New age for rocketry.

Above: Cargo Rocket in action, New Atlas

Pentagon's new plan: cargo rockets can transport troops all around the world in 90 minutes. And that is not everything. The rockets provide a valuable hypersonic transportation tool for humans, robots, and drones, as well as bombs and other systems. The new ability to send men and cargo anywhere on Earth is one of the things that makes those systems suitable for many roles. The rocket is one of the things that have more capacity than people even think.

Chemical rockets can create fuel in their body. The rocket just needs the electrolysis system. The weak thrust with a hydrogen-oxygen mixture can be compensated by injecting water into a rocket chamber. Or there must be some kind of structure where the pressure wave can jump to the front of the engine. The system requires only electricity and a filter that removes sodium and chlorine. 

The last Pentagon's rocket plan was Project Orion, the rocket that planned to use the small nuclear bombs to transfer the craft to Mars. The improved version of the Orion spacecraft is the system called Medusa. The Medusa system is the solar sail that is connected to Orion. It should give more power when nuclear bombs detonate behind the craft the particles hit a larger area. The Medusa system can also benefit from the particle flow from the sun that regular spacecraft. 

The Pentagon planned that project as the nuclear-powered space bomber. But the same technology could be used in the interplanetary spacecraft. Another interesting nuclear-powered airborne system was Project Pluto. The nuclear-powered ramjet engine should drive cruise missiles to unlimited flight. 

Images above: USAF cargo rocket could land anywhere on Earth in under 90 minute,  New Atlas

Above: Project Pluto. Global Security, SLAM Supersonic Low-Altitude Missile ("Project Pluto")

Illustration of a spacecraft enabled by nuclear thermal propulsion. Image generated by AI. (Sustainability Times, China Caught Off Guard as U.S. Unleashes Liquid Uranium Rocket to Conquer Mars with Unmatched Nuclear Speed)

Theoretically, Project Pluto was the most capable system that was ever tested. But the reality was that Project Pluto, or a nuclear-powered ramjet engine could cause pollution that could be worse than Chernobyl. The nuclear-powered ramjet-driven plane can fly to space and then dive back into the atmosphere where the engine system can fill its gas tanks. 

And then that gas can be driven through a nuclear reactor and that stored air can create thrust outside the atmosphere. The Pluto (Tory-IIC) engine could be like NERVA (Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application) but unlike NERVA or nuclear thermal rocket, NTR. In the atmosphere, Pluto breathes air from the atmosphere and heats it with a nuclear reactor. 

The Pluto engine can also operate in atmospheres where there is no oxygen. The system can also use any kind of liquid or gas for the thrust. So, that kind of system can open a route to the entire solar system. That gives it unlimited operational capacity. And we might think that the Russian  9M730 Burevestnik(SSC-X-9 Skyfall) missile is similar to Project Pluto. 

But modern systems can be more capable than those past projects. China tests new engine systems that base the use of liquid or molten uranium. The system injects that uranium into the rocket engine and it should give more punch than any other fission rocket system. The molten uranium makes the engine run very hot. And then the system will expand the fuel very much. That system will be more capable than NERVA but the problem is to keep its temperature low enough. AI-based solutions and new materials make that kind of system more powerful. 

https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/rocket-lab-rocket-experiment-global-cargo-delivery

https://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/systems/slam-pics.htm

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/tech-demo-missions-program/nuclear-thermal-propulsion-game-changing-technology-for-deep-space-exploration/

https://nasa.fandom.com/wiki/NERVA

 https://newatlas.com/military/cargo-rocket-land-90-minutes/

https://www.sustainability-times.com/energy/china-caught-off-guard-as-u-s-unleashes-liquid-uranium-rocket-to-conquer-mars-with-unmatched-nuclear-speed/

https://thedefensepost.com/2022/09/13/sierra-space-pentagon-rocket-cargo/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9M730_Burevestnik

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NERVA

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Orion_(nuclear_propulsion)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Pluto

Researchers are trying to create new alternatives for rockets.

"Illustration of an imaginative artwork depicting satellites piled up like a stack of pancakes. Image generated by AI." (Sustainability-times, Unstoppable Satellite Barrage: US Firm’s Hypersonic Cannon Fires Pancake Probes Into Space, Prompting Urgent Chinese Response)

Space rockets are tested and good systems for launching satellites into orbiters. But there is one problem with rockets. They are so noisy. And they need lots of space around them. There are a couple of alternatives. Researchers are trying to develop to replace those noisy systems. The easiest to make are the blimps, high-altitude unmanned airships that rise small Pegasus-type rockets to the edge of space. 

