DEEP-SPACE ENGINES PROPULSION SYTEMS THAT COULD CARRY ASTRONAUTS TO MARS AND BEYOND

摘要

The fastest chemical rocket ever, the Star-48 engine was built to launch satellites and was recently incorporated into the New Horizons probe, which took off in 2006. Powered by burning a mixture of ammonium perchlorate and aluminum, it boosted the Pluto-bound probe to approximately 36,000 miles per hour. New Horizons should reach Pluto and its moons by July 2015. FIRST USED FOR PROPULSION; 1980