Index The Advanced Space Transportation Program (ASTP) is part of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. As of right now, if one wished to travel across the solar system in a

Field Drives reasonable amount of time, we would need to increase the energy used on a spacecraft two orders of magnitude (http://www.highway2space.com/ast/revolutionary.html). This program is designed to

Collision Sails conduct basic research in the fields of propulsion and space transportation. ASTP researches systems that will be able to make it into orbit and travel through space at a lower weight, and cost. By

Fission and researching new ways to make spacecraft lighter, the objects will be able to reach greater speeds, or

Antimatter the same speeds quicker because of the physics law that states the force of an object equals its mass

times it's acceleration, F=ma. If one reduces an objects mass but exerts the same force on the object,

Bibliography the object accelerates quicker.

ASTP has designed and tested a liquid-hydrogen turbopump. This component is just one of many that will be part of a new hydrogen fueled rocket engine. The oxidizer preburner, pictured below, generates hot gases that flow through a turbine that is part of the turbopump. This causes the rotor of the turbopump to spin at roughly 50,000 rpm, which creates 250,000 pounds of thrust (NASA, Air Force). The combustion of the hydrogen fuel not only reduces the exhaust emissions of the rocket engine, but it will keep the engine cooler while in flight (NASA, Air Force). This is important because The Law of Conservation of Energy states that energy cannot be created nor destroyed, it can only change forms. By keeping the engine cooler, there is less mechanical energy being converted to thermal energy. This increases the efficiency of the engine and should allow the engine to last ten times as long. This new engine is not the only propulsion project ASTP is work on. They are also researching propulsion caused by fission, and antimatter.

Figure 6. The oxidizer preburner that is part of the

newly designed turbopump.