Aerospace Education
Module 4
Rockets
Contents
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Chapter 1 – History of Rockets
Chapter 2 – Rocket Principles
Chapter 3 – Rocket Systems and Controls
Quiz
Credits
Chapter 1
“History of Rockets”
Greek Contribution
Rocketry began around
400 BCE when Archytas
built a flying wooden
pigeon, suspended on a
wire and propelled by
steam. 300 years later,
Hero developed the first
rocket engine. The “Hero
Engine” was propelled by
steam.
The Hero engine
consisted of a sphere on
top of a pot of water.
When the water was
heated and turned into
steam, the steam would
travel through pipes into
the sphere. Two L-Shaped
tubes on either side of
the sphere released the
steam, creating thrust.
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Greek Contribution
Chinese Contribution
By the first century, the
Chinese had developed
an early form of
gunpowder and had
began using it in fireworks
for religious and festive
celebrations. They then
began experimenting with
it for warfare.
When the Chinese went
to war with the Mongols
in 1232, the Chinese used
these early rockets as
arrows of flying fire. The
stick attached to the
rocket acted as a crude
guidance system. It was
from this point that the
use of rockets began to
spread.
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Chinese Contribution
Early European Contribution
Rockets continued to
develop through the 13th
and 15th centuries. Roger
Bacon developed better
forms of gunpowder in
England while Jean
Froissart improved rocket
accuracy by launching
them from a tube.
Towards the end of the
17th century, Sir Isaac
Newton developed his
laws of motion.
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As time went on, German
and Russian rocket
experimenters began
experimenting with very
powerful rockets, some of
which were so powerful
they bored holes in the
ground before lift-off.
British Contribution
At the end of the 18th
century, Col. William
Congreve, a British
artillery expert set out
to design rockets for
military purposes. His
rockets reached a range
of 3,000 yds. and were
very successful on the
battlefield due to the
sheer numbers that
could be fired.
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Congreve’s rockets were
the type of rockets
which inspired Francis
Scott Key’s “The Star
Spangled Banner”
during the battle of Fort
McHenry during the
war of 1812.
British Contribution
British Contribution
After Congreve’s
Many rockets still use this
contributions, rocket
technique today for
accuracy had still not
stabilization.
really improved any.
Englishman William Hale
developed a technique
called spin stabilization.
This technique uses
escaping rocket exhaust
which strike small vanes
on the bottom of the
rocket to create a spin
while in flight, much like a
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bullet.
American Contribution
During the early 20th
century, American physics
professor Dr. Robert H.
Goddard conducted many
practical experiments
with rockets which led to
major breakthroughs in
rocket development.
Goddard began with solid
fuel rockets and then
determined that liquid
fuel rockets better propel
a rocket.
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Goddard achieved the first
flight of a liquid propelled
rocket in 1926, fueled with
gasoline and oxygen.
Goddard eventually
developed his rockets
further with a gyroscope
guidance system, payload
compartment, and
parachute recovery system.
He also concluded that
multistage rockets were
necessary to achieve higher
altitudes.
American Contribution
American Contribution
After WWII, the United
States Army contracted
many scientists from
around the world to work
in the US rocket program
in order to prevent the
Soviet Union from
contracting them.
Wernher Von Braun
became the head of the
new US rocket program,
and formerly headed the
Nazi V-2 rocket program.
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The Space Race
Both the US and Soviet
Union recognized the
strategic value of rocketry
after WWII and began a
wide variety of
experimental programs. The
US began a program of high
altitude sounding rockets
and later developed several
medium- and long-range
ICBMs such as the
Redstone, Atlas, and Titan
missiles.
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These missiles would later
launch many satellites and
astronauts into orbit and
would become the
workhorses of the space
program.
The Space Race
The Space Race
On October 4th, 1957
the Soviet Union
launched the first
artificial satellite into
orbit, Sputnik I. This
achievement
unofficially officially
began the space race
between the United
States and Soviet Union.
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The United States
launched it’s own
artificial satellite on
January 31st, 1958,
Explorer I. In October of
1958, the US formally
established NASA, with
the goal of peaceful
exploration of space for
the benefit of all of
humanity.
The Space Race
Sputnik I
Explorer I
The Space Race
In April of 1961, the Soviet
Union achieved the
launching of the first man to
orbit Earth, Yuri Gagarin.
Less than a month later, the
US launched Alan Shepherd
aboard the Mercury
capsule, Freedom 7, to
become the first American
in space.
