Portal:Rocketry

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The Rocketry Portal

A rocket (from Italian: rocchetto, lit. 'bobbin/spool') is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely from propellant carried within the vehicle; therefore a rocket can fly in the vacuum of space. Rockets work more efficiently in a vacuum and incur a loss of thrust due to the opposing pressure of the atmosphere.

Multistage rockets are capable of attaining escape velocity from Earth and therefore can achieve unlimited maximum altitude. Compared with airbreathing engines, rockets are lightweight and powerful and capable of generating large accelerations. To control their flight, rockets rely on momentum, airfoils, auxiliary reaction engines, gimballed thrust, momentum wheels, deflection of the exhaust stream, propellant flow, spin, or gravity.

Rockets for military and recreational uses date back to at least 13th-century China. Significant scientific, interplanetary and industrial use did not occur until the 20th century, when rocketry was the enabling technology for the Space Age, including setting foot on the Moon. Rockets are now used for fireworks, missiles and other weaponry, ejection seats, launch vehicles for artificial satellites, human spaceflight, and space exploration.

Chemical rockets are the most common type of high power rocket, typically creating a high speed exhaust by the combustion of fuel with an oxidizer. The stored propellant can be a simple pressurized gas or a single liquid fuel that disassociates in the presence of a catalyst (monopropellant), two liquids that spontaneously react on contact (hypergolic propellants), two liquids that must be ignited to react (like kerosene (RP1) and liquid oxygen, used in most liquid-propellant rockets), a solid combination of fuel with oxidizer (solid fuel), or solid fuel with liquid or gaseous oxidizer (hybrid propellant system). Chemical rockets store a large amount of energy in an easily released form, and can be very dangerous. However, careful design, testing, construction and use minimizes risks. (Full article...)

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Portrait, 1924

Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky (Russian: Константи́н Эдуа́рдович Циолко́вский; 17 September [O.S. 5 September] 1857 – 19 September 1935) was a Russian and Soviet rocket scientist who pioneered astronautics. Along with Hermann Oberth and Robert H. Goddard, he is one of the pioneers of space flight and the founding father of modern rocketry and astronautics. His works later inspired Wernher von Braun and leading Soviet rocket engineers Sergei Korolev and Valentin Glushko, who contributed to the success of the Soviet space program.

Tsiolkovsky spent most of his life in a log house on the outskirts of Kaluga, about 200 km (120 mi) southwest of Moscow. A recluse by nature, his unusual habits made him seem bizarre to his fellow townsfolk. (Full article...)

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In the news

9 July 2024 – Israel–Hezbollah conflict: Hezbollah launches dozens of rockets at the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in Syria, killing two Israelis. (The Jerusalem Post)
4 July 2024 – Israel–Hezbollah conflict: Hezbollah launches at least 200 rockets and a swarm of drones at Israeli territory and threatens to expand its targeting range, in retaliation for the killing of Mohammed Nasser, a top Hezbollah commander. (Reuters)
3 July 2024 – Israel–Hezbollah conflict: Hezbollah launches a barrage of at least 100 Katyusha rockets, towards northern Israel, targeting Israeli military positions, in retaliation for the killing of Nasser. (Al Jazeera)
30 June 2024 –: A Chinese Tianlong-3 rocket stage is accidentally launched during a static fire test in Gongyi, Henan, China, causing it to crash and explode. No casualties are reported. (CNN)
13 June 2024 – Israel–Hamas war: Hezbollah launches more than 200 rockets at northern Israel. In response, Israeli artillery strikes targets in Yaroun, Hanine, and Yater in southern Lebanon. (The New York Times)
12 June 2024 – Israel–Hamas war: Israel kills three Hezbollah fighters and Taleb Abdullah, a senior commander, in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah retaliates by launching over 250 rockets towards northern Israel, the most the group has sent in the war. (Times of Israel) (Reuters)

