Design of Rockets and Space Launch Vehicles, Second Edition

by Don Edberg, Willie Costa

The second edition of Summerfield Book Award winner Design of Rockets and Space Launch Vehicles is a comprehensive treatment of important concepts and applications. It provides enhanced understanding and exposure to practical aspects of design, engineering, manufacturing, and testing. The subject is mature, but the applications are changing and a new generation of engineers and designers are joining the aerospace industry. It is primarily intended for readers with at least a 3rd-year level knowledge of aerospace engineering, mathematics, and physics. But because it contains many applications and step-by-step illustrated examples along with photographs or line drawings of actual hardware, it will also be of interest to practicing engineers, technical managers, and others who are interested in how rockets work in either the big picture sense, or in areas outside one's specialty. Readers of this book will understand “why things are done this way.” This second edition features numerous updates throughout and new material current launch vehicle developments including SLS, Starship-Superheavy, Electron, Neutron, LauncherOne, Astra, Alpha, Vulcan, Ariane. Discussion of hybrid and quasi-hybrid rockets, including new combustion cycles. A complete set of equations to allow the calculation of payload mass, propellant mass, structure mass, inert mass, and liftoff mass knowing specific impulse and structural ratio. Information on carrying multiple ridesharing, piggybacking. New sections on recovery and reuse, including the physics, energy, and mass required to recover payload fairings, 1st steps, and upper steps. A table of recovery options including advantages & disadvantages and a simple cost analysis of vehicle reuse.

1070 pages, Hardcover

Published December 9, 2022

Reviews

[Austin Waung · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most interesting text book I've read and a genuinely useful one at that for engineers/workers in the industry with a desire to broaden their understanding of launch vehicles and all of the different systems.