Propulsion system

The engines used to provide thrust may be of several types. Often an internal-combustion piston engine is used, especially for smaller planes. They are of various types, based on the arrangement of the cylinders. Horizontally opposed engines employ four to six cylinders lying flat and arrayed two or three on each side. In a radial engine the cylinders (ranging from 5 to as many as 28, depending on engine size) are mounted in a circle around the crankshaft, sometimes in banks of two or more…

It’s often funny to listen to skeptics claim that 3D printing is just a fad, and that it can’t be used for anything meaningful. From a layman’s point of view,...

This diagram comes from Scott P. Sullivan's "Virtual Apollo," published in 2003. The book consisted largely of 3D illustrations created in PTC Pro/Engineer, depicting the interior and exterior arrangements of the Apollo Command and Service modules. This book currently fetches over $100 used, so if you find a copy in a thrift shop or used book store, jump on it!

A NASA engineer claims that his company's propellantless propulsion drive system has generated enough thrust to counteract Earth's gravity.

The purpose of this research project was to get one step closer to the design and manufacturing of a bladeless multi-rotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) usingBladeless technology to eliminate the hazards created by exposed propellers on conventional multi- rotor UAVs. The purpose of this research project was to get one step closer to the design and manufacturing of a bladeless multi-rotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) using bladeless technology. The motivation behind this research was to…

Aerojet Rocketdyne wins a $67 million contract from NASA to develop an advanced electric propulsion system for trips to an asteroid and Mars.

Power to the people! And their planes

A Norwegian-funded project aimed at developing ‘the biggest of its kind’ hydrogen propulsion system for large maritime vessels is moving closer to testing a prototype system

The Raptor is a full-flow staged combustion engine developed by SpaceX. Learn how it works with this animated schematic!

Dreams of antimatter space propulsion are closer to reality than most rocket scientists could ever imagine, says former Fermilab physicist Gerald Jackson. In fact, if money were no object, he says an antimatter-driven spacecraft prototype could be tested within a decade.