The evolution of the rocket has made it an indispensable tool in the
exploration of space. For centuries, rockets have provided ceremonial
and
warfare uses starting with the ancient
Chinese,
the first to create rockets. The rocket apparently made its debut on
the pages of history as a fire arrow used by the Chin Tartars in 1232 AD
for fighting off a Mongol assault on Kai-feng-fu.
The
lineage
to the immensely larger rockets now used as space launch vehicles is
unmistakable. But for centuries rockets were in the main rather small,
and their use was confined principally to weaponry, the projection of
lifelines in sea rescue, signaling, and fireworks displays. Not until
the 20th century did a clear understanding of the principles of rockets
emerge, and only then did the technology of large rockets begin to
evolve. Thus, as far as spaceflight and space science are concerned, the
story of rockets up to the beginning of the 20th century was largely
prologue.
Early Experiments
All through the 13th to the 18th Century there were reports of many
rocket experiments. For example, Joanes de Fontana of Italy designed a
surface-running rocket-powered torpedo for setting enemy ships on fire.
In 1650, a Polish artillery expert, Kazimierz Siemienowicz, published a
series of drawings for a staged rocket. In 1696, Robert Anderson, an
Englishman, published a two-part treatise on how to make rocket molds,
prepare the propellants, and perform the calculations.
Sir William Congreve
During the early introduction of rockets to Europe, they were used only
as weapons. Enemy troops in India repulsed the British with rockets.
Later in Britain, Sir William Congreve developed a rocket that could
fire to about 9,000 feet. The British fired Congreve rockets against the
United States in the War of 1812. Francis Scott Key coined the phrase
the "rocket's red glare after the British fired Congreve rockets against
the United States. William Congreve's incendiary rocket used black
powder, an iron case, and a 16-foot guide stick. Congreve had used a
16-foot guidestick to help stabilize his rocket. William Hale, another
British inventor, invented the stickless rocket in 1846. The U.S. army
used the Hale rocket more than 100 years ago in the war with Mexico.
Rockets were also used to a limited extent in the Civil War.
During the 19th century, rocket enthusiasts and inventors began to
appear in almost every country. Some people thought these early rocket
pioneers were geniuses, and others thought they were crazy. Claude
Ruggieri, an Italian living in Paris, apparently rocketed small animals
into space as early as 1806. The payloads were recovered by parachute.
As far back as 1821, sailors hunted whales using rocket-propelled
harpoons. These rocket harpoons were launched form a shoulder-held tube
equipped with a circular blast shield.
Reaching for the Stars
By the end of the 19th century, soldiers, sailors, practical and not so
practical inventors had developed a stake in rocketry. Skillful
theorists, like Konstantian Tsiolkovsky in Russia, were examining the
fundamental scientific theories behind rocketry. They were beginning to
consider the possibility of space travel. Four persons were particularly
significant in the transition from the small rockets of the 19th
century to the colossi of the space age:
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky in Russia,
Robert Goddard in the United States, and
Hermann Oberth and
Wernher von Braun in Germany.
Rocket Staging and Technology
Early rockets had a single engine, on which it rose until it ran out of
fuel. A better way to achieve great speed, however, is to place a small
rocket on top of a big one and fire it after the first has burned out.
The US army, which after the war used captured V-2s for experimental
flights into the high atmosphere, replaced the payload with another
rocket, in this case a "WAC Corporal," which was launched from the top
of the orbit. Now the burned-out V-2, weighing 3 tons, could be dropped,
and using the smaller rocket, the payload reached a much higher
altitude. Today of course almost every
space rocket uses several stages, dropping each empty burned-out stage and continuing with a smaller and lighter booster.
Explorer 1,
the first artificial satellite of the US which was launched in January
1958, used a 4-stage rocket. Even the space shuttle uses two large
solid-fuel boosters which are dropped after they burn out.
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