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20 days after the launch of
Alan Shepherd into space,
although he wasn’t even
able to orbit, President John
F. Kennedy established the
goal of putting a man on the
Moon before the end of the
decade. In February of
1962, John Glenn became
the first American to orbit
Earth aboard Friendship 7,
another Mercury capsule.
The Space Race
Freedom 7
Friendship 7
The Space Race
After the Mercury
missions were concluded
and NASA’s extensive
unmanned program in
support of the lunar
landing were carried out,
the Gemini missions
began. The Gemini
missions were designed
to carry two crew
members, and were
launched by the largest
available vehicle, the
Titan II.
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Gemini was aimed at
increasing our experience
in space in preparation
for the US lunar landing.
Gemini also carried out
the first rendezvous and
docking in space.
The Space Race
The Space Race
After the Gemini missions
concluded, Apollo began. If
the US was to send men to
the Moon and return them
safely, NASA was going to
need far larger launch
vehicles than they currently
had available. This
prompted the development
of the Saturn launch
vehicles. First came the
Saturn I and Saturn IB
rockets, which were large,
two-stage liquid rockets
which were assembled
using other rockets.
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In October of 1968 NASA
launched the first manned
Apollo mission on a Saturn
IB rocket, Apollo 7. Apollo 7
launched men into orbit
around the Moon, but did
not land. Finally, on July 20,
1969, Apollo 11 landed on
the moon and Neil
Armstrong became the first
man to walk on the Moon.
The Space Race
The Space Race
Following the Apollo
project, NASA undertook
the Skylab project, the
US’ first space station.
Skylab was launched in
May of 1973 aboard a
Saturn IB launch vehicle
and had 3 separate
missions aboard it
between 1973 and 1974.
The last mission was the
longest, lasting 84 days.
The Space Race
After Skylab, the United
States began to focus on a
reusable launch system,
the space shuttle. The
shuttle uses 2 solid-fuel
rocket boosters and has
three main engines on
the orbiter to launch. The
reusable boosters release
after about 2 minutes of
flight.
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Chapter 2
“Rocket Principles”
Principles of Rocketry
By the most basic
definition, a rocket is a
chamber with
pressurized gas inside it.
There is a small opening
letting the gas out,
causing thrust which
propels the rocket.
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Newton’s Laws of Motion
Sir Isaac Newton, as learned in
previous modules, stated three laws
that govern motion within our
universe. It is the usage of these
laws that enable engineers to design
more effective rockets today.
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Newton’s First Law of Motion
Newton’s first law of
motion basically states
that if something isn’t
moving, it will continue to
not move unless
something moves it, or, if
something is moving, it
will continue moving at
that speed forever unless
something causes it to
change speeds or stop
moving.
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Newton’s Second Law of Motion
Newton’s second law
basically states that
something that is sped up,
speeds up at a rate which is
proportional to the mass of
the object and the amount
of force acting upon it. The
mathematic equation looks
like this: F = MA. This means
that the force necessary to
cause a certain amount of
acceleration is equal to the
mass of the object,
multiplied by the
acceleration you want. Contents
Newton’s Third Law of Motion
Newton’s third law of
motion states that for
every action, there is an
equal and opposite
reaction. This means
that if a rocket’s engine
fires, the rocket will be
pushed upwards
because the engine is
creating downward
thrust.
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Chapter 3
“Rocket Systems and
Controls”
Rocket Systems
Modern rockets are comprised of 4 major
systems: the airframe, the guidance
system, the control system, and the
propulsion system.
The Airframe
The airframe is the outer
shell of the rocket. Ideally,
they are lightweight and
structurally sound.
Airframes must endure a
tremendous amount of
stress so they must be
made of light, but very
strong materials, such as
titanium and aluminum.
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The Guidance System
Guidance systems can be
called the “brain” of the
rocket as it is responsible
for getting the rocket to
it’s destination. When
compared to other rocket
components, guidance
systems are very small.
Guidance systems are
usually computers which
ensure the rocket stays on
the right trajectory to
reach it’s target.
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The Control System
The control systems
works with the guidance
systems to ensure the
rocket stays on the
correct trajectory, the
control system however,
does the actual work of
changing the direction
the rocket is flying. There
are 4 main types of
control systems. In
essence, the control
system is what steers the
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rocket while it flies.
The Propulsion System
The propulsion system is
the largest component,
excluding the airframe, to
most rockets. The
propulsion system is what
creates the thrust
necessary to push a
rocket through the air.
There are two types of
propulsion systems, solid
fuel, and liquid fuel.
