Review of United States Air Force and Department of Defense Aerospace Propulsion Needs

Rocket and air-breathing propulsion systems are the foundation on which planning for future aerospace systems rests. A Review of United States Air Force and Department of Defense Aerospace Propulsion Needs assesses the existing technical base in these areas and examines the future Air Force capabilities the base will be expected to support. This report also defines gaps and recommends where future warfighter capabilities not yet fully defined could be met by current science and technology development plans.

• Front Matter
• Summary
• 1 Overview
• 2 Military Propulsion Needs
• 3 Air-Breathing Propulsion
• 4 Rocket Propulsion Systems for Access to Space
• 5 Rocket Propulsion Systems for In-space Operations and Missiles
• 6 Cross-cutting Technologies
• 7 Strategies, Issues, and Funding Trends
• Appendix A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members
• Appendix B Meetings and Speakers
• Appendix C Site Visits
• Appendix D Background Information on the Delta IV and Atlas V Families of Large Launch Vehicles
• Appendix E Background Information on FALCON Launch Vehicle Concepts