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The paper gives an overview of the propulsion content of the programs at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, as offered to students in both Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

Measurements of the gas state properties in hypersonic propulsion system research present unique problems demanding unconventional diagnostic measurement system design solutions.

To achieve this goal, NASA has analyzed a hybrid body wing aircraft with a turboelectric distributed propulsion system. The propulsion system must be designed to operate at the highest possible efficiency in order to meet the reduced fuel burn goal. ...High density components are required to minimize the weight of the electric propulsion system while meeting the high power demand. Minimizing the electric propulsion system weight helps to reduce the amount of fuel required for propulsion. ...NASA's N3-X aircraft design under the Research and Technology for Aerospace Propulsion Systems (RTAPS) study is being designed to meet the N+3 goals, one of which is the reduction of aircraft fuel burn by 70% or better.

A landmark study of Synerjet propulsion for fully-reusable Earth/orbit transport missions was conducted for NASA in 1965-67 by a study team of Marquardt, Rocketdyne, and Lockheed (the present author led this effort). ...Synerjet propulsion systems are fully integrated aerospace vehicle power-plants, comprising both airbreathing and rocket hardware subsystems and technologies.

Apollo 17 ended the most successful application of rocket propulsion systems in man's history. A total of 23 developmental and manned operational flights were made. ...Over 6 h of manned rocket flights were logged by the spacecraft propulsion systems and approximately one million rocket engine firings were made. One engine failure was encountered on an early unmanned flight as a result of a failure in the guidance programmer which caused the engine to operate in a manner known to cause failures. ...This paper will present some highlights of Apollo propulsion performance and will provide a bibliography of all flight results.

Several advanced propulsion systems with many novel and unusual design features, and transport aircraft incorporating these systems, have been presented to the FAA for type certification. ...To accommodate the certification programs and to ensure that the airplanes and propulsion systems achieve the level of safety intended by the regulations, the FAA will promulgate special conditions covering the novel features which they have identified by meeting with industry and other airworthiness authorities.

The purpose of this paper is to identify some of the constraints imposed on an airplane propulsion system by transonic cruise speeds and to explore some ways to satisfy them. As the design Mach number of an airplane is increased above the 0.85 level toward 1.0, good airplane performance depends increasingly on careful tailoring of the propulsion installation and its integration into the overall configuration to establish a good compromise between drag, internal nacelle performance, and the practical considerations that produce an excellent airplane. ...As the design Mach number of an airplane is increased above the 0.85 level toward 1.0, good airplane performance depends increasingly on careful tailoring of the propulsion installation and its integration into the overall configuration to establish a good compromise between drag, internal nacelle performance, and the practical considerations that produce an excellent airplane.

The contribution of improved propulsion systems to the economics and regularity of air transport is examined, with particular reference to developments during the past decade.

The paper provides an overview of the renewed interest in turboprop propulsion systems for future commercial transport designs. The potential operating cost advantage of advanced turboprop designs is shown relative to advanced turbofan designs. ...Critical technology items for the aerodynamic installation of turboprop propulsion systems are presented, along with experimental results addressing the main technology issue for wing-mounted turboprop installations.

The organization, format and approach used by the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) Systems Assessment Team (SAT) to perform system studies for the GRC advanced power and on-board propulsion technology development program is described. Three levels of assessments and a sensitivity analysis are explained and example results are presented.

Since the first passenger-carrying aircraft went into service, each major new aircraft type has grown in size, weight, performance, reliability, and economics. Thus, history, plus a sharply increasing travel market, have provided statistics that define general requirements for development and growth needs of the powerplants for supersonic transports. General Electric’s GE4 turbojet engine for the United States SST is examined, from a conceptual design and development program standpoint, against today’s airlines requirements. The important criteria of a reliable and mature engine for initial SST service is related to the prospect of that engine’s operational growth capability for the future, with emphasis on maintainability, safety, performance, and economics.

The NASA Lewis Research Center, located in Cleveland, Ohio, has a number of space chemical propulsion test facilities which constitute a significant national space testing resource. The purpose of this paper is to make more users aware of these test facilities and to encourage their use through cooperative agreements between the government, industry, and universities.

The Phillips Laboratory has extensive rocket propulsion facilities at Edwards Air Force Base, California. These facilities range from small scale cells capable of firing liquid rocket engines as small as 0.01 lbf (0.04 Newtons (N)) thrust up to very large liquid/solid test stands designed for firings up to 10 million lbf (44.5 million N) thrust.

These advances have enhanced the usage of the code in the areas of liquid propulsion, fire suppression, and environmental control systems (ECLSS), providing for the first time a common framework for analysis and data exchange between engineers in these otherwise distinct specialties.

Their potential remains as a key factor for the spacecraft to travel deeper into space in a shorter mission duration. The propulsion concept UNIT is an integrated nuclear propulsion technique that provides high entry, descent and landing (EDL) performance in such short duration to conquer other galaxies. ...Various theoretical propulsion concepts have been evolved over the past years for space missions. Their potential remains as a key factor for the spacecraft to travel deeper into space in a shorter mission duration. ...This paper describes the theoretical approach of the UNIT propulsion system in detail. UNIT produces the highest energy possible by consuming nuclear fuel and possess the highest potential that opens new opportunities for space exploration.

One such potential is to develop a highly responsive low-medium jet propulsion engine that can finally make a jet-powered flying car practical and affordable, while paving the way for a new light-weight, jet-powered VTOL military assault vehicle.

The environmental impact of hydrocarbon-burning aircraft, both from the perspective of gas emissions and that of noise, is one of the main motivations for the move to electric propulsion. The added benefit from this shift to electric propulsion is that it has resulted in lowering the costs of electrical components such as motors, power electronic (PE) circuits, and batteries that are essential to this technology.

Applying solar energy to automobile propulsion has caused designers of solar-powered vehicles to address issues of vehicle system efficiency, requiring research and use of advanced material, battery, and motor technologies.