Propulsion Systems of the Future

During more than 40 years of spaceflight, a lot of things have changed. Today's Space Shuttle is a luxury ship compared to the Mercury capsules that carried the first American astronauts into space. Forty years ago, a lot of people might have had a hard time believing that Americans and Russians would be living together in space on one Space Station. Space probes have visited every planet except Pluto, and a mission there is currently being planned.

One thing that has changed very little, however, is the way rockets work. While different fuels have been used, and current rocket engines are more high-tech than their early predecessors, the basic concepts involved are basically the same. But, NASA researchers are currently working on a way to change that, as well.

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Man going into space is really a dream of mine. I've mentioned it several times here I know. Can you image even being the people that think up this stuff and purpose these ideas. Now those people are on the cutting edge.