Chemical rocket in the context of Reaction engine

Chemical rocket in the context of Reaction engine

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⭐ Core Definition: Chemical rocket

A rocket engine is a reaction engine, producing thrust in accordance with Newton's third law by ejecting reaction mass rearward, usually a high-speed jet of high-temperature gas produced by the combustion of rocket propellants stored inside the rocket. However, non-combusting forms such as cold gas thrusters and nuclear thermal rockets also exist. Rocket vehicles carry their own oxidiser, unlike most combustion engines, so rocket engines can be used in a vacuum, and they can achieve great speed, beyond escape velocity. Vehicles commonly propelled by rocket engines include missiles, artillery shells, ballistic missiles, fireworks and spaceships.

Compared to other types of jet engine, rocket engines are the lightest and have the highest thrust, but are the least propellant-efficient (they have the lowest specific impulse). For thermal rockets, pure hydrogen, the lightest of all elements, gives the highest exhaust velocity, but practical chemical rockets produce a mix of heavier species, reducing the exhaust velocity.

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Chemical rocket in the context of Rocket propellant

Rocket propellant is used as a reaction mass ejected from a rocket engine to produce thrust. The energy required can either come from the propellants themselves, as with a chemical rocket, or from an external source, as with ion engines.

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Chemical rocket in the context of Nuclear thermal rocket

A nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) is a type of thermal rocket where the heat from a nuclear reaction replaces the chemical energy of the propellants in a chemical rocket. In an NTR, a working fluid, usually liquid hydrogen, is heated to a high temperature in a nuclear reactor and then expands through a rocket nozzle to create thrust. The external nuclear heat source theoretically allows a higher effective exhaust velocity and is expected to double or triple payload capacity compared to chemical propellants that store energy internally.

NTRs have been proposed as a spacecraft propulsion technology, with the earliest ground tests conducted in 1955. The United States maintained an NTR development program through 1973, when it was shut down for various reasons, including to focus on Space Shuttle development. Although more than ten reactors of varying power output have been built and tested, as of 2025, no nuclear thermal rocket has flown.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Rocket propellant ← Nuclear thermal rocket ← Rocket fuel
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
RS-68 → Stennis Space Center → Viking (rocket engine) → Ariane 1 → Ariane 4 → Reaction engine → Thrust → Newton's third law → Reaction mass → Jet (fluid) → Combustion → Rocket propellant → Rocket → Cold gas thruster → Nuclear thermal rocket → Oxidizing agent → Vacuum → Escape velocity → Missile → Rocket-assisted projectile → Ballistic missiles → Fireworks → Space vehicle → Specific impulse → Hydrogen →