Taming Liquid Hydrogen: The Centaur Upper Stage Rocket 1958-2002

Taming Liquid Hydrogen: The Centaur Upper Stage Rocket 1958-2002 PDF Author:
Publisher: Government Printing Office
ISBN: 9780160877391
Category : Centaur rocket
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Taming Liquid Hydrogen: The Centaur Upper Stage Rocket 1958-2002

Taming Liquid Hydrogen: The Centaur Upper Stage Rocket 1958-2002 PDF Author:
Publisher: Government Printing Office
ISBN: 9780160877391
Category : Centaur rocket
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description


Taming Liquid Hydrogen

Taming Liquid Hydrogen PDF Author: Virginia Parker Dawson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Centaur rocket
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Taming Liquid Hydrogen

Taming Liquid Hydrogen PDF Author: National Aeronautics Administration
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781493586301
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
During its maiden voyage in May 1962, a Centaur upper stage rocket, mated to an Atlas booster, exploded 54 seconds after launch, engulfing the rocket in a huge fireball. Investigation revealed that Centaur's light, stainless-steel tank had split open, spilling its liquid-hydrogen fuel down its sides, where the flame of the rocket exhaust immediately ignited it. Coming less than a year after President Kennedy had made landing human beings on the Moon a national priority, the loss of Centaur was regarded as a serious setback for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). During the failure investigation, Homer Newell, Director of Space Sciences, ruefully declared: "Taming liquid hydrogen to the point where expensive operational space missions can be committed to it has turned out to be more difficult than anyone supposed at the outset." .After this failure, Centaur critics, led by Wernher von Braun, mounted a campaign to cancel the program. In addition to the unknowns associated with liquid hydrogen, he objected to the unusual design of Centaur. Like the Atlas rocket, Centaur depended on pressure to keep its paper thin, stainless-steel shell from collapsing. It was literally inflated with its propellants like a football or balloon and needed no internal structure to give it added strength and stability. The so-called "pressure-stabilized structure" of Centaur, coupled with the light weight of its high-energy cryogenic propellants, made Centaur lighter and more powerful than upper stages that used conventional fuel. But, the critics argued, it would never become the reliable rocket that the United States needed. Others, especially military proponents of Centaur, believed that accepting the challenge of developing liquid-hydrogen technology was an important risk to take. Despite criticism and early technical failures, the taming of liquid hydrogen proved to be one of NASA's most significant technical accomplishments. Centaur not only succeeded in demonstrating the feasibility of liquid hydrogen as a rocket fuel, but it also went on to a brilliant career as an upper stage for a series of spectacular planetary missions in the 1970s. Ironically, this success did little to ensure the future of the Centaur rocket. Once the Shuttle became operational in the early 1980s, all expendable launch vehicles like Centaur were slated for termination. Centaur advocates fought to keep the program alive.

Liquid Hydrogen As a Propulsion Fuel, 1945-1959

Liquid Hydrogen As a Propulsion Fuel, 1945-1959 PDF Author: John Sloop
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781500402976
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Book Description
The story of how liquid hydrogen was put to work is told in two great books. Part 1 is this book, "Liquid Hydrogen as a Propulsion Fuel, 1945-1959", by John L. Sloop (NASA SP-4404). Part 2 is "Taming Liquid Hydrogen: The Centaur Upper Stage Rocket: 1958-2002", by Virginia P. Dawson and Mark D. Bowles (NASA SP-2004-4230).

Bringing the Future Within Reach

Bringing the Future Within Reach PDF Author: Robert S. Arrighi
Publisher: Government Printing Office
ISBN: 9780160932106
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 428

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Book Description
The book documents Glenn's many research specialties over those 75 years. Among them are early jet engines and rockets; flight safety and fuel efficiency tested in premier icing and wind tunnels; liquid hydrogen fuel which, despite skeptics like aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun, helped the U.S. win the race to the moon; and electric propulsion, considered key to future space flight. Space enthusiasts, aviation personnel, aerospace engineers, and inventors may be interested in this comprehensive and milestone volume. Other related products: NASA at 50: Interviews With NASA\'s Senior Leadership can be found here: https: //bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/033-000-01360-4 Other products published by National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) can be found here: https: //bookstore.gpo.gov/agency/550

To Reach the High Frontier

To Reach the High Frontier PDF Author: Roger D. Launius
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN: 0813148073
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 528

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Book Description
Access—no single word better describes the primary concern of the exploration and development of space. Every participant in space activities—civil, military, scientific, or commercial—needs affordable, reliable, frequent, and flexible access to space. To Reach the High Frontier details the histories of the various space access vehicles developed in the United States since the birth of the space age in 1957. Each case study has been written by a specialist knowledgeable about the vehicle described and places each system in the larger context of the history of spaceflight. The technical challenge of reaching space with chemical rockets, the high costs associated with space launch, the long lead times necessary for scheduling flights, and the poor reliability of the rockets themselves show launch vehicles to be the space program's most difficult challenge.

ALTERNATIVE FUELS AND ADVANCED VEHICLE TECHNOLOGIES

ALTERNATIVE FUELS AND ADVANCED VEHICLE TECHNOLOGIES PDF Author: VENKATESWARLU. K.
Publisher: PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.
ISBN: 8194685176
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description
Primarily intended for the undergraduate students of Automobile, Mechanical, Electrical, Aerospace engineering, and postgraduate students of Thermal Engineering and Energy Systems, the book presents the topics as per the outcome-based education system. In addition to the coverage of various alternative fuels considered for IC engines, special focus is emphasized on research findings in the field of alternative fuels and fuel additives including nano-additives. The stress is also given towards the exclusive coverage of advanced engine technologies such as CRDI engines, MPFI engines, GDI, HCCI and advanced energy technologies such as Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs), Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs), Fuel Cell Vehicles (FCVs), Solar Powered Vehicles. KEY FEATURES • A detailed discussion of the research findings in alternatives fuels for IC engines • 150+ Review questions • 200+ Multiple choice questions • PowerPoint slides for the instructors Target Audience • Undergraduate students of Automobile, Mechanical, Electrical, Aerospace engineering • Postgraduate students of Thermal engineering and Energy systems

The Development of Propulsion Technology for U.S. Space-Launch Vehicles, 1926-1991

The Development of Propulsion Technology for U.S. Space-Launch Vehicles, 1926-1991 PDF Author: J. D. Hunley
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 1603449876
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 398

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Book Description
In this definitive study, J. D. Hunley traces the program’s development from Goddard’s early rockets (and the German V-2 missile) through the Titan IVA and the Space Shuttle, with a focus on space-launch vehicles. Since these rockets often evolved from early missiles, he pays considerable attention to missile technology, not as an end in itself, but as a contributor to launch-vehicle technology. Focusing especially on the engineering culture of the program, Hunley communicates this very human side of technological development by means of anecdotes, character sketches, and case studies of problems faced by rocket engineers. He shows how such a highly adaptive approach enabled the evolution of a hugely complicated technology that was impressive—but decidedly not rocket science. Unique in its single-volume coverage of the evolution of launch-vehicle technology from 1926 to 1991, this meticulously researched work will inform scholars and engineers interested in the history of technology and innovation, as well as those specializing in the history of space flight.

Centaur Program

Centaur Program PDF Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Science and Astronautics
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Centaur rocket
Languages : en
Pages : 136

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Centaur Program

Centaur Program PDF Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Science and Astronautics. Subcommittee on Space Sciences
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Centaur rocket
Languages : en
Pages : 148

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Book Description