Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket — Artist s impression of several VASIMR engines propelling a craft through space The Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) is an electro magnetic thruster for spacecraft propulsion. It uses radio waves to ionize and heat a… … Wikipedia
Signal-to-noise ratio — For signal to noise ratio in statistics, see Cohen s d. Signal to noise ratio (often abbreviated SNR or S/N) is a measure used in science and engineering that compares the level of a desired signal to the level of background noise. It is defined… … Wikipedia
Rocket engine — RS 68 being tested at NASA s Stennis Space Center. The nearly transparent exhaust is due to this engine s exhaust being mostly superheated steam (water vapor from its propellants, hydrogen and oxygen) … Wikipedia
Rocket — This article is about vehicles powered by rocket engines. For other uses, see Rocket (disambiguation). A Soyuz U, at Baikonur Site 1/5 A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engi … Wikipedia
Spacecraft propulsion — A remote camera captures a close up view of a Space Shuttle Main Engine during a test firing at the John C. Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, Mississippi Spacecraft propulsion is any method used to accelerate spacecraft and artificial… … Wikipedia
Scramjet — Part of a series on Aircraft propulsion Shaft engines (to drive pr … Wikipedia
Jet engine — For a general overview of aircraft engines, see Aircraft engine. A Pratt Whitney F100 turbofan engine for the … Wikipedia
Single-stage-to-orbit — The VentureStar was a proposed SSTO spaceplane. A single stage to orbit (or SSTO) vehicle reaches orbit from the surface of a body without jettisoning hardware, expending only propellants and fluids. The term usually, but not exclusively, refers… … Wikipedia
Space Shuttle — STS redirects here. For other uses, see STS (disambiguation). This article is about the NASA Space Transportation System vehicle. For the associated NASA STS program, see Space Shuttle program. For other shuttles and aerospace vehicles, see… … Wikipedia
Nuclear thermal rocket — Sketch of nuclear thermal rocket … Wikipedia
Internal combustion engine — The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel (normally a fossil fuel) occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high temperature and high … Wikipedia