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The following are images from various rocketry-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Viking 5C rocket engine used on Ariane 1 through Ariane 4 (from Rocket engine)
Image 2The Congreve rocket (from History of rockets)
Image 3A simplified diagram of a solid-fuel rocket.
1. A propellant is packed with a hole in the middle
2. An igniter combusts the propellant
3. The hole acts as a combustion chamber
4. The hot exhaust is choked at the throat
5. Exhaust exits the rocket
(from Missile)
Image 4Simplified diagram of a liquid-fuel rocket:
1. Liquid fuel tank
2. Liquid oxidiser tank
3. Pumps feed fuel and oxidiser under high pressure.
4. Combustion chamber mixes and burns the propellants.
5. Exhaust nozzle expands and accelerates the gas jet to produce thrust.
6. Exhaust exits nozzle.
(from Rocket engine)
Image 5Rocket vehicle mechanical efficiency as a function of vehicle instantaneous speed divided by effective exhaust speed. These percentages need to be multiplied by internal engine efficiency to get overall efficiency. (from Rocket engine)
Image 6A semi-active missile homing system (from Missile)
Image 7A Tomahawk cruise missile in flight (from Missile)
Image 8The four expansion regimes of a de Laval nozzle:• under-expanded• perfectly expanded• over-expanded• grossly over-expanded (from Rocket engine)
Image 9A "long serpent enemy breaking" fire arrow launcher as depicted in the Wubei Zhi (17th century). It carries 32 medium small poisoned rockets and comes with a sling to carry on the back. (from History of rockets)
Image 10Robert Esnault-Pelterie (1909). (from History of rockets)
Image 11RS-68 being tested at NASA's Stennis Space Center (from Rocket engine)
Image 12Von Braun's rocket team in 1961 (from History of rockets)
Image 13Opel RAK.1 - World's first public manned flight of a rocket plane on September 30, 1929. (from History of rockets)
Image 14Robert Goddard and the first liquid-fueled rocket. (from History of rockets)
Image 15A V-1 flying bomb, amongst the first guided missiles (from Missile)
Image 16Rocket thrust is caused by pressures acting in the combustion chamber and nozzle. From Newton's third law, equal and opposite pressures act on the exhaust, and this accelerates it to high speeds. (from Rocket engine)
Image 17French Diamant rocket, the second French rocket program, developed from 1961 (from History of rockets)
Image 18Armadillo Aerospace's quad vehicle showing visible banding (shock diamonds) in the exhaust jet (from Rocket engine)
Image 19Layout of a V-2 rocket. (from History of rockets)
Image 20Simplified diagram of a solid-fuel rocket:
1. Solid fuel–oxidiser mixture (propellant) packed into casing
2. Igniter initiates propellant combustion.
3. Central hole in propellant acts as the combustion chamber.
4. Exhaust nozzle expands and accelerates the gas jet to produce thrust.
5. Exhaust exits nozzle.
(from Rocket engine)
Image 21Robert Goddard (from History of rockets)
Image 22A German V-2 rocket on a Meillerwagen. (from History of rockets)
Image 23An illustration of fire arrow launchers as depicted in the Wubei Zhi (17th century). The launcher is constructed using basketry. (from History of rockets)
Image 24A battery of Katyusha launchers fires at German forces during the Battle of Stalingrad, 6 October 1942 (from History of rockets)
Image 25Typical ballistic missile sequence:
- 1. Launches by firing motor1(A)
- 2. Stage1 drops, motor2(B) ignites & shroud(E) ejects
- 3. Motor3(C) ignites and separates
- 4. Stage3 terminates and post-boost vehicle(D) separates
- 5. Vehicle maneuvers itself and prepares re-entry vehicle (RV)
- 6. RV with decoys and chaffs deploys
- 7. RV re-enters the atmosphere
- 8. Warhead(s) detonate on target
(from Missile)
Image 26Rockets carrying the Space Shuttle Discovery into Earth orbit in 2007 (from History of rockets)
Image 27Robert Anderson suggests using metal for rocket casing (from History of rockets)
Image 28Rocket carts from the Wubei Zhi (17th century) (from History of rockets)