News: Pseudo-moons Orbit Earth

Pseudo-moons Orbit Earth
Sky And Telescope, 30 December 2011
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/Pseudo-moons-Orbit-Earth-136435308.html

Earth may be going steady with the Moon, but it has a bit of a wanderer’s relationship with some other nearby objects. A study by an international trio of scientists suggests that, at any given time, there is at least one meter-sized mini asteroid temporarily orbiting our planet. Caught from the population of near-Earth objects (NEOs), the “satellite” completes on average three whirls around us in less than a year before the planet and meteoroid go their separate ways.

Online: How to Design, Build, and Test Small Liquid-Fuel Rocket Engines

HOW to DESIGN, BUILD and TEST SMALL LIQUID-FUEL ROCKET ENGINES
Risacher.org, 29 December 2011
http://www.risacher.org/rocket/

also

http://www.cientificosaficionados.com/libros/cohetes.pdf [PDF, 6.3M]

This excellent book, written by Leroy J. Krzycki in the 1960's provides a good theoretical and practical overview of developing your own liquid propellant rocket motors. Although dated, it provides timeless theoretical coverage in an understandable fashion. It covers all aspects from the motor to a suitable test system.

Online: Conceptual Design and Analysis of a Small and Low Cost Launch Vehicle

Conceptual Design and Analysis of a Small and Low Cost Launch Vehicle
Georgia Tech, May 2005
http://www.ssdl.gatech.edu/papers/mastersProjects/TayaK-8900.pdf

In this publication, the authors "treat [Microcosm's] Sprite launch vehicle as an example of small and low-cost launch vehicle. The goal of project is to analyze its design concept, confirm performance, and refine its design."

Online: How Small Can a Launch Vehicle Be?

How Small Can a Launch Vehicle Be?
Lawrence Livermore, 10 July 2005
https://e-reports-ext.llnl.gov/pdf/321763.pdf [PDF, 183K]

This classic document reviews the background requirements of launching a vehicle to low Earth orbit, focusing on the issue of lower bounds on the size of the vehicle.

ABSTRACT
Trajectory simulations from Earth to orbit indicate comparative velocity requirements depending on vehicle size, for several propellant options. Smaller vehicles are more affected by drag, resulting in steeper trajectories that require more total velocity. Although they are technically challenging, launch vehicles smaller than 1 ton are not ruled out by the nature of ascent trajectories.

Online: NASA SPACE VEHICLE DESIGN CRITERIA SP-8000

NASA SPACE VEHICLE DESIGN CRITERIA SP-8000
arocketry.net, 24 December 2011
http://www.arocketry.net/sp-8000.html

If you weren't already aware of them, Nasa produced a whole series of technical tutorials on different aspects of rocket design. If you haven't checked them out, I highly recommend doing so. You'll find everything from propulsion design, propellant feed system design, and a number of other highly-practical tutorials.

Book: Design of liquid propellant rocket engines

Design of Liquid Propellant Rocket Engines, 2nd Edition
NASA NTRS, 19 December 2011
http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19710019929 [ PDF, 45M ]

This is the classic Huzel and Huang "Design of Liquid Propellant Rocket Engines". It covers rocket theory and has good design examples.

News: S75-M Rocket Motors

Images: S75-M Rocket Motors
Wikimedia Commons, 21 December 2011

Wikimedia Commons has 5 pictures on the S2.720A2 rocket motor from the Soviet-era SA-2 Surface to Air Missile. This is a very nice little pump-fed rocket motor.

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