Those rockets will launch into orbit from the 40-kilometer altitude. The unmanned robot airships can use hydrogen for hovering, and explosions will not be dangerous to humans on board. Those systems are quieter than the regular rockets. 

The other version is the hypersonic aircraft that makes the ballistic jump. The satellite will release at the top point of the trajectory. Or the aircraft can pull that satellite behind it in the hypersonic glider. And when that aircraft makes the ballistic movement the satellite follows it. And then the ballistic movement acts like a sling to that satellite. 

Centrifugal launchers or spin launchers are tools that can replace rockets.  In those systems, the spinning plate accelerates the satellite at a very high speed. The spinning plate should be very large so that it stands for the spinning speed. If there is some kind of error the centripetal force destroys the plate. There is a possibility of connecting the spin launchers with magnetic accelerators, which can be connected to the stratospheric tube. 

The orbital centrifuge cannon can look like this. The image was made with AI. 

The tube itself can be connected with quadcopters. And it can have a telescopic structure. That means the system can push the stratospheric together. When the system is in use those quadcopters and electric motors pull that tower in full length. When the spin plate accelerates at full speed the system will open a hatch. 

At the top of that thing. Then it opens a ventilator that brings air behind the satellite. The magnetic track and pressure along with the magnetic system pull the satellite through the tube. Those satellites will not be very large. They can be about 1-2 kg microsatellites. Those satellites are packed in the aerodynamic shield. 

There are many variants of spin launchers. The laser system. That shoots below the satellite. Can give extra thrust. The system needs four lasers around the exit tube that give a stable push for the satellite capsule.  

There are models where the system throws the satellite to the ballistic, or suborbital trajectory. Then the small space shuttle, or space hook. That is connected to the space station or heavier satellite pulls that satellite upward. The orbital system catches the satellite. And pulls it upwards.  

In some models, the robot airships can carry extremely long whips. The spin launcher is like the Kevlar or spider silk rope. The rope will spin at a high speed. The length of that whip can be even kilometers. In some plans, there is a space station between Earth and the moon. There the whip length is enormous. 100 or even 1000 kilometers throw the small probes around the solar system. 

The thing is that the centrifugal canons that are connected with magnetic accelerators can be used in long-range artillery. Those systems can launch ammunition over long distances. When we think about the orbital spin launchers those systems can look like helicopter rotors. They can pull themselves into a small size. Then the origami-style system puts its structure into the full size. The magnetic accelerators can be put in the tubes. That is in the middle of solar panels. Those "space windmills" can send metal ammunition against targets at a very high speed. 

https://www.sustainability-times.com/energy/unstoppable-satellite-barrage-us-firms-hypersonic-cannon-fires-pancake-probes-into-space-prompting-urgent-chinese-response/

The most powerful solar-electric spacecraft is coming.

"An artist’s rendering of Gateway with the Power and Propulsion Element’s advanced thrusters propelling the lunar space station to the Moon. Credit: NASA/Alberto Bertolin" (ScitechDaily, NASA Builds the Most Powerful Solar Electric Spacecraft Ever)

Solar electric spacecraft are systems that can offer a clean and probably safe way to travel inside the asteroid belt. In the simplest possible systems, the solar power rockets use parabolic mirrors or lenses to vaporize and expand the propellant. Those rockets cannot operate in the atmosphere. In the more advanced system, solar power rockets use electricity from solar panels to give electricity to electrochemical- or ion engines. 

In electrochemical rockets, the system can use electricity or radiation like lasers or microwaves to give thrust. In electric jet engines, the electricity expands the air or some other gas. The electrochemical rockets are similar systems to the electric jet engines. 

But the front side of those systems is closed. The flap that closes the electric jet engine nose denies the exhaust gas flow forward. The problem with electrochemical rockets is their electric source. 

Nuclear power or solar power can be the tool that makes this kind of system real. The rocket itself can expand any gas like nitrogen or liquid nitrogen. The problem is that this kind of system requires very long wings. That it can make enough thrust.

The ion sail 

The ion sail aims ions into the solar sail. 

