Air-Breathing Rocket Engine

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Air-Breathing Rocket Engine

 

a combined reaction engine in which the cycles of an air-breathing jet engine and a rocket engine take place. It may be used in astronautics for space shuttles. The term is sometimes used to denote an engine in which the oxidizer is atmospheric air liquefied in flight; this hypothetical type of engine has been proposed for prolonged flight in the upper atmosphere.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.