propulsion

Robert Goddard launched the first liquid-fueled rocket in 1926, held 214 patents, and was ridiculed by the NYT — which retracted its criticism hours before Apollo 11 landed.

Proxima Centauri is 4.24 light-years away. With our fastest spacecraft today, the journey would take 70,000 years. Here's what it would actually take to get there faster.

The nearest star, Proxima Centauri, is 4.24 light-years away. At Voyager 1's speed the trip would take roughly 75,000 years. Here is what faster propulsion concepts could achieve, and what stops them.

The nearest star is 4.24 light-years away — roughly 40 trillion kilometres. Reaching it with current technology would take 80,000 years. What would it actually take to become a civilisation that spans multiple star systems?

From Newton's third law to the Tsiolkovsky rocket equation, this is what actually happens inside a rocket engine, how engine cycles differ, and why efficiency and thrust pull in opposite directions.