Technical papers, books, and articles

Aspirespace has benefited greatly from knowledge and advice passed-on by fellow rocketeers, so it's only fair that we pass on some of our own findings.

The technical papers below are written in PDF format for which you may need acrobat reader

We hope that you find these useful and educational, though remember that we're an amateur society: there may well be errors or omissions. Please send constructive criticism to Rick Newlands, check out his new book at the bottom of this page.

These papers get updated and added to regularly, so do browse again.

Modelling the nitrous run tank emptying : updated 10/7/2011
The physics of nitrous oxide : updated 8/7/2011
Rocketry aerodynamics: new 11/6/2011
A dynamic stability rocket vehicle simulator : updated 6/6/2011
Rocket vehicle loads and airframe design : new 12/4/2011
Mass properties of a hybrid's liquid propellant : 4/11/2010
Hybrid effects on stability : ammended 4/11/2010 (error in formula ammended)
Water rocket science for children: 29/9/2010 (play the slideshow to see the animated Gifs in action)
Recovery system design for large rockets : 10/9/2010
Hybrid safety : updated 18/1/2010
Introduction to hybrid design : updated 28/12/2009
Supersonics and Waveriding : updated 5/11/2007
Area-ruling, lowering rocket drag : updated 10/5/2007

Here's a zipped copy of the propellant evaluation program PROPEP, and its user-friendly front-end GUIpep. GUIpep and its installer were coded by Arthur J. Lekstutis. You will need to download winzip from the internet to install PROPEP properly. Read the file 'read this first' within this zip file before installing:

Install PROPEP and GUIpep zip file : updated 28/12/2009

New! Rick Newlands has written a book entitled 'Rocket Science and Spaceflight for young Rocketeers' which is a guide to home-built rocketry and home-built spacecraft for ages 14 and upwards (though a smart 12-year-old could understand the first half of the book). The final chapters are an advanced section for young and old rocketeers who really want to know!

You can buy this book direct from the publisher Lulu by searching in the 'buy' section of their website, or you can buy it from Amazon by searching on 'young rocketeers'.