INTRODUCTION

The fall of 2010 will mark the 53rd anniversary of mankind’s first foray into space. Since

the first unmanned satellite Sputnik I was launched, the romanticism surrounding space travel

has led to the launch of many more spacecrafts, each embarking on different missions. Mankind

has too explored the feasibility of other rocket drives to help push the frontier in space. In this

research, I have seen many different unconventional rocket propulsion drives. From the realistic

to the seemingly impossible, rockets. Undoubtedly, all of them deliver a range of exciting

possibilities and prospects for future space travel. Yet many of them are at present unfeasible, be

it due to the incapability of current technology or due to politically or economically charged

reasons. I feel that this can be changed.

BODY

A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle that obtains thrust from a rocket

engine. Rocket engine exhaust is formed entirely from propellant carried within the rocket.

Rocket engines work by action and reaction and push rockets forward simply by expelling their

exhaust in the opposite direction at high speed, and can therefore work in the vacuum of space.

In fact, rockets work more efficiently in space than in an atmosphere. Multistage rockets are

capable of attaining escape velocity from Earth and therefore can achieve unlimited maximum

altitude. Compared with air breathing engines, rockets are lightweight and powerful and capable

of generating large accelerations. To control their flight, rockets rely on momentum, airfoils,

auxiliary reaction engines, gimbaled thrust, momentum wheels, and deflection of the exhaust

stream, propellant flow, spin, or gravity. Rockets for military and recreational uses date back to

at least 13th-century China. Significant scientific, interplanetary and industrial use did not occur

until the 20th century, when rocketry was the enabling technology for the Space Age, including
setting foot on the Earth's moon. Rockets are now used for fireworks, weaponry, ejection seats,

and launch vehicles for artificial satellites, human spaceflight, and space exploration. Chemical

rockets are the most common type of high power rocket, typically creating a high speed exhaust

by the combustion of fuel with an oxidizer. The stored propellant can be a simple pressurized gas

or a single liquid fuel that disassociates in the presence of a catalyst (monopropellants), two

liquids that spontaneously react on contact (hypergolic propellants), two liquids that must be

ignited to react, a solid combination of fuel with oxidizer (solid fuel), or solid fuel with liquid

oxidizer (hybrid propellant system). Chemical rockets store a large amount of energy in an easily

released form, and can be very dangerous. However, careful design, testing, construction and use

minimizes risks.

The word "rocket" can mean different things. Most people think of a tall, thin, round vehicle.

They think of a rocket that launches into space. "Rocket" can mean a type of engine. The word

also can mean a vehicle that uses that engine. How Does a Rocket Engine Work? Like most

engines, rockets burn fuel. Most rocket engines turn the fuel into hot gas. The engine pushes the

gas out its back. The gas makes the rocket move forward. A rocket is different from a jet engine.

A jet engine needs air to work. A rocket engine doesn't need air. It carries with it everything it

needs. A rocket engine works in space, where there is no air. There are two main types of rocket

engines. Some rockets use liquid fuel. The main engines on the space shuttle orbiter use liquid

fuel. The Russian Soyuz uses liquid fuels. Other rockets use solid fuels. On the side of the space

shuttle are two white solid rocket boosters. They use solid fuels. Fireworks and model rockets

also fly using solid fuels. Why Does a Rocket Work? In space, an engine has nothing to push

against. So how do rockets move there? Rockets work by a scientific rule called Newton's third

law of motion. English scientist Sir Isaac Newton listed three Laws of Motion. He did these more
than 300 years ago. His third law says that for every action, there is an equal and opposite

reaction. The rocket pushes on its exhaust. The exhaust pushes the rocket, too. The rocket pushes

the exhaust backward. The exhaust makes the rocket move forward. This rule can be seen on

Earth. Imagine a person standing on a skateboard. Imagine that person throwing a bowling ball.

