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Chinese Fire Arrows
The Chinese had a early form of gunpowder in the first century, A.D. It was a mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal dust that produced colorful sparks and smoke when lit. It was used to make fireworks. Tubes of bamboo with leather, were packed with gunpowder. Depending on how the powder was packed, sparks or a bang
would result when the powder was lit. -
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Rockets go to War
Rockets and cannons were used as the weapon of choice for war. Cannons were more accurate although rockets could be fired quicker. Breech- loading cannons speeded up the firing. Rocket fins increased accuracy but cannons had a larger range. Then rockets had greater range. And so on. Invented by Joanes de Fontana of Italy (1420), a surface-running rocket torpedo was supposed to set enemy ships on fire. -
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Rocket Experimenters
Before World War II, amateur rocketeers and scientists worldwide tried to use rockets on airplanes, racing cars, boats, bicycles with wings, throw lines for rescuing sailors from sinking ships, mail delivery vehicles for off - shore islands, and anything else they could dream up. Although there were many failures, experience taught the experimenters how to make their rockets better. -
Flying Bombs
The requirements of war led to large advancements in aeronautics and rocketry. Rockets went from novelties and dream flying machines to weapons of destruction. Rockets propelled nearly unstoppable German fighter planes and Japanese Kamikaze pilots with bombs into ships. War would never be the same again after that. -
Bumper Project
The V2 became the basis of the intercontinental ballistic missile development program and led directly to the space program. Employing one of the captured V2 rockets with a WAC Corporal rocket at its top, the initial launch of a “Bumper- WAC” took place on May 13, 1948. During six flights, the largest two-stage rocket launched to date in the United States eventually reached an altitude of almost 400 kilometers. -
The World’s First Artifcial Satellite
At the end of World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union went in a race for space. The Soviet Union won by launching its Sputnik I satellite on October 4, 1957. The satellite had a round design with four antenna. It weighed 83.6 kilograms. Two months later, the Sputnik II reached space with a passenger. Laika, a small dog, orbited Earth for a few hours. Unfortunately, she died in space, but she led the way for all humans that went after her. -
Explorer 1
The United States entered the satellite-launching business on January 31, 1958 with the launch of Explorer 1. The satellite was launched on top of the Juno 1, a modified Jupiter-C booster. Though much smaller than the Sputniks, only 13.93 kilograms—Explorer 1’s Geiger counter made the first important discovery about the space environment. Explorer 1 detected around Earth what would later be called the Van Allen Radiation Belts. -
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X-15
Between 1959 and 1968, the X-15 experimental aircraft flew to
the edge of space. In 199 flights, the air-launched rocket plane broke many flight records, including speed (7,274 kph or 4,520 mph) and altitude records (108 kilometers or 67 miles). Test flights established important parameters for attitude control in space and reentry angles. Neil Armstrong, the first American to step on the Moon, was one of twelve X-15 pilots. -
Preparing for the Moon
The Gemini space capsule, riding on top of a Titan missile, had two astronauts. During missions lasting up to 14 days, astronauts discovered spacewalking, spacecraft meetings, and docking procedures. Important spacecraft systems, needed for the coming Moon flights, were evaluated. The Titan rocket, initially created as an intercontinental ballistic missile, went on to carry the Viking spacecraft to Mars and the Voyager spacecraft to the outer solar system in the 1970s. -
Moon Rocket
President John F. Kennedy addressed a joint session of Congress and challenged America to send an American to the Moon and return him to Earth before the end of the decade. Some progression to accomplish this mission were already underway. NASA had begun working on components of a rocket capable of a round trip lunar flight. By the next year, the rocket was named the Saturn V. It would be 110.6 meters tall, dwarfing all the previous rockets. -
“One Small Step...”
At 10:56 p.m. EDT, July 20, 1969, American astronaut Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon. It was the first time that humans had touched another planet. He was followed to the surface by Edwin Aldrin, Jr. The Apollo 11 mission was the first of six Moon landings extending to the end of 1972. After surface explorations, the upper part of the lander lifted off, using its own rocket engine, and rendezvoused with the Apollo capsule for the return to Earth.
