Innovations and Emerging Challenges in Aerospace Propulsion Systems

Dear Colleagues,

Aerospace propulsion is the cornerstone of humanity’s quest to explore and utilize the skies and outer space. From conventional chemical rockets and gas turbine engines to emerging electric and hybrid propulsion architectures, propulsion technologies continue to evolve, enabling faster, farther, and more sustainable access to the atmosphere and beyond. Today, the field stands at a critical inflection point, driven by the demands of reusable launch systems, hypersonic transportation, deep-space exploration, and increasingly stringent environmental sustainability requirements.

This Special Issue aims to showcase the latest innovations and to address the critical scientific and engineering challenges confronting aerospace propulsion. We seek contributions that advance the state of the art in performance, efficiency, durability, and system reliability, while also exploring disruptive concepts that may redefine next-generation aerospace vehicles. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, advances in air-breathing propulsion systems, rocket propulsion technologies, electric and plasma-based propulsion, environmentally benign (green) propellants, thermal management strategies, and the integration of artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing techniques into propulsion system design and optimization.

We invite researchers, engineers, and industry practitioners to submit original research articles, comprehensive review papers, or case studies that provide substantive and rigorous insights into the science, technology, and engineering of aerospace propulsion. By bringing together diverse disciplinary perspectives, this Special Issue seeks to foster cross-disciplinary collaboration, accelerate technology maturation, and inspire the next generation of propulsion innovations.

This Special Issue welcomes submissions on a broad spectrum of topics, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Air-breathing propulsion systems (turbojets, turbofans, ramjets, scramjets, and combined-cycle engines);
• Rocket propulsion systems (liquid, solid, hybrid, and environmentally friendly propellants);
• Electric and plasma propulsion;
• Nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) and nuclear electric propulsion (NEP);
• Novel and emerging propulsion concepts (rotating detonation engines, pulse detonation engines, etc.);
• Combined-cycle propulsion systems for reusable launch vehicles;
• Integrated propulsion–airframe design and multidisciplinary optimization;
• Advanced materials and thermal protection systems for extreme operating environments;
• Combustion dynamics, instability mechanisms, and flame stabilization;
• High-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and multi-physics simulations;
• Machine learning and artificial intelligence applications in propulsion design, optimization, and controli;
• Advanced experimental diagnostics and ground-based testing methodologies;
• Propulsion system health monitoring, fault detection, and prognostics;
• Environmental impact mitigation and sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs).

Prof. Dr. Yongzhou Li
Prof. Dr. Kunyuan Zhang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Aerospace is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.