Developed and expanded from the work presented at the New Energetic Materials and Propulsion Techniques for Space Exploration workshop in June 2014, this book contains new scientific results, up-to-date reviews, and inspiring perspectives in a number of areas related to the energetic aspects of chemical rocket propulsion. This collection covers the entire life of energetic materials from their conceptual formulation to practical manufacturing; it includes coverage of theoretical and experimental ballistics, performance properties, as well as laboratory-scale and full system-scale, handling, hazards, environment, ageing, and disposal. Chemical Rocket Propulsion is a unique work, where a selection of accomplished experts from the pioneering era of space propulsion and current technologists from the most advanced international laboratories discuss the future of chemical rocket propulsion for access to, and exploration of, space. It will be of interest to both postgraduate and final-year undergraduate students in aerospace engineering, and practicing aeronautical engineers and designers, especially those with an interest in propulsion, as well as researchers in energetic materials.

This book, a translation of the French title Technologie des Propergols Solides, offers otherwise unavailable information on the subject of solid propellants and their use in rocket propulsion. The fundamentals of rocket propulsion are developed in chapter one and detailed descriptions of concepts are covered in the following chapters. Specific design methods and the theoretical physics underlying them are presented, and finally the industrial production of the propellant itself is explained. The material used in the book has been collected from different countries, as the development of this field has occurred separately due to the classified nature of the subject. Thus the reader not only has an overall picture of solid rocket propulsion technology but a comprehensive view of its different developmental permutations worldwide.

The U.S. Air Force is developing a model to assist commanders in determining when it is safe to launch rocket vehicles. The model estimates the possible number and types of adverse health effects for people who might be exposed to the ground cloud created by rocket exhaust during a normal launch or during an aborted launch that results in a rocket being destroyed near the ground. Assessment of Exposure-Response Functions for Rocket-Emmission Toxicants evaluates the model and the data used for three rocket emission toxicants: hydrogen chloride, nitrogen dioxide, and nitric acid.

The Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) is under construction near Richmond, Kentucky, two dispose of one of the two remaining stockpiles of chemical munitions in the United States. The stockpile that BGCAPP will dispose of is stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot (BGAD). BGCAPP is a tenant activity on BGAD. The stockpile stored at BGAD consists of mustard agent loaded in projectiles, and the nerve agents GB and VX loaded into projectiles and M55 rockets. BGCAPP will process the rockets by cutting them, still in their shipping and firing tube (SFT), between the warhead and motor sections of the rocket. The warhead will be processed through BGCAPP. The separated rocket motors that have been monitored for chemical agent and cleared for transportation outside of BGCAPP, the subject of this report, will be disposed of outside of BGCAPP. Any motors found to be contaminated with chemical agent will be processed through BGCAPP and are not addressed in this report. Disposal Options for the Rocket Motors From Nerve Agent Rockets Stored at Blue Grass Army Depot addresses safety in handling the separated rocket motors with special attention to the electrical ignition system, the need for adequate storage space for the motors in order to maintain the planned disposal rate at BGCAPP, thermal and chemical disposal technologies, and on-site and off-site disposal options. On-site is defined as disposal on BGAD, and off-site is defined as disposal by a commercial or government facility outside of BGAD.