Rocket propulsion technologies

Rocket propulsion technologies may refer to:

• Centrifuge/ catapult launch systems, theoretical launch systems designed to employ an Earth based centrifuge/ catapult launch system to propel rockets and satellites into low Earth orbit.
• Field propulsion rocket, a rocket that derives its propulsive energy from existing sources of energy present in outer space such as gravitational and magnetic fields from stars and planets.
• Hybrid-propellant rocket, a dual chemical fuel rocket system currently largely employed by amateur rocketry enthusiasts.
• Ion thrust, a subcomponent of Spacecraft electric propulsion.
• Laser propulsion, a theoretical rocket related spaceship propulsion system which would employ a powerful ground based laser paired with a spaceship based Photon sail.
• Matter-antimatter annihilation rocket, a theoretical rocket which would employ the energy derived by the interaction between matter and antimatter for its propulsion. Such a propulsion system is widely discussed as a possible candidate for eventually enabling interstellar travel.
• Monopropellant rocket, a rocket that employs only a single type of chemical propellant.
• Nuclear electric rocket, the theoretical study of the use of a nuclear reactor to generate electricity, which electricity could then be used as a component of a rocket propulsion system.
• Photon rocket, a theoretical spacecraft which would rely upon photon emissions from the rocket itself for its propulsion.
• Plasma propulsion engine, a subcomponent of Spacecraft electric propulsion.
• Pulsed plasma thruster, a theoretical subtype of Spacecraft electric propulsion which is primarily intended for use on future interplanetary space missions.
• Relativistic rocket, a rocket theoretically propelled at near the speed of light. While no known rocket propulsion system is yet capable of propelling a rocket at such great speeds, such would be required in order to be able to travel beyond the Solar system and to attempt to reach any nearby star system within a practical timeframe of years, instead of the many centuries that mankind's currently employed rocket propulsion systems would necessarily require.
• Rocket engine, a description of the design and application of currently employed rocket engines.
• Spacecraft electric propulsion, the theory and practice of typically Unpulsed spacecraft electric propulsion, which is commonly used to maintain the orbits of Earth satellites.
• Spacecraft propulsion, a description of current rocket propulsion application and theory.
• Thermonuclear fusion pulse propulsion, the theoretical study of the use of thermonuclear fusion to propel rockets, for possible use on future interplanetary space missions.
• Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VSIMR), a theoretical rocket propulsion system intended primarily for use in possible future interplanetary space missions.