|
|
Specific Impulse (Isp):
|
Specific impulse (commonly abbreviated Isp) is the impulse (change in momentum)
per unit mass for rocket fuels, or rather how much more push accumulates as you use that
fuel. The velocity of a rocket depends on thrust (which is roughly the mass of propellant
that is thrown out of the back of the rocket and the velocity at which that propellant is
thrown out) compared to the rocket's mass.
The faster the speed at which propellant is thrown out the back of the rocket, the faster
the rocket can travel or the more cargo it can carry. The specific impulse of a rocket
propellant is a rough measure of how fast the propellant is ejected out of the back of the
rocket. A rocket with a high specific impulse doesn't need as much fuel as a rocket with low
specific impulse to reach a given velocity.
Alternatively, specific impulse is defined as the exhaust velocity divided by the
acceleration due to gravity, or 9.8 m/s2:
Isp = V/g
|
|
Delta V:
|
|
|
Escape Velocity:
|
|
|
Magnum rocket:
|
Concept launch vehicle envisioned by NASA using shuttle components. Payload capability
is 85,000kg to LEO.
|
|
Habitat:
|
Portion of Mars Direct mission architecture. Spacecraft that the crew travels to Mars
in. The habitat lands near the ERV, serves as the primary base for the crew until they
leave, then stays behind providing extra living space for the next crew.
|
|
Moore's Law:
|
The observation made in 1965 by Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel, that the
number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits had doubled every
year since the integrated circuit was invented. Moore predicted that this trend
would continue for the foreseeable future. In subsequent years, the pace slowed
down a bit, but data density has doubled approximately every 18 months, and this
is the current definition of Moore's Law, which Moore himself has blessed. Most
experts, including Moore himself, expect Moore's Law to hold for at least
another two decades.
|
|
|