Rocket Basics
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A rocket is a missile, aircraft, or vehicle that obtains thrust by ejecting fast-moving fluid exhaust from a rocket engine. Chemical rockets create exhaust by the combustion of rocket propellant. Tsiolkovsky realized liquid fuels and oxidants would be needed to reach orbit. His principles still underpin modern rocketry.
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Rocket body is a space object for launch vehicles, not payloads releasing smaller payloads.
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Understanding rocket science requires physics laws essential to how rockets work. Fuel combustion produces thrust. More fuel burned increases thrust until depleted.
Types of Rockets and Propulsion
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A rocket engine uses stored propellants to generate kinetic energy and jet propulsion without external oxygen. Types include single and multi-stage rockets using solid or liquid propellants. Liquid propellants allow engines to be switched on and off.
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Thrust propels a rocket forward by expelling hot gases through the nozzle, the amount depending on fuel burned. Military rockets vary from field bazookas to ocean-crossing missiles. Fighter planes carry missiles.
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Solid-fuel is the oldest rocket type, combining chemicals packed into the combustion chamber. Liquid rockets use fuel and an oxidizer which can be cryogenic. Professor Goddard’s 1926 liquid-fueled rocket pioneered modern rocketry.
Miscellaneous
- What is a rocket coffee?