Abstract
The chemical rocket currently plays an important role in a wide variety of space propulsion applications, as noted in previous chapters of this book. That being said, a number of alternative non-chemical/non-combustion means for propelling or adjusting the position of a flight vehicle or structure in space do exist for the practical applications of today. New non-chemical propulsion techniques are also being proposed for usage in space at some point in the future. Various electric propulsion techniques are discussed in some detail in this chapter. Solar/thermal and nuclear/thermal approaches are presented. More unconventional rocket-based concepts for space transportation are discussed, as are concepts that do not depend on rocketry. The final chapter of this book closes out with a short discussion of the stratospheric balloon, which in a way brings us full circle (back to the early days of manned flight).
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Greatrix, D.R. (2012). Propulsion in Space: Beyond the Chemical Rocket. In: Powered Flight. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-2485-6_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-2485-6_14
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