History of Rockets Our time there has been an evolution in our history of rockets. It has been one man-kinds greatest invention for thousands of years. Rockets date back to 400 B. C in the city Tarentum from a roman writer named Aulus Gellius as he tells a story of a Greek, named Archytas. Archytas used his invention to amuse and baffle the people by flying a wooden pigeon using steam to propel the bird suspended off wires.
Couple three hundred years later after the invention of Archytas flying pigeon another Greek, Hero of Alexandria invented a something similar rocket device called an aeolipile, also using steam as gas to make it rise off the ground. Hero described using the device by mounting a sphere on top of a water kettle, as the fire below the kettle, turned the water into steam, making the gas travel through the pipes to the sphere. On too two L-shaped tubes on opposite sides of the sphere which allowed the gas to escape, and that so gave trust to the sphere causing it to rotate.
It is still unclear when the first rockets appeared. There have been stories, of such rocket type inventions from time to time through records of various cultures. Could be that the first true rockets could of came from anywhere. Chinese records have indicated that in the first century A. D, reportedly used gunpowder. To create explosives for religious festivals, using bamboo tubes and adding the gunpowder to make it propel. Later on the Chinese began experimenting with the tubes and attaching them to arrows launching them and making them explode, this making the first rocket.
The date reporting the first true use of rockets was in 1232. During this time there was a war between the Chinese and Mongols in the battle of kai-keng, the Chinese repelled the invasion using a bombardment of “arrows of flying fire” said kai-keng. The rocket was a tube containing gunpowder on one-half, and the other a long stick. As soon as the powder was lighted it launched using the stick as a guidance flying through the air hitting its target. All through the 13th to the 15th centuries there were many reports of rocket experiments all the way through Europe.
As in England a monk named Roger Bacon worked on increasing the range of the rockets. In France, Jean Froissart found a technique to make the flight of the rocket by launching those using tubes. Froissart idea was the forerunner of the modern bazooka. Not only were rockets used for weapons of war, but for a firework display. A German fireworks maker, Johann Schmilap inventor of the “step rocket” it was a rocket designed to go to higher altitudes and showering the sky with sparks. Johann was a true pioneer in the idea of rockets of today that go into outer space.
During the latter part of the 17th century, the scientific foundations for modern rocketry were laid the great English scientist sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727). Newton gave his fundamentals on understanding the physical motion of a rocket, into three laws. These laws explain how rockets work and why they are able to work. Newton’s laws were used on the design of rockets. This would lead up to the evolution of rocket engines. A Dutch professor, Willem Gravesande, thought of such an idea by building model cars propelled by jets of steam.
Germany and Russia began on working with a 45 kilogram rocket. During that time rockets were so powerful that the flames will make deep holes in the ground as soon as it lifts off. Coming toward the 18th century and 19th century it was more common that rockets were use as war weapons. A British colonel William Congreve, he set a design of rockets that would be the highly successful in battles. Used by British ships to pound Fort McHenry in the War of 1812, which inspired Francis Scott Key to write “the rockets’ red glare,” words in his poem that later, became The Star- Spangled Banner.
By 1898, a Russian school teacher, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857-1935) was one of the first to propose the idea of space exploration by a rocket. In a report published in 1903, hos idea was the use of liquid propellants for rockets in order to get a greater range. Such ideas had to be carefully researched in order for a greater vision. Tsiolkovsky was the father of the modern astronautics. An American Robert H. Goddard (1882-1945) used ideas like Tsiolkovsky in a way of achieving higher altitudes, by 1919; his idea lead a method of reaching extreme altitudes.
It was a mathematical analysis of what today we call the meteorological sounding rocket. Goddard continued his experiments, convincing him that a rocket could be propelled better by liquid fuel. Although it was a much more difficult task than building a common solid rocket this liquid fuel rocket consisted of fuel and oxygen tanks, turbines, and combustion chambers that would be needed. In spite of the difficulties, Goddard achieved the first successful flight with a liquid- propellant rocket on March 16, 1926.
Goddard’s rocket was the forerunner of a whole new era in rocket flight. His experiments continued for several years becoming bigger and going higher making his achievements to be called the father of modern rocketry. A third great space pioneer, Hermann Oberth (1894-1989) published a book in 1923 about ricket travel into outer space. His Writings were important because of them; many rocket societies sprang up around the world. Such like the society the Verein fut Raumschiffart (Society for space travel), that led to development of the V-2 rocket used for WWII.
Rocket like the V-2 Germans designed such a weapon for advanced missiles capable to hit the U. S. but with the fall of Germany, many unused V-2 rockets and components were captured by the Allies. Many German rocket scientists came to the United States. Others went to the Soviet Union. Both the United States and the Soviet Union realized the potential of rocketry as a military weapon and began a variety of experimental program, leading to long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles development like the Redstone, atlas, and titan that would eventually launch astronauts into space.
This became the starting point of the U. S space program. On October 4, 1957 man-kind finally achieved to launch an earth-orbiting artificial satellite launched by the Soviet Union. It was called the sputnik I, being successful for the race for space between the two superpower nations. Few months later the United States followed in launching one of its own rockets (explored I) on January 31, 1958, then United States formally organized its space program by creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
NASA became a civilian agency with the goal of peaceful exploration of space for the benefit of all humankind. Soon, many people and machines were being launched into space. Astronauts orbited Earth and landed on the Moon. Robot spacecraft traveled to the planets. Space was suddenly opened up to exploration and commercial exploitation. Since the earliest days of discovery and experimentation, rockets have evolved from simple gunpowder devices into giant vehicles capable of traveling into outer space. Rockets have opened the universe to direct exploration by humankind.
Hero of Alexandria kai-Keng Rockets Sir Isaac NewtonBritish rocket battles Robert H. Goddard Rocket design References http://library. thinkquest. org/J0112188/history_of_rocketry. htm http://inventors. about. com/od/rstartinventions/a/Rockets. htm http://en. m. wikipedia. org/wiki/History_of_rockets http://www. smithsonianmag. com/ideas-innovations/The-History-of-Rocket-Science-187941951. html? device=android http://www. history. com/this-day-in-history/first-liquid-fueled-rocket http://www. luna-city. com/space/rockets. html