant loading. The motor has been used to adjust orbit inclination of a satellite from a Delta launch
method was developed by Raschig. Anhydrous hydrazine is a clear, colorless, hygroscopic liquid with an odor similar to that of ammonia. Anhydrous hydrazine is a strong reducing agent and a weak chemical base. Aqueous hydrazine shows both oxidizing and reducing properties. Although potential data show hydrazine
Colloidal thrusters are electrostatic accelerators of charged liquid droplets. They were first proposed and then intensively studied from around 1960 to 1975 as an alternative to normal ion engines. Their appeal at that time rested with the large “molecular mass” of the droplets, which was known to increase the thrust density of an ion engine
It is well known that rapidly pulsed current tends to concentrate near the surface of copper conductors forming a “skin”. A similar effect occurs when current flows through a highly conductive and rapidly moving plasma: current tends to concentrate near the entrance and exit of the channel. The reason is the appearance of a strong
Suppose we want to move a satellite in a circular orbit to a position ∆ϑ apart in the same orbit, in a time ∆t (assumed to be several orbital times at least). The general approach is to transfer to a lower (for positive ∆ϑ ) or higher (for ∆ϑ < 0 ) nearby
The only practical way to accelerate something in free space is by reaction. The idea is the same as in air breathing propulsion (to push something backwards) but in rockets the “something” must be inside and is lost. Here is a revealing derivation of the thrust equation for vacuum:
The result appears to be trivial, but it is not. Notice that the “velocity increment” ∆V is actually equal to the decrease in orbital velocity. The rocket is pushing forward, but the velocity is decreasing. This is because in a r-2 force field, the kinetic energy is equal in magnitude but of the opposite sign
