Is a steam powered rocket possible?

The water is allowed to escape as steam through a rocket nozzle to produce thrust. Steam rockets are usually pressure fed, but more complex designs using solar energy or nuclear energy have been proposed.

What is used to propel a rocket?

In a solid rocket, the fuel and oxidizer are mixed together and packed into a solid cylinder. Once the fuel starts to burn, hot exhaust gas is produced, which is used to propel the rocket, and a “flame front” is produced which moves into the propellant.

Can heat be used as propulsion?

Solar thermal propulsion systems can be used for interplanetary missions. In such missions, large arcs of solar concentrators are used to accurately focus sunlight onto the absorber. The heat is then transferred directly to the propellant, creating a continuous thrust to power the system.

Can steam power work in space?

Yes, you could boil water to build up lots of pressure, and vent the steam as a propellant, and the spaceship would move. But it would move very slowly, and then you’d be out of water. It’s not a very effective propulsion mechanism.

What does NASA use for rocket fuel?

hydrogen gas
NASA has relied upon hydrogen gas as rocket fuel to deliver crew and cargo to space. With the recent focus on human missions to the moon and eventually Mars, hydrogen will continue to be innovatively stored, measured, processed and employed.

Can a rocket be solar powered?

A solar thermal rocket is a theoretical spacecraft propulsion system that would make use of solar power to directly heat reaction mass, and therefore would not require an electrical generator, like most other forms of solar-powered propulsion do.

Can steam be used to power a rocket?

The other answers don’t actually answer the question, they tell you about rockets driven by combustion of a fuel and an oxidizer. Yes, steam can be used to power a rocket. Steam can have enormous power!

What kind of gas is used to propel a rocket?

Any high pressure gas can be used to propel a rocket. The the exhaust of a rocket engine using liquid hydrogen & liquid oxygen as propellants is nothing but steam, but at a very high pressure and at a very high temperaure. Depends on what your definition of what a rocket is.

Can you use steam to propel yourself into space?

Using steam to propel yourself in space obviously requires that you: You might be able to scavenge water from comets, etc., but this is still a very wasteful process, and water doesn’t simply grow on trees in space. Furthermore, water and large, complex systems don’t typically play nice together.

Is it possible to boil water to propel a ship?

Yes, you could boil water to build up lots of pressure, and vent the steam as a propellant, and the spaceship would move. But it would move very slowly, and then you’d be out of water. It’s not a very effective propulsion mechanism. The question didn’t state that the steam engine needs to be used to propel the ship.