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Chinese Alchemists
Chen Yuan was heating mixtures containing saltpeter and carelessley burned houses and people. Eventually using gunpowder, which was the beggining of rocketry -
Aug 17, 1230
Rockets as weapons
The Chinese began using rockets as weapons in the 13th century -
Kazimierz Siemienowicz
In 1650, a Polish artillery expert, Kazimierz Siemienowicz, published a series of drawings for a staged rocket. -
First Main battle with rockets
The English confrontation with Indian rockets came in 1780 at the Battle of Guntur. The closely massed, normally unflinching British troops broke and ran when the Indian Army laid down a rocket barrage in their midst. -
Naval rocket battles
William Congreve's incendiary rocket used black powder, an iron case, and a 16-foot guide stick. The British used Congreve rockets in 1806 to attack Napoleon's headquarters in France. In 1807, Congreve directed a rocket attack against Copenhagen; approximately 25,000 rockets were fired. -
war of 1812
Francis Scott Key coined the phrase the rocket's red glare after the British fired Congreve rockets against the United States in the War of 1812. Congreve had used a 16-foot guidestick to help stabilize his rocket. William Hale, another British inventor, invented the stickless rocket in 1846. The U.S. army used the Hale rocket more than 100 years ago in the war with Mexico. -
Introducing rockets to Europe
During the early introduction of rockets to Europe, they were used only as weapons. Enemy troops in India repulsed the British with rockets. Later in Britain, Sir William Congreve developed a rocket that could fire to about 9,000 feet. -
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
This Scientist Lays the foundation for modern spaceflight in an article in a Russian Journal -
Robert H. Goddard
Robert Goddard registers 2 patents for Rocket designs -
Robert Goddard begins writing about Rockets and how they work
Robert Goddard wrote the paper called "A method of reaching extreme altitude" for the smithsonian which was the first paper of many to come. -
First liquid filled rocket launch
Robert Goddard launches the first liquid fueled rocket -
Herbert Oberth
Hermann Oberth studied with several notable scientists and presented his doctoral thesis on rocketry in 1922. His research was rejected, and he turned from the pursuit of academic credentials to distinguish himself as a great scientist. One year later, he published his first draft of The Rocket into Planetary Space. A much longer and more detailed version appeared in print in 1929. This book explained how rockets could escape the Earth's gravitational pull. -
International Space Station
The first Expedition crew arrives on The International Space Station in November -
Delivering cargo to the Space X Dragon
Space X Falcon 9 delivers payloads to space aboard the Dragon spacecraft or inside a composite fairing. -
Space X Dragon
Dragon is a free-flying spacecraft designed to deliver both cargo and people to orbiting destinations. Dragon made history in 2012 when it became the first commercial spacecraft in history to deliver cargo to the International Space Station and safely return cargo to Earth, a feat previously achieved only by governments. It is the only spacecraft currently flying that is capable of returning significant amounts of cargo to Earth.
