The new propellant also had its own TV show from 1976 to 1985.
NASA and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) have announced that they have successfully launched a small rocket using a propellant made up of aluminum powder and water ice.
The fuel, called ALICE, is environmentally-friendly. According to the same NASA press release that we got that last bit from, it’s also safe. Presumably NASA means that it’s safe when compared with other rocket fuels. You probably still shouldn’t try to eat it.
NASA’s Chief Engineer was quick to give part of the credit to crazy college kids.
“This collaboration has been an opportunity for graduate students to work on an environmentally-friendly propellant that can be used for flight on Earth and used in long distance space missions,” said NASA Chief Engineer Mike Ryschkewitsch at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “These sorts of university-led experimental projects encourage a new generation of aerospace engineers to think outside of the box and look at new ways for NASA to meet our exploration goals.”
A nine-foot ALICE fueled rocket reached 1,300 feet over Purdue University’s Scholer farms in Indiana earlier this month. Not exactly orbital, but please remember that we’re talking about ground up aluminum and water here.
NASA says this propellant is generating excitement among researchers because it could potentially replace some liquid or solid propellants, and may even provide higher performance after additional development.
“By funding this collaborative research with NASA, Purdue University and the Pennsylvania State University, AFOSR continues to promote basic research breakthroughs for the future of the Air Force,” said Dr. Brendan Godfrey, director of AFOSR.
ALICE has a high burn rate and achieved a maximum thrust of 650 pounds during this test.
“A sustained collaborative research effort on the fundamentals of the combustion of nanoscale aluminum and water over the last few years led to the success of this flight,” said Dr. Steven F. Son, a research team member from Purdue. “ALICE can be improved with the addition of oxidizers and become a potential solid rocket propellant on Earth. Theoretically, ALICE can be manufactured in distant places like the moon or Mars, instead of being transported to distant locations at high cost.”
Manned missions must either carry fuel for the return journey, or use a previously prepared cache. So far, every manned mission has carried the needed fuel along for the ride. Space agencies generally consider it bad public relations to send highly-trained astronauts on suicide missions, although it wouldn’t surprise New Frontier News at all if China started doing it.
Hello!
cheap cialis ,