History
Historians believe the Chinese invented rockets, but they do not know exactly when. Historical accounts describe "arrows of flying fire" -- believed to have been rockets -- used by Chinese armies in A.D. 1232. By 1300, the use of rockets had spread throughout much of Asia and Europe. These first rockets burned a substance called black powder, which consisted of charcoal, saltpeter, and sulfur. For several hundred years, the use of rockets in fireworks displays outranked their military use in importance
During the early 1800's, Colonel William Congreve of the British Army developed rockets that could carry explosives. Many of these rockets weighed about 32 pounds (15 kilograms) and could travel 1 3/4 miles (2.7 kilometers). British troops used Congreve rockets against the United States Army during the War of 1812. Austria, Russia, and several other countries also developed military rockets during the early 1800's.
The English inventor William Hale improved the accuracy of military rockets. He substituted three fins for the long wooden tail that had been used to guide the rocket. United States troops used Hale rockets in the Mexican War (1846-1848). During the American Civil War (1861-1865), both sides used rockets.
Rockets of the early 1900's
The Russian school teacher Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky first stated the correct theory of rocket power. He described his theory in a scientific paper published in 1903. Tsiolkovsky also first presented the ideas of the multistage rocket and rockets using liquid oxygen and hydrogen propellants. In 1926, the American rocket pioneer Robert H. Goddard conducted the first successful launch of a liquid-propellant rocket. The rocket climbed 41 feet (13 meters) into the air at a speed of about 60 miles (97 kilometers) per hour and landed 184 feet (56 meters) away.
During the 1930's, rocket research advanced in Germany, the Soviet Union, and the United States. Hermann Oberth led a small group of German engineers and scientists that experimented with rockets. Leading Soviet rocket scientists included Fridrikh A. Tsander and Sergei P. Korolev. Goddard remained the most prominent rocket researcher in the United States.
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| The vehicles shown here helped the United States and the Soviet Union achieve milestones in the exploration of space. The United States no longer builds these rockets, but Russia continues to use the Soviet A Class design in the Soyuz rocket.
• Jupiter C, U.S. Lifted Explorer I, the first U.S. satellite, in 1958. 68 feet (21 meters)
• Mercury-Redstone, U.S. Launched Alan Shepard in 1961. 83 feet (25 meters)
• A Class (Sputnik), Soviet. Boosted Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, in 1957. 98 feet (29 meters) Image credit: WORLD BOOK illustrations by Oxford Illustrators Limited |
During World War II, German engineers under the direction of Wernher von Braun developed the powerful V-2 guided missile. Germany bombarded London and Antwerp, Belgium, with hundreds of V-2's during the last months of the war. American forces captured many V-2 missiles and sent them to the United States for use in research. After the war, von Braun and about 150 other German scientists moved to the United States to continue their work with rockets. Some other German rocket experts went to the Soviet Union.
High-altitude rockets
For several years after World War II, U.S. scientists benefited greatly by conducting experiments with captured German V-2's. These V-2's became the first rockets used for high-altitude research.
The first high-altitude rockets designed and built in the United States included the WAC Corporal, the Aerobee, and the Viking. The 16-foot (4.9-meter) WAC Corporal reached altitudes of about 45 miles (72 kilometers) during test flights in 1945. Early models of the Aerobee climbed about 70 miles (110 kilometers). In 1949, the U.S. Navy launched the Viking, an improved liquid-propellant rocket based chiefly on the V-2. The Viking measured more than 45 feet (14 meters) long, much longer than the Aerobee. But the first models of the Viking rose only about 50 miles (80 kilometers).
Rockets developed by the U.S. armed forces during the 1950's included the Jupiter and the Pershing. The Jupiter had a range of about 1,600 miles (2,600 kilometers), and the Pershing could travel about 450 miles (720 kilometers).
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| The vehicles shown here helped the United States and the Soviet Union achieve milestones in the exploration of space. The United States no longer builds these rockets, but Russia continues to use the Soviet A Class design in the Soyuz rocket.
• A Class (Vostok), Soviet. Carried Yuri Gagarin, the first person to orbit the earth, in 1961. 126 feet (38 meters)
• Saturn 5, U.S. Launched Neil Armstrong, the first person to set foot on the moon, in 1969. 363 feet (111 meters) Image credit: WORLD BOOK illustrations by Oxford Illustrators Limited |
The U.S. Navy conducted the first successful launch of a Polaris underwater missile in 1960. United States space scientists later used many military rockets developed in the 1950's as the basis for launch vehicles.
Rocket-powered airplanes
On Oct. 14, 1947, Captain Charles E. Yeager of the U.S. Air Force made the first supersonic (faster than sound) flight. He flew a rocket-powered airplane called the X-1.
A rocket engine also powered the X-15, which set an unofficial airplane altitude record of 354,200 feet (107,960 meters) in 1963. In one flight, the X-15 reached a peak speed of 4,520 miles (7,274 kilometers) per hour -- more than six times the speed of sound. A privately owned and developed rocket-powered plane called the EZ-Rocket began piloted test flights in 2001.
The space age began on Oct. 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, aboard a two-stage rocket. On Jan. 31, 1958, the U.S. Army launched the first American satellite, Explorer 1, into orbit with a Juno I rocket.
On April 12, 1961, a Soviet rocket put a cosmonaut, Major Yuri A. Gagarin, into orbit around Earth for the first time. On May 5, 1961, a Redstone rocket launched Commander Alan B. Shepard, Jr., the first American to travel in space. On April 12, 1981, the United States launched the rocket-powered Columbia, the first space shuttle to orbit Earth. For more information on the history of rockets in space travel, see Space exploration.
Rocket research
In the early 2000's, engineers and scientists worked to develop lightweight rocket engines that used safer propellants. They also searched for more efficient propellants that did not require refrigeration. Engineers began designing and testing smaller rocket engines for use in smaller vehicles, such as tiny satellites that may weigh only a few pounds or kilograms when fully loaded. Contributor: Stephen Heister, Ph.D., Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Purdue University.
How to cite this article: To cite this article, World Book recommends the following format: Heister, Stephen. "Rocket." World Book Online Reference Center. 2005. World Book, Inc. http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar472580.
