Rocket Propulsion Elements

For sixty years, Sutton's Rocket Propulsion Elements has been regarded as the single most authoritative sourcebook on rocket propulsion technology. As with the previous edition, coauthored with Oscar Biblarz, the Eighth Edition of Rocket Propulsion Elements offers a thorough introduction to basic principles of rocket propulsion for guided missiles, space flight, or satellite flight. It describes the physical mechanisms and designs for various types of rockets' and provides an understanding of how rocket propulsion is applied to flying vehicles.

Updated and strengthened throughout, the Eighth Edition explores:

• The fundamentals of rocket propulsion, its essential technologies, and its key design rationale

• The various types of rocket propulsion systems, physical phenomena, and essential relationships

• The latest advances in the field such as changes in materials, systems design, propellants, applications, and manufacturing technologies, with a separate new chapter devoted to turbopumps

• Liquid propellant rocket engines and solid propellant rocket motors, the two most prevalent of the rocket propulsion systems, with in-depth consideration of advances in hybrid rockets and electrical space propulsion

Comprehensive and coherently organized, this seminal text guides readers evenhandedly through the complex factors that shape rocket propulsion, with both theory and practical design considerations. Professional engineers in the aerospace and defense industries as well as students in mechanical and aerospace engineering will find this updated classic indispensable for its scope of coverage and utility.

Sutton's book should be the very first purchased for anyone who wants to learn and understand the ins and outs of both solid and liquid-fuel rocket propulsion. No other book even comes close.


I am not a rocket scientist, butý   November 12, 2000
Danny Hillis (Los Angeles)
26 out of 28 found this review helpful

It is always a pleasure to find a comprehensive overview of a field that can be understood by a non-specialist. I cannot testify as to how useful Rocket Propulsion Elements would be to an aerospace engineer, but for a technically inclined amateur like me it is a wonderful book. One of the things I like best about it is that it mixes theory with practical examples. It give a clear idea not only of the principles of rocket propulsion ,but also of the current state of the art. I was expecting this for the field of chemical rocketry, but I was delighted to find explanations of more obscure technologies, such as electric rocket of various types. I only wish that there were books this good in every field.


Rocket Propulsion Elements   February 12, 2001
Pat Bird (Monterey, CA USA)
14 out of 14 found this review helpful

It is hard to believe that a technical book could keep me up until 2 in the morning, but this one sure did. The basic principles of rocket science are not at all confusing, nor are they incomprehensible, when presented in this manner. The authors really want to teach, not just show off their knowledge, and this book has reached that goal. I actually understand what the rocket scientist is doing, what they are up against, and why it takes multitudes of experiments, trials, and special materials to take a payload to space. The math is basic, yet encompassing, and anyone with a high school education can understand "THE" esoteric subject of our times. Authors Biblarz and Sutton are brilliant educators.


The gem of any rocketry-related library!!!!!   June 27, 2001
Justin Pucci (Phoenix, AZ USA)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful

The seventh edition of this book is absolutely amazing!!! It presents the material in a clear and concise manner without losing the reader. This book provides up to date information about every type of rocket propulsion system from solids and liquids, to hybrids and exotics. It also includes sections on design and trade studies for different systems. Of particular interest to me were the sections on hybrid propulsion and liquid engine injector design. This book is highly recommended to anyone interested in rocket propulsion design and analysis! 5 stars indeed!!!!!


Beware of Typographical Errors   April 6, 2003
Douglas J. Quattrochi (Boston, MA USA)
10 out of 11 found this review helpful

The readability of this book makes it a good investment for aspiring rocket engineers.

Just be aware that this edition has a lot of typographical errors. Out of the few chapters for which I've checked the math (2, 3, and 11), I found typos/errors in examples 2-2, 2-3, and 11-3, typos in equations 3-16, 3-26, and two incorrect references to past equations on page 49.

Perhaps this is average for three chapters in a technical book, but with all the positive reviews of the 7th edition I thought I'd point out a reason to find an earlier (or wait for a later) edition.