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Breaking Free from Chemical Rockets

Welcome back to my blog! This post is for the second Action Project of the STEAM class, Frontiers. This class has been about the frontiers of science and discovery in space and the oceans. We studied marine ecology, biology, geology, and physiology in the first unit. We also looked at technological frontiers in the maritime sector, such as ways to clean up ocean pollution, capture carbon dioxide, and rebuild coral reefs. In this unit, we have looked at the stars, planets, and galaxies around us. We have learned about how the universe came to exist and how humans began to study it. For this Action Project, we have been tasked with writing a research paper about a frontier of our choosing in the field of space exploration. For my paper, I decided to look into propulsion systems or the types of rockets that can bring humans or crewless spacecraft from the Earth's surface into orbit. Propulsion systems have been researched and built for many years, so in a general sense, they aren't precisely a frontier. However, propulsion systems that do not achieve thrust via a chemical or fueled rocket are a newer area of study that I have focused on. I hope you enjoy reading. 




I hope you enjoyed reading my research paper and perhaps learned a thing or two. When I started out on this AP, I spent a lot of time gathering information and in some cases gathered too much or not enough. I chose propulsion systems because I thought they would be very engineering focused and they were. Some of the information I collected was difficult to understand and it took some time to fully grasp what I wanted to write about. After having finished the paper, I am satisfied with what I have written and learned about. There is a lot of progress ahead for alternative propulsion systems which will bring humans further into space than we could have thought possible in the very beginning of our exploration. This also happens to be the final Action Project of my time at GCE. I am both happy and sad for high school to be over but I am excited for what is coming after I graduate. Thank you for reading.
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