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The History of Rockets
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Robbert Goddard and the first liquid-propellent rocket
Robert Goddard's first succesful flight flew for 2 and a half seconds. It climbed 12 and a half meters and flew 56 meters away from the start. It was fueled by liquid oxygen and gasoline. This started the new era in rocket flight and started the space race. Liquid propellent rockets were the start of space exploration. http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/TRC/Rockets/history_of_rockets.html -
The V-2 Rocket
Verein fur Raumschiffahrt (Society for Space Travel) invented the V-2 rocket in 1937. It was used in the war against the allies by the Germans. It burned liquid oxygen and an alcohol-water mixture to create thrust. The use of the V-2 encouraged the use of a rocket as a military weapon. Later it would launch astronaunts into space. https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/TRC/Rockets/history_of_rockets.html -
Sputnik I
Sputnik I was the first successful space orbiting satelite. It was launched by the soviet union in the space race. Sputnik I started the space race between the U.S and the U.S.S.R. This rocket carried a 183.9 pound cargo to explore space in its trajectory around the Earth. https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/TRC/Rockets/history_of_rockets.html -
Sputnik II
Sputnik II was the second spacecraft successfully launched into space and the first biological one. It carried a dog named Laika who was the first living organism into space. We gained much knowledge on the behavior of living organisms with Sputnik II. http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1957-002A -
Explorer I
The Explorer I was the United states first rocket into space. The base was based off of the V-2 German rocket and was called the Jupiter. Explorer I was launched by the Jupiter-C vehicle into space. It weiged 30.66 pounds and was used to discover the Van Allen Belts in Earth's Magnetic field. The Jupiter-C vehicle was a two-staged rocket with two sets of rockets for lifting off and second stage ignition. http://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/expinfo.html -
Apollo 11
Apollo 11 carried the first astronauts to space. The U.S. was the first country to land astronauts on the moon. Apollo 11 traveled 238,900 miles to reach the moon. It carried life support and instruments to study the moon. Moon rock samples were brought back. http://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/apollo/apollo-program/landing-missions/apollo11-facts.cfm -
Mariner 9
The first spacecraft to orbit mars. It returned pictures of Mars. Also, it took pictures of the moons Phobos and Deimos. This was a huge leap in the world, because it was the first mars orbiter. Rockets have greatly improved since Sputnik I. -
The space shuttle
Ever since 1981 the space shuttle has been the main trainsport for astronauts into outer space. It was the first reusable space vehicle that would glide back to Earth. It is made from LI-900 silica tiles, made from essentially very pure quartz sand. These tiles are very heat resistent and can withstand the heat encountered with rentry of Earth's atmosphere. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_thermal_protection_system http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/the_shuttle/ -
China lands on the moon
China is the thrid nation to land on the moon. It sent a rover to the moon to place telscopes to look at Earth. http://www.space.com/23968-china-moon-rover-historic-lunar-landing.html
