Although the exact date of when rockets were first invented is still unclear, it is believed that the Chinese invented the first “rocket” (“The History of Rocket Science”). Moreover, the Chinese used gunpowder, invented in around 100 A. D, and positioned it in Bamboo sticks for religious festival tradition (“The History of Rocket Science”). Large bamboo sticks were created and decorated by Monks and villagers, then blasted skyward to inform the Rain God Phaya Thaen that it is time to send rain down to earth (“Rocket Festival”).
These bamboo sticks were closed off at an end, and later placed onto an arrow so they could be shot off in traditional matter, but the Chinese later found that the arrows did not need to be launched manually with arrows; the gasses produced enough energy when ignited that the gunpowder was enough force to propel the “rocket” (“The History of Rocket Science”). The first documented occurrence of a rocket being used was when the battle between the Chinese and Mongols happened in 1232 (“The History of Rocket Science”).
Notably, it is also believed that rockets were brought to Europe during the 13th century and heavily improved by various intelligent scientists and inventors (“The History of Rocket Science”). With this in mind, Roger Bacon improved the ideas of rockets by developing a more powerful gunpowder which consisted of 75% saltpetre, 15% carbon, and 10% sulfur (“The History of Rocket Science”). In Addition, Jean Froissant added a launch pad for most efficient and accurate results when launching results and aiming them (“The History of Rocket Science”).
Also, in Poland there was many experimentations with rockets and staging: multi stage rockets have different parts which have their own engine and propellant (“The History of Rocket Science”). With different parts, the rocket can empty it’s fuel out as it accelerates or ascends and decreases the amount of mass on the remaining body of the rocket in total (“The History of Rocket Science”).
From fear of eachother both sides of the cold war created “Anti-Aircraft Missiles” which were in summary, rockets that started from the ground and went into air (Adcock). In Modern times, an ABM, anti-ballistic missle, can be used to hit an ICBM or a guided ballistic missile to ensure it does not hit the ground or come near (Adcock). Throughout the era of the Cold War, both the USSR and U. S mutually consented to “MAD” where they would agree to have “Mutually Assured Destruction (Adcock).
Both parties started out using ICBMs as liquid fuel rockets (Adcock). Furthermore, besides being used for combat and defense reasons, rockets arre used to blast satellites and space shuttles into space (“European Rockets”). One of Europe’s most notable rocket family is one called the “Ariane rocket family” which had rockets weighing 750 tons at launch (“Europe’s Rockets”). Communication satellites are now becoming larger in size but there is still a need to smaller ones to launch other types of satellites (“European Rockets”).
Communication Satellites are a significant part of our everyday lives, from television, to mobile devices, faxing machines, radios; they all use communications satellites indirectly or directly from the source (“Communications Satellites”). Without rockets, these communications satellites would not be able to reach the orbit closest to the earth and make everyone’s everyday life simpler with the vast and growing technology-filled world.
Another important satellite that rockets help launch into earth’s closest gravitional orbit is a weather satellite (“How Do Weather Satellites Work? “). Without weather satellites, nobody would be prepared to face harsh winter months or the blazing heat in summer, or be able to face the monsoon season. Most satellites, either communication ones or weather ones can last in orbit for 3 to 7 years, but some cases they can last longer then that (“How Do Weather Satellites Work”). Correspondingly, there is a multitude amount of different types of rockets.
The oldest types of rockets are Solid-Fuel rockets, which use solid fuel for engaging the thrust (“What Are the Different Kinds of Rockets”). Solid-Fuel rockets are a type of “monopropellant” which is a solid- fuel based rocket that has different solid chemicals mixing in with eachother to make a single mixture (“Different Kinds of Rockets”). A downside to solid-fuel rockets is that there is no stopping it once it starts, the only way to do so is by burning out all the fuel it has in it’s capacity (“Different Kinds of Rockets”).
Another type of rocket are Liquid-Fuel rockets. The “Father of Rocketry, Robert Goddard, developed liquid propellants to create thrust: successfully launched in in 1926 (“Different Kinds of Rockets”). Liquid-Fuel rockets can be monopropellant or bipropellant which means it can either have many chemicals mixed to combine one like Solid-Fuel rockets, or two; the big difference is that bipropellant rockets have to use fuel and an oxidizer, a chemical that allows fuels to burn when present (“Different Kinds of Rockets”).
Efficiency wise, the ION rocket is best (“Different Kinds of Rockets”). It works by using electrical from solar cells, and intead of depending on hot pressurized gasses, it works by using negative xenon ions whose negative electron’s have been freed by the rocket’s electron gun (“Different Kinds of Rockets”). A rocket is in a sense, an extremely powerful jet-powered vechicle (“Space Rockets”). Engines have to produce an enormous amount of energy so that the gravitional pull of Earth does not interfere with the rocket (“Space Rockets”).
A rocket is mostly, if not always, launched vertically; the upward motion moving the rocket is called it’s “thrust” (“Space Rockets”). When a rocket’s engine gathers enough power, the trust force pushing it up, will be more than its weight (“Space Rockets”). Air resistance is referred to as the “drag”, the thrust has to fight the drag and weight of the rocket meanig the thrust has to be very powerful in order for a rocket to even be launched successfully (“Space Rockets”).
As Newton’s Laws of Motions dictate, an object in motion tends to stay in motion; and that applies greatly to rockets since they are so powerful and cannot be stopped unless slammed with a generous and steady amount of force to counteract the thrust (“Space Rockets”). Also as Newton’s Laws state, when a force acts upon something, it makes it accelerate, meaning when you fire up a rocket’s engine, that accelerates it into the sky (“Space Rockets”).
The costs to for a rocket is undeniably a lot, from the rocket itself to the materials and fuel, launching is costly which supports why NASA and the Space Shuttle Program is one of the most government funded organizations (Eubank). The staging of a rocket reduces some costs but still the parts that come off are tossed into the atmosphere; waiting to be destroyed natually (Eubank). This adds onto costs towards covering entirely new materials needed to create more rockets (Eubank). NASA is on it’s way in making eco-friendly fuel possible (Dino). A Paraffin-based fuel was tested on September 24, 2001 (Dino).
Paraffin is a substance found in mineral oil or in plain paraffin oil which is a colorless, odorless light mixtures of higher alkanes from a mineral source; typicaly used in candles or essential oils (Dino). According to NASA, this new fuel is “less expensive, non-toxic, and non-hazardous” (Dino). NASA also mentions that, “Because the fuel is very stable and environmentally friendly, a hybrid rocket could be fueled at the launch site, rather than at the factory, thereby saving money”, which goes to show how important environmentally friendly fuels are in rocketry (Dino).
With new advances in technology and rocketry, GPS is available to better guide and locate rockets (“GPS Tracker”). Although Licenses may be required to operate a GPS operated rocket, it chages the whole world of rocketry when you can be so integrated with the proccess of where the rocket goes and where it lands. With all the different uses for rockets, from launching satellites to destroying attacking missiles, the different technological and engineering based advances are beneficial to moving forward and creating successful results.
Personally, I had no idea what went into the whole rocket, from the start to end, I initially just thought it was with a press of a button everything just magically blasted off. I learned a lot about the types of rockets, rocket fuel, new advances in technology for rocketry, benefits of rockets, where rockets originated from and how they were first used, how rockets are used modernly, and how rockets are so important for everyday life even if you are not directly involved with it.