The Moon is very far from Earth. Yet, scientists have been able to get satellites, shuttles, and other spacecraft into space and a few manned spacecraft to land on the Moon. "How Does a Spacecraft Reach the Moon?" reveals the science behind propulsion and the energy it takes to get large craft into space. Colorful photographs and...

Plasma engineering applies the unique properties of plasmas (ionized gases) to improve processes and performance over many fields, such as materials processing, spacecraft propulsion, and nanofabrication. Plasma Engineering considers this rapidly expanding discipline from a unified standpoint, addressing fundamentals of physics and...

In this second edition of Future Spacecraft Propulsion Systems, the authors demonstrate the need to break free from the old established concepts of expendable rockets, using chemical propulsion, and to develop new breeds of launch vehicle capable of both launching payloads into orbit at a dramatically reduced cost and for sustained operations in...

This important new book explains the fundamentals of electric propulsion for spacecraft and describes in detail the physics and characteristics of the two major electric thrusters in use today, ion and Hall thrusters. The authors provide an introduction to plasma physics in order to allow readers to understand the models and derivations used...

The promise of MEMS for aerospace applications has been germinating for years, and current advances bring the field to the very cusp of fruition. Reliability is chief among the challenges limiting the deployment of MEMS technologies in space, as the requirement of zero failure during the mission is quite stringent for this burgeoning field....

Hydrodynamics of High-Speed Marine Vehicles discusses hydrodynamic aspects of the three main categories of high-speed marine vehicles, i.e. vessels supported by either the submerged hull, an air cushion or foils. Submerged-hull-supported vessels include planing and semi-displacement vessels. The wave environment, resistance, propulsion,...