Introduction
If Ptolemy, Copernicus and Galileo were alive today, they would be amazed by how fast the human race has advanced on its exploration of the skies. No longer are astronomers restricted to peering through Earth's musky, temperamental atmosphere to view the planets and the stars. Space probes have visited every planet except one. Humankind has lived in space and even walked on the moon. Rocketry has made all this possible.
Rockets
The ability to leave our planet and venture into the dark void of the Solar System is considered by many to be the important technological advance in the history of the human race. It was made possible by the development of rocketry. Rockets, powered by gunpowder, were first used by the Chinese over q,000 years ago. Rockets today work in the same way but use liquid fuel instead. Oxygen is needed in order for engines to work, and therefore the only engine that can work in the vacuum of space is a rocket, which carries its own oxygen.
How rockets work
We are all held on Earth by the force of gravity. If there was no such thing as gravity, we would all be able to float into space at will, and life on the planet would certainly be extremely difficult! As it is, a vehicle wanting to fly into space must first create enough upwards thrust to escape the clutches of gravity. A rocket does this by burning vast quantities of fuel and releasing the exhaust gases through a nozzle in the bottom of its engines. This produces enough force to push the rocket skywards.
Ground Control
All missions into space need support from scientists and engineers on the ground. There are many different factors concerned in a space launch. The astronauts alone would not be able to control all of them at once. At the NASA , USA, shifts of flight controllers check everything on spacecraft to make sure the mission is going to plan. This includes making sure the craft is on right course, checking communication links and ensuring there is enough oxygen and fuel to complete the flight.
Some important facts
1) The Mercury- Atlas launcher was used in USA between 1962 and 1963.
2) The Vostock rockets were designed in the Soviet Union. They put the first man in space when Yuri Gagarin travelled into orbit using a Vostock rocket in 1961.
3) A spacecraft must be able to fly faster than 30,000 km/hr to escape the pull of Earth's gravity. If it travels slower than this, it will be pulled back to the ground.
4) Big rockets are needed to carry the fuel required to blast into space. But the further a rocket travels from Earth, the weaker the gravity becomes, so less power is needed. Because of this, rockets are usually made up of sections. As the fuel is used up in a section, the whole section is jettisoned, making the spacecraft lighter.
5) The Saturn V rocket was used in USA between 1968 and 1972. It carried the first astronaut to the moon in 1969.
Facts and Figures
900 : The chinese make solid rocket fuel out of gunpowder.
1895 : Konstatin Tsiolkovsky suggests that a rocket can be made to work in a vacum.
1926 : Robert Goddard is the first person to launch powered by a liquid fuel.
1944 : German scientists develop the V2, the first ballistic missile to be powered by rocket technology.
If Ptolemy, Copernicus and Galileo were alive today, they would be amazed by how fast the human race has advanced on its exploration of the skies. No longer are astronomers restricted to peering through Earth's musky, temperamental atmosphere to view the planets and the stars. Space probes have visited every planet except one. Humankind has lived in space and even walked on the moon. Rocketry has made all this possible.
Rockets
The ability to leave our planet and venture into the dark void of the Solar System is considered by many to be the important technological advance in the history of the human race. It was made possible by the development of rocketry. Rockets, powered by gunpowder, were first used by the Chinese over q,000 years ago. Rockets today work in the same way but use liquid fuel instead. Oxygen is needed in order for engines to work, and therefore the only engine that can work in the vacuum of space is a rocket, which carries its own oxygen.
How rockets work
We are all held on Earth by the force of gravity. If there was no such thing as gravity, we would all be able to float into space at will, and life on the planet would certainly be extremely difficult! As it is, a vehicle wanting to fly into space must first create enough upwards thrust to escape the clutches of gravity. A rocket does this by burning vast quantities of fuel and releasing the exhaust gases through a nozzle in the bottom of its engines. This produces enough force to push the rocket skywards.
Ground Control
All missions into space need support from scientists and engineers on the ground. There are many different factors concerned in a space launch. The astronauts alone would not be able to control all of them at once. At the NASA , USA, shifts of flight controllers check everything on spacecraft to make sure the mission is going to plan. This includes making sure the craft is on right course, checking communication links and ensuring there is enough oxygen and fuel to complete the flight.
Some important facts
1) The Mercury- Atlas launcher was used in USA between 1962 and 1963.
2) The Vostock rockets were designed in the Soviet Union. They put the first man in space when Yuri Gagarin travelled into orbit using a Vostock rocket in 1961.
3) A spacecraft must be able to fly faster than 30,000 km/hr to escape the pull of Earth's gravity. If it travels slower than this, it will be pulled back to the ground.
4) Big rockets are needed to carry the fuel required to blast into space. But the further a rocket travels from Earth, the weaker the gravity becomes, so less power is needed. Because of this, rockets are usually made up of sections. As the fuel is used up in a section, the whole section is jettisoned, making the spacecraft lighter.
5) The Saturn V rocket was used in USA between 1968 and 1972. It carried the first astronaut to the moon in 1969.
Facts and Figures
900 : The chinese make solid rocket fuel out of gunpowder.
1895 : Konstatin Tsiolkovsky suggests that a rocket can be made to work in a vacum.
1926 : Robert Goddard is the first person to launch powered by a liquid fuel.
1944 : German scientists develop the V2, the first ballistic missile to be powered by rocket technology.
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