A parametric study of certain low-molecular-weight compounds as nuclear rocket propellants—II

Ammonia

Firmin Joseph Krieger

ResearchPublished 1959

The second in a series of investigations which compare certain chemical compounds for use as possible propellants for nuclear-powered rockets. Although hydrogen, with its high specific impulse, is theoretically the most efficient nuclear rocket propellant, some of its physical properties (namely, its low boiling point and low specific gravity) present formidable logistic and design difficulties. While other compounds being considered are inferior to hydrogen in specific impulse, their physical properties in some cases make them less difficult to work with and, therefore, more desirable than hydrogen as nuclear-rocket propellants. A parametric study, presented in this series, will help to determine what these conditions are. This research memorandum gives the results for ammonia.

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Krieger, Firmin Joseph, A parametric study of certain low-molecular-weight compounds as nuclear rocket propellants—II: Ammonia. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1959. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_memoranda/RM2401.html.
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