Design of Rockets and Space Launch Vehicles, Second Edition

The second edition of Summerfield Book Award winner Design of Rockets and Space Launch Vehicles is a comprehensive treatment of important concepts and applications. It provides enhanced understanding and exposure to practical aspects of design, engineering, manufacturing, and testing. The subject is mature, but the applications are changing and a new generation of engineers and designers are joining the aerospace industry. It is primarily intended for readers with at least a 3rd-year level knowledge of aerospace engineering, mathematics, and physics. But because it contains many applications and step-by-step illustrated examples along with photographs or line drawings of actual hardware, it will also be of interest to practicing engineers, technical managers, and others who are interested in how rockets work in either the big picture sense, or in areas outside one’s specialty.

Readers of this book will understand “why things are done this way.” This second edition features numerous updates throughout and new material on: current launch vehicle developments including SLS, Starship-Superheavy, Electron, Neutron, LauncherOne, Astra, Alpha, Vulcan, Ariane. Discussion of hybrid and quasi-hybrid rockets, including new combustion cycles. A complete set of equations to allow the calculation of payload mass, propellant mass, structure mass, inert mass, and liftoff mass knowing specific impulse and structural ratio. Information on carrying multiple payloads: ridesharing, piggybacking. New sections on recovery and reuse, including the physics, energy, and mass required to recover payload fairings, 1st steps, and upper steps. A table of recovery options including advantages & disadvantages and a simple cost analysis of vehicle reuse.