Part 1-The Early History of Rocketry

The Invention of Rockets

The earliest solid rocket fuel was a form of gunpowder
The earliest recorded mention of gunpowder comes

from China late in the third century before Christ

Bamboo tubes filled with gunpowder were tossed into
ceremonial fires during religious festivals
The imperfectly sealed tubes which were propelled by
the fuel inspired the rocket invention

Rockets in Ancient Times

Early Chinese rockets were used in

warfare and celebrations

By 1045 AD. the use of gunpowder and
rocket was an integral aspect of
Chinese military
In 1232 AD the Chinese used rockets to
repel Mongols attacking the city of Kaifung-fu

Arrival of Rockets in Europe

Rockets arrived in Europe in 1300 AD
During the early introduction of rockets to Europe,

they were used only as weapons

French army used rockets during their Hundred Years
War against the English
Dutch military started using rockets in 1650
The Germans' first military rocket experiments began
in 1668

Rockets for warfare(18th -19Th centuries)

As the 18th Century dawned, European

military experts began to take a serious

interest in rockets
In Britain, Sir William Congreve developed a
rocket that could fire to about 9,000 feet
The British used the Congreve rockets
against the United States in the War of 1812

 During the World War I, rockets were

first fired from aircraft

The French were the principal users of
aerial rockets, which were used to
shoot down enemy hydrogen gas-filled
observation balloons

Rockets as Inventions(late 19th Century)

During the 19th century, rocket enthusiasts

and inventors began to appear in almost

every country
Claude Ruggieri, an Italian living in Paris,
apparently rocketed small animals into
space as early as 1806. Payloads were
recovered by parachute

Major Drawback in rocket development

The type of fuel was the principal
drawback to rockets throughout this
period of development
Experiments were under way to develop
a more powerful, liquid-propelled
rocket

Pioneers in development of Liquid

Propelled Rocket
In 1903, Konstantian Tsiolkovsky, a

Russian school teacher, published a report

that suggested the use of liquid propellants
for rockets in order to achieve greater range.
Tsiolkovsky stated that the speed and range
of a rocket were limited by the exhaust
velocity of escaping gases.

From Theory to Practice

In early 20th Century as Wright

brothers were preparing to become the

first men to fly, a young American
named Robert H. Goddard was
already designing rockets to probe the
upper atmosphere and delve into space

Robert H. Goddard
In 1926, Goddard launched the first liquid-

fueled rocket and laid the foundation for a

technology that would eventually take man
to the moon and beyond.
Fueled by liquid oxygen and gasoline,
Robert Goddard's rocket flew for only 2.5
seconds, climbed 41 feet, and landed 184
feet away in a cabbage patch.

Dr. Hermann Oberth

June 25,1894-Dec 28, 1989

A Hungarian-born German astrophysicist

and engineer
Considered one of the founding fathers of
rocketry and astronautics
president of the German Society for Space
Travel

Wernher von Braun

March 23, 1912 June 16, 1977
A German rocket scientist, aerospace engineer, space

architect, and one of the leading figures in the

development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany
during world war II and after war in the United States
Responsible for the design and realization of the V-2
combat rocket during World War II
The chief architect of the Saturn V launch vehicle, the
super booster that propelled the Apollo spacecraft to
the Moon

Breaking the Sound Barrier

October 14, 1947-Chuck Yeager flew
X-1 at Mach 1
November 20, 1953- Scott
Crossfield flew X-2 at Mach 2
September 27,1956-Milburn Apt

was killed trying to fly at Mach 3

Space Race
Started July 29, 1957
At the convention of the 1957-1958

International Geophysical Year, The United

States announced its intent to launch an
artificial satellite known as Vanguard by the
spring of 1958
The Soviet Union succeeded in launching
Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957

Sputnik
First artificial satellite in space
Built and launched by the Soviet Union
Sputnik 1 was launched on October 4, 1957
Sent radio signals to Earth and determined

the density of upper atmosphere

Sputnik 2 was launched on November 3,
carried a dog, Laika

Explorer 1
The US first artificial satellite
Launched on February 1, 1958

carried scientific

instrumentation and detected

the theorized Van Allen
radiation belt.

To learn more, click on:

http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k12/TRC/Rockets/history_of_rockets.html