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Kerosene as Rocket Fuel, RP-1 Kerosene, specifically highly refined kerosene like RP-1, is a common rocket fuel, called RP-1 (Rocket Propellant-1). RP-1 is a mixture of long chain hydrocarbons that has been purified to remove unstable or contaminant components.  RP-1 fuel. Source: Wiki RP-1 is a refined petroleum distillate similar to aviation kerosene but processed to strict specifications. Compared to ordinary kerosene it contains fewer unsaturated compounds and has tighter limits on impurities and sulfur.  Specific properties of RP-1: Density: At ambient temperatures (around 15°C to 20°C), RP-1's density is about 810 kg/m³ (0.81 g/cm³). Density is a key factor in rocket design for determining the volume of fuel needed.  Freezing Point: RP-1's freezing point is well below normal operating temperatures, -60°C or lower. This is a desirable property for a storable propellant, as it doesn't require cryogenic temperatures like liquid hydrogen.  Boiling Range: As a compl...

Rocket fuel oxidizers Rocket propellants are substances that produce the necessary reaction mass to generate thrust when expelled from a rocket engine.  The energy required can either come from the propellants themselves, as with a chemical rocket, or from an external source, as with ion engines.  Most commonly, propellants are chemical mixtures of a fuel and an oxidizer.  An oxidizer is a chemical that provides the oxygen or the chemical equivalent needed for fuel to burn. Rockets must carry their oxidizer because space doesn't have atmospheric oxygen.  That is a difference between a car engine and a rocket engine. A Delta IV Heavy during liftoff. The rocket is launched using liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen cryogenic propellants. Source: Wiki. A car engine burns fuel with atmospheric oxygen and converts that energy into rotating power to turn the wheels, while a rocket engine carries its own fuel and oxidizer to produce hot exhaust gases, which are expelled at hig...

Hydrogen as rocket fuel Hydrogen, especially in its liquid form, is an effective and widely used rocket fuel known for its high energy efficiency and clean combustion, which produces only water vapor. However, it requires cryogenic storage in extremely insulated vessels due to its very low boiling point, leading to large tank sizes and significant boil-off issues that increase costs and complexity. Despite these challenges, hydrogen's high specific impulse and environmental benefits continue to make it a key propellant, particularly for upper stages, with ongoing research into even more powerful forms like metallic hydrogen.  Using liquid hydrogen as a rocket fuel! Liquid hydrogen (LH 2 ) is the liquid state of the element hydrogen. Hydrogen is found naturally in the molecular H 2  form. Hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, non-toxic gas at standard temperature and pressure, while liquid hydrogen is its ultra-cold, condensed state, requiring temperatures of -253°C or lower....

ZhuQue-2 ZhuQue-2 (ZQ-2) is developed by Chinese company LandSpace. It is the first orbital-class launch vehicle which used liquid methane and liquid oxygen (methalox) as fuel. It is a medium-sized, two-stage rocket with a 3.35-meter diameter fairing, designed to carry payloads of 4,000-6,000 kg to sun-synchronous or low Earth orbits, respectively.  After an initial failure in December 2022, its second flight in July 2023 successfully reached orbit, making it a historic milestone.  ZhuQue-2; source: LandSpace After a nominal flight, the second stage of the rocket reached a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) with a perigee of 431 km (~268 mi), an apogee of 461 km (~286 mi), and an inclination of 97.3 degrees. Zhuque-2 has a liftoff weight of 216 tonnes and uses 4 TQ-12 methalox engines in the first stage, each with a thrust of 67 tonnes-force (660 kN). The second stage uses one vacuum-optimized TQ-12 with a thrust of 80 tonnes-force (780 kN) in combination with a TQ-11 engine (8 tonne...

Methane as Rocket Fuel The highest specific impulse chemical rockets use liquid propellants (liquid-propellant rockets). They can consist of a single chemical, which is called a monopropellant, or a mix of two chemicals, which is called bipropellants. Bipropellants can be further divided into two sub-categories: hypergolic propellant, which ignites when the fuel and oxidizer make contact, and non-hypergolic propellant which requires a source of ignition. For a chemical rocket, the highest specific impulse means the most propellant-efficient engine, producing either the most thrust for a given amount of propellant, or providing the desired thrust with less propellant. A higher specific impulse equals to a higher effective exhaust velocity, allowing the rocket to achieve a greater change in momentum from the same propellant mass. This efficiency is primarily determined by the propellant chemistry. For the best result, the usual combination is liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Until now....

  Aeolipile, Hero's engine As it can sound interesting, the Chinese Han Dynasty that prevailed around 200 BC is well known for developing rockets which were used for fireworks at that time. However, very early invention of the basic principle for a jet engine goes already back to the Hero of Alexandria (around AD 67). Hero of Alexandria was an Egyptian mathematician and inventor who had invented several machines utilizing water, air, and steam. An illustration of Hero's aeolipile, source: Wiki In Figure, you can see schematic illustration of Hero's aeolipile. The Aeolipile, also known as Hero's engine, is a simple, bladeless reaction steam turbine invented by Hero of Alexandria in the 1st century AD. This is considered as first device, based on reactive thrust principle way before Newton's laws, especially the third law of motion.  The name aeolipile is derived from the Greek name Aeolus, the Greek god of the wind, and word pila, meaning ball. The name basically mea...

Raptor is a family of rocket engines which are developed and manufactured by SpaceX for use in Starship. This rocket engine marks significant step in rocket engineering. It is designed with full-flow staged combustion fuel cycle and use of methane as a fuel, known as Methalox. SpaceX announced the development of the Raptor engine in 2012, with the first full-scale engine testing in September 2016. These advanced, reusable methane-oxygen engines are the primary power source for the SpaceX Starship system.  The engine is powered by cryogenic liquid methane and liquid oxygen, known as Methalox. Refined liquid methane as well as LNG are typically used as a fuel for rockets in combination with oxygen. For example it is used in the TQ-12, BE-4, Raptor, YF-215, and Aeon engines. A Raptor 1 rocket engine, SpaceX's factory in Hawthorne, California; source: Wiki The Raptor engine is a full-flow staged combustion cycle engine, which allows for higher efficiency and performance compared t...