Rocket

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A rocket or rocket vehicle is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust by the reaction of the rocket to the ejection of fast moving fluid exhaust from a rocket engine. Chemical rockets create their exhaust by the combustion of rocket propellant. The action of the exhaust against the inside of combustion chambers and expansion nozzles is able to accelerate the gas to hypersonic speed, and this exerts a large reactive thrust on the rocket (an equal and opposite reaction in accordance with Newton's third law).

Rockets, in the form of military and recreational uses, date back to at least the 13th century. Widespread military, scientific, and industrial use did not occur until the 20th century, when rocketry was the enabling technology of the Space Age, including setting foot on the moon.

Rockets are used for fireworks, weaponry, ejection seats, launch vehicles for artificial satellites, human spaceflight and exploration of other planets. While comparatively inefficient for low speed use, they are very lightweight and powerful, capable of generating large accelerations and of attaining extremely high speeds with reasonable efficiency.

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.

For more information about Rocket, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

News tagged with rocket

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Top-bottom: Soichi Noguchi, Timothy J. Creamer and Oleg Kotov wave before boarding a Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft

Astronauts dock at International Space Station

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Dec 22, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

A Russian rocket carrying three astronauts from Japan, Russia and the United States docked at the International Space Station Wednesday, the Russian flight control centre said.

Calif. space tourism firm launches S. Korea deal

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Dec 18, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

(AP) -- A California company developing a rocket plane for space tourism announced Thursday that it has an agreement with a nonprofit group in South Korea to conduct launches in that nation.

Astronauts blast off for Christmas space mission

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Dec 20, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

(AP) -- A Russian rocket blasted off from a cosmodrome in Kazakhstan lighting up the frigid Central Asian steppe Monday, shuttling an American, a Russian and a Japanese to the International Space Station.

NASA puzzled why parachutes failed in rocket test

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Dec 03, 2009 | 3.4 / 5 (5) | 3

(AP) -- NASA still isn't sure why two parachutes failed during a test flight of its prototype moon rocket just over a month ago.

Orion Launch Abort System Attitude Control Motor Lights Up Sky

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Dec 17, 2009 | 4.7 / 5 (3) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- It looked like a light show in Elkton, Md., on Tuesday, Dec. 15, as NASA ground tested a full-scale attitude control motor, or ACM. The motor operated with precision as its elaborate eight-valve ...

WISE Launch Delayed 24 Hours

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Dec 10, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Liftoff of a Delta II rocket and its NASA payload, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), has been delayed 24 hours. At the soonest, launch now will be Saturday, Dec. 12, during a ...

NASA Buys Additional Space Shuttle Reusable Solid Rocket Motors

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Dec 16, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA has purchased two reusable solid rocket motors from ATK Launch Systems Inc. of Brigham City, Utah, to provide a "launch on need" rescue capability for the final planned space shuttle mission, targeted ...

Steering the Ares Rockets on a Straight Path

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Dec 04, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- The Ares I-X rocket stood more than 325 feet tall on the launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Spectators watched in awe as its massive solid rocket motor blazed to life with a thunderous ...

Missile defense test aborted when target fails

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Dec 12, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

(AP) -- The Missile Defense Agency says a planned test of a ground-based missile defense system in Hawaii was aborted because the target missile failed.