Rockets today are mostly
liquid fueled rockets,
although much more
complex than solid fuel
Contents
rockets.
Quiz
Question 1
A)
Who’s laws laid down
B)
the scientific foundation C)
for modern rocketry?
D)
John Glenn
Roger Bacon
Sir Isaac Newton
Francis Scott Key
Correct!
The scientist who laid
down the laws of
motion which form the
foundation of modern
rocketry was Sir Isaac
Newton
Next Question
Incorrect
The scientist who laid
down the laws of
motion that form the
foundation for modern
rocketry was Sir Isaac
Newton. His Laws of
Motion govern the
movement of rockets in
our universe
Next Question
Question 2
Who was the first
American to walk on
the surface of the
Moon?
A)
B)
C)
D)
Chuck Yeager
Colonel Congreve
Wernher Von Braun
Neil Armstrong
Correct!
The first American, and
human being, to walk
on the surface of the
Moon was Neil
Armstrong.
Next Question
Incorrect
The first American to
walk upon the surface
of the Moon was Neil
Armstrong.
Next Question
Question 3
Who is known as the
father of modern
rocketry?
A)
B)
C)
D)
Dr. Robert Goddard
Francis Scott Key
Apollo I
Sir Isaac Newton
Correct!
Dr. Robert Goddard is
known as the father of
modern rocketry due to
his pioneering research
in rocketry, as well as
his invention of liquid
propelled rockets.
Next Question
Incorrect
Dr. Robert Goddard is
known as the father of
modern rocketry due to
his pioneering work in
the field of rocketry, as
well as his invention of
the liquid propelled
rocket.
Next Question
Question 4
A body at rest
remaining at rest is part
of Newton’s __ Law of
Motion.
A)
B)
C)
D)
3rd
2nd
1st
6th
Correct!
A body at rest
remaining at rest is part
of Newton’s First Law of
Motion
Next Question
Incorrect
A body at rest
remaining at rest is part
of Newton’s First Law of
Motion
Next Question
Question 5
Which is Newton’s Laws
of Motion is this?
“The rate of change in the
momentum of a body is
proportional to the force
acting upon the body and
is in the direction of the
force”
A)
B)
C)
D)
1st
3rd
5th
2nd
Correct!
“The rate of change in
the momentum of a
body is proportional to
the force acting upon
the body and is in the
direction of the force,”
is Newton’s second Law
of Motion
Next Question
Incorrect
“The rate of change in
the momentum of a
body is proportional to
the force acting upon
the body and is in the
direction of the force,”
is Newton’s second Law
of Motion
Next Question
Question 6
A rocket being
propelled upwards
because of a rocket
engine creating
downward thrust is an
example of which of
Newton’s Laws of
Motion?
A)
B)
C)
D)
2nd
3rd
5th
4th
Correct!
A rocket being
propelled upwards
because of a rocket
engine creating
downward thrust is an
example of Newton’s
third Law of Motion
Next Question
Incorrect
A rocket being
propelled upwards
because of a rocket
engine creating
downward thrust is an
example of Newton’s
third Law of Motion
Next Question
Question 7
Which major rocket
system creates the
outer shell of the
rocket?
A)
B)
C)
D)
Payload System
Airframe
Combustion System
Guidance System
Correct!
The airframe creates
the outer shell of a
rocket
Next Question
Incorrect
The airframe creates
the outer shell of a
rocket
Next Question
Question 8
Which rocket system
provides the thrust
needed for the rocket
to launch?
A)
B)
C)
D)
Airframe
Guidance System
Propulsion System
Control System
Correct!
The propulsion system
provides the thrust
necessary to launch a
rocket
Next Question
Incorrect
The propulsion system
provides the thrust
necessary to launch a
rocket
Next Question
Question 9
Which rocket system
‘steers’ the rocket
through the air?
A)
B)
C)
D)
Control System
Guidance System
Propulsion System
Payload System
Correct!
The control system is
what steers the rocket
through the air, while
the guidance system
tells the control system
what to do
Next Question
Incorrect
The control system is
what steers the rocket
through the air, while
the guidance system
tells the control system
what to do
Next Question
Question 10
What was the name of
America’s first space
station?
A)
B)
C)
D)
Mir
Apollo XI
Gemini
Skylab
Correct!
America’s first space
station was known as
Skylab I
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Incorrect
America’s first space
station was known as
Skylab I
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Credits
• Created by Cadet Ryan Stanley
• Based on Aerospace Dimensions Module 4:
Rockets
Contents