Space Forum / Space Flight / February 2006

 I just finished reading This New Ocean that covers the space age.  I
really wasn't looking forward to the Skylab part but after I read it and
then googled up the pictures of Skylab I was happily surprised.  That Skylab
looked pretty cool.  It looked like a real lab.  It looked big ...

Are there any rocket fuels -- existing or potential -- that are less
polluting than kerosene or hydrogen?  If so, are any of them
economically feasible?

Proposed system to launch raw materials from the lunar surface to
escape velocity:
At the top of a 160 meter tall tower is a platform rotating at 100 rpm.
Attached to the platform are two 160 meter tethers, also spinning,

Watching the NH launch reminded me of a something that's been bothering
me for a while: why is the arrangement of SRBs on the Atlas V
asymmetric?  How is the asymmetry of the SRB thrust compensated for?
By gimballing the RD-180s?  By offsetting the RD-180s?  In the former

Does anyone know of a COTS star pattern identification software?
Obviously, 'lost in space' will also work (might be more expensive,
though).
References to literature/descriptions of relevant algorithms would also

Is there a decent multistage rocket equation calculator
on the web? Just looking for a simple one that accepts the
usual inputs: # of stages, mass fraction, specific impulse,
payload, etc, and outputs the resultant delta V.