The ion system can aim ions at the solar sail. When an ion cannon sends ions to the solar sail, it can pull the craft with higher thrust than in cases, where the system aims ions backward. 

The ion engines use ions or anions to accelerate the spacecraft. Unlike those electric chemical engines, their thrust is very low. But there is the possibility to make the ion engine with higher thrust. That kind of ion system can blow ions to the solar sail. And that makes it possible to travel through the solar system. 

The solar electric spacecraft uses solar power to give electricity to its engines. The engine itself can use things like hydrogen or any other gas as a propellant. The system can expand and vaporize that propellant using electric arcs, lasers, or microwave systems.  

Solar electric spacecraft don't necessarily use ion engines. But solar power can also give electricity to particle accelerators. They can act as ion engines. Or those systems can create antimatter, like positrons that the system injects into propellant. 

That thing can give a very big punch to the propellant. That kind of solar electric system opens a path to the inner solar system. They can also act as the accelerator stages for nuclear rockets that travel to the outer solar system. 

The system can use solar power to accelerate the craft to the asteroid belt. And behind that it can separate the nuclear-powered stage and start to use nuclear power. The solar-power spacecraft can operate in space between Earth and Mars and the inner solar system. 

https://scitechdaily.com/nasa-builds-the-most-powerful-solar-electric-spacecraft-ever/

CALIPSO Lidar satellite can make incredibly sharp measurements of the atmosphere, ocean, and ground.

CALIPSO Lidar satellite can make incredibly sharp measurements of the atmosphere, ocean, and ground. 

Lidar (light detection and ranging) or "laser radar" systems can accurately measure the atmosphere and its chemical construction. Laser systems can detect pollution and other anomalies by using laser spectroscopy.  The laser beam stresses molecules that send light quantum in their spectral frequency. 

Researchers use the same system that determines the elemental construction of the structures by using spectral analysis when they want to determine the star's chemical fingerprint. The same systems can determine any chemical compound in the world. 

The lidar systems can also search for pollution that is left in oceans and measure earthquakes. The idea is that the altitude of the laser- or lidar satellites can make many missions by using the different types of laser light. 

When a lidar satellite measures earthquakes that system measures land movements. The high-accurate lidar satellite can conduct seismic research in large areas. The explosive that shot on some ground sends seismic waves into the ground. The satellite can measure those seismic waves by using similar methods with laser microphones.

"Researchers used the space-based CALIPSO lidar to measure the planet’s largest animal migration, which takes place when small sea creatures swim up from the depths at night to feed on phytoplankton, then back down again just before sunrise. Credit: NASA / Timothy Marvel" (ScitechDaily.com/CALIPSO Concludes: Lidar Satellite Mission’s 10 Billion Measurements Yielded Vital Atmospheric Insights)

The laser systems can use the same lasers as lidar detectors, laser microphones, and laser weapons. 

The thing that determines how accurate those measurements are. Is how accurately the system knows the satellite's altitude. So the land-based lasers can measure the lidar-satellites altitude. That helps to calibrate the system that can make those extremely highly accurate measurements. 

The laser satellites have many kinds of missions in the civil and military sectors. Lidar satellites can be used to measure pollution. Laser systems can used to make spectro-analysis about jet engine exhaust gas and other types of smoke or chemical exhaust. 

The laser satellites also can use lasers as eavesdropping tools. The laser satellites can use their lasers as laser microphones. The laser ray's width is one thing that determines it's power. Lidar systems use large-area laser rays. The system uses concave lenses to disperse the laser ray. 

Then the receiver analyzes the echo. The receiver is a regular CCD camera with a multiband spectro-analyzing system.  The thing is that the system can use different lenses for making rays with different widths.

The Northrop-Grumman corporation reseaches a 10 Kw laser that it can mount Humwee. Engineers can mount similar lasers on satellites. The concave lenses allow to use of that laser system as a lidar. But the same laser can be used to destroy other satellites and incoming ASAT missiles. The same system that is used in Humwee can give laser satellites the killer-satellite option. 

https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2023/09/northrop-grummans-compact-10-kw-anti-drone-laser-and-humvee-mounted-laser-against-mortars-rockets-and-more.html

https://scitechdaily.com/calipso-concludes-lidar-satellite-missions-10-billion-measurements-yielded-vital-atmospheric-insights/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lidar