The ball will go forward. The person on the skateboard will move, too. The person will move

backward. Because the person is heavier, the bowling ball will move farther. When Were

Rockets Invented? The first rockets we know about were used in China in the 1200s. These solid

rockets were used for fireworks. Armies also used them in wars. In the next 700 years, people

made bigger and better solid rockets. Many of these were used for wars too. In 1969, the United

States launched the first men to land on the moon using a Saturn V rocket. How Does NASA

Use Rockets? Early NASA missions used rockets built by the military. Alan Shepard was the

first American in space. He flew on the U.S. Army's Redstone rocket. John Glenn was the first

American in orbit. He flew on an Atlas rocket. NASA's Gemini missions used the Titan II rocket.

The first rockets NASA built to launch astronauts were the Saturn I, the Saturn IB and the Saturn

V. These rockets were used for the Apollo missions. The Apollo missions sent men to the moon.

A Saturn V also launched the Skylab space station. The space shuttle uses rocket engines. NASA

uses rockets to launch satellites. It also uses rockets to send probes to other worlds. These rockets

include the Atlas V, the Delta II, the Pegasus and Taurus. NASA uses smaller "sounding rockets"

for scientific research. These rockets go up and come back down. They do not fly into orbit. How

Will NASA Use Rockets in the Future? New rockets are being developed today. They will

launch astronauts on future missions. The new rockets will not look like the space shuttle. These

rockets will look more like earlier ones. They will be tall and round and thin. These rockets will

take astronauts into space. They will take supplies to the International Space Station. NASA also
is working on a powerful new rocket called a heavy lift vehicle. This rocket will be able to take

big loads into space. Together, these new rockets will make it possible to explore other worlds.

Someday they may send human to mars.

Several companies in many countries now manufacture unscrewed rockets — the United States,

India, Europe and Russia, to name a few — and routinely send military and civilian payloads

into space. And scientists and engineers are continually working toward developing even more

sophisticated rockets. Stratolaunch, the aerospace design company backed by Paul Allen and

Burt Rutan, aims to launch satellites using civilian aircraft. SpaceX and Blue Origin have also

developed reusable first-stage rockets; SpaceX now has reusable Falcon 9 rockets that routinely

make cargo runs to the International Space Station.

Experts predict that rockets of the future will be able to carry bigger satellites into space and may

be able to carry multiple satellites at the same time, the Los Angeles Times reported. These

rockets could use new composite materials, advances in electronics or even artificial intelligence

to perform their work. Future rockets may also use different fuels — such as methane — that are

healthier for the environment than the more traditional kerosene that is used in rockets today.

REFLECTION

I would also like to make a significant point. With the universe in the equation, mankind will be

judged as an entity by its greatest achievement and not by the achievements of its strongest

member. For progress out of Earth, a place where all humans collectively call home, there has to

be a united effort by all mankind. I believe that if there was ever an opportunity for all the

governments of the world to work together, this would be it. This shift in vested interest away

from individual countries would definitely help alleviate the political pressure against nuclear
propulsion research, which if harnessed, will offer an immense pool of energy. In addition, the

huge increase in the availability of funds would allow deeper research into the Mach Effect and

antimatter drives, which could well offer the best mode of interstellar travel.

In addition, it is in my opinion that while technology is a big impediment, it should not be a

reason for the non-usage of a particular drive, especially when scalability is a determining factor.

A scaled down version could be implemented on existing spacecrafts to augment current

chemically propelled spacecrafts. While a solar sail spacecraft has never been successfully

launched, solar sails have been used onboard existing spacecrafts to assist in trajectory

corrections and geostationary operations. In a similar manner, solar thermal or nuclear pulse

propulsion ideas could be implemented on a small scale to help relief the weight of fuel carried

by existing spacecrafts.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, mankind has come a long way since the launch of Sputnik I. The dream to travel

to the stars will remain as a large motivating factor for the search for faster and more efficient

ways to travel through space. Should a concerted effort be made to realize some of these

unconventional drives, the dream may well come true in the near future. And when the day

comes, reaching the stars would not come just as an achievement; it would more importantly be a

showcase of the maturity of humanity.

 ROCKET TECHNOLOGY

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY

SUBMITED BY:
JAYBEN CORNEJO
BSMT I ALPHA