The origins and growth of short range liquid propellant ballistic rockets

The development of liquid propellants for ballistic rockets is often measured by increases in the sea level and vacuum specific impulse as well as the propellant’s specific gravity. The properties of the propellant usually control the design of the rocket engine as well as the ancillary hardware. While significant advances in engine design, aerodynamics design, and hardware have been achieved during the last six decades, the increase in the propellant’s specific impulse and density has only experienced slight improvement and largely remained stagnant. Since the first true liquid propelled rocket developed by Goddard, there has been little advancement in the nature of the liquid propellant used to power missile flight, with nearly all developed and existent designs employing a hydrocarbon fuel and RFNA or IRFNA oxidizer. It is clear that a parallel research track into the design and development of new liquid fuels with improved specific impulse and more attractive specific gravity parameters holds the potential to significantly advance future ballistic missile performance. In this work we track and examine the origin and development of liquid propelled ballistic missiles with a focus on the advancements and limitations of their propellants.