Aerospace propulsion - An introduction

Aerospace propulsion enables the movement, acceleration, or maintenance of speed of a flying vehicle in the Earth's atmosphere or in space. It is achieved by producing a thrust force that is directional and, to a certain extent, adjustable. The propulsion system – the propulsion system – is the engine that provides this thrust to the flying vehicle. There are different types, the best known being the rocket engine, the propeller engine, the turbojet engine, and the ramjet engine.

This article is part of the series [BM 3 001] , [BM 3 002] , and [BM 3 003] .

It provides the minimum necessary for an introduction to propulsion systems for aircraft, rockets, missiles, probes, satellites, etc.

What are these main engines? What are the principles and advantages of rocket engines, propeller engines, turbojet engines, and ramjet engines?

What does the sound barrier represent, where the Mach number is close to unity? Why do we use dynamic pressure rather than simply talking about altitude and flight speed? What are the orders of magnitude of thrust or specific fuel consumption to keep in mind?

How can the different cycles or propulsion systems be classified or combined according to the mission to be carried out? What is an airbreathing engine?

While the principles of aerospace propulsion have been known for a long time, we are seeing new trends in design based on testing and calculations. How are industrial and scientific players responding to these global developments?

Particular attention is paid in its content to the link with the design of the flying vehicle whose propulsion is to be studied and to the orders of magnitude of the parameters associated with a given level of technology.

The examples and data provided are taken from open literature, sometimes deliberately...