History of Rockets

- First true rockets were used for warfare in 1200 AD, during the Mongol invasions of China. The
Chinese attached gunpowder canisters on their arrows to repel the attackers, calling them “arrows of
flying fire”
- However, rocketry started to become scientific when Sir Isaac Newton began recording
his initial observations of rocket flight, creating his 3 Laws of Motion that would continue
to be applied into astrophysics.
- Later on in 1898, the father of astronautics, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, suggested use of liquid propellant
in rockets, thus starting the proposal of rockets being used for space exploration.
- With the work of Tsiolkovsky and other physicists, the use of rockets grew. Countries first used it in
times of war, such as Germany’s V2, but later for high altitude flight and going into orbit.
- Rocket use increased dramatically during the space race, where a myriad of rockets were launched. The
incredible feats of Sputnik, Explorer 1, and the famed Apollo missions propelled humanity into a new era
of technology.
Today, after a period of lessening launches and space-related activities, rocket use has increased through
multiple successful liftoffs and better engines from private companies like Space-X and Blue Origin, that
continue to revitalize the rocket industry to further mankind into the cosmos.
How dey work (Liquid + Solid)
1. Rockets work by expelling their fuel out the back to generate enough thrust to
propel the rocket and counteract the force of gravity and air friction.
2. Liquid fuel works with an oxidizer and a combustion chamber. The oxidizer
and the fuel are pumped into the combustion chamber where it is ignited and
forced out of the exhaust of the rocket.
3. Solid fuel works by mixing the fuel with the oxidizer and solidifying the mixture
in a cylinder. When the solid fuel is ignited, it creates a large amount of gas at
a high temperature that travels through the combustion chamber and out
through the exhaust.
technical stuffs
Rockets use many different types of fuel combinations. Some of these fuels are well know, such as kerosene or liquid
hydrogen burned with a liquid oxygen. Early rockets used ethanol as a fuel, which is essentially alcohol. The engines used
to burn this fuel is arguably the most complicated part of the rocket. Engines work by using the fuel or oxidizer to cool the
engine and prevent it from melting in high temperatures. Fuel is then partially burned in the pre-burner, which is used to
power the pumps that pump the fuel and oxidizer. The fuel is then finally burned in the actual engine.

Rockets require large fractions of its mass to be fuel. It takes tons of energy to launch even the lightest of payloads into
orbit. This is the reason why early rocketry was difficult sense the technology to get into orbit barely existed and rockets like
the Saturn V had extremely large fuel tanks to send a relatively small payload with three people to the moon.

Rockets are built in stages. Each stage has a different set of engines and fuel tanks that can be separated off the rocket
during launch. Different stages can mean multiple inline portions of the rocket that are seperated, or attached boosters that
are jettisoned after their fuel is used. Early rockets consisted of a single stage and typically did not reach orbit. Having
multiple stages allows the rocket to jettison unneeded weight, allowing the same amount of fuel to do more work in pushing
the rocket farther
Conclusion
Rockets have allowed humanity to travel to the moon and back. They have been
innovated to allow for reusable parts and are now being designed to travel to Mars
and back. Rockets have allowed for the International Space Station to be built.
Without rockets, all of the achievements that humanity has made in space would
not be possible.