Related topics: nasa , moon , space shuttle , ares ix
Rocket
hideA 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
Plasma Rocket Could Travel to Mars in 39 Days
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 06, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (125) |
72
(PhysOrg.com) -- Last Wednesday, the Ad Astra Rocket Company tested what is currently the most powerful plasma rocket in the world. As the Webster, Texas, company announced, the VASIMR VX-200 engine ran at ...
Rocket launches may need regulation to prevent ozone depletion, says study
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Mar 31, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (65) |
24
The global market for rocket launches may require more stringent regulation in order to prevent significant damage to Earth's stratospheric ozone layer in the decades to come, according to a new study by researchers ...
Rotating Space Elevator Propels its Own Load
May 21, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (46) |
33
(PhysOrg.com) -- The idea of the space elevator just got a little crazier. While the “traditional” concept involved using rocket propulsion or laser light pressure to propel loads up a cable anchored to Earth, ...
Russia hopes nuclear ship will fly humans to Mars
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 29, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (33) |
36
(AP) -- Russia should build a new nuclear-powered spaceship for prospective manned missions to Mars and other planets, the nation's space chief said Thursday.
NASA's Ares I-X moon rocket makes first test flight
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 28, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (25) |
17
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Ares I-X test rocket lifted off at 11:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a two-minute powered flight.
RocketShip Tours Teams Up With XCOR Aerospace To Offer A $95,000 Right Stuff Experience
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Dec 04, 2008 |
4 / 5 (25) |
8
(PhysOrg.com) -- The race to offer commercial passengers an experience of a lifetime just got more affordable. RocketShip Tours owned by Jules Klar, a veteran in the travel business will arrange a sub-orbital ...
New aluminum-water rocket propellant promising for future space missions
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Oct 07, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (21) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers are developing a new type of rocket propellant made of a frozen mixture of water and "nanoscale aluminum" powder that is more environmentally friendly than conventional propellants ...
The rocket that thinks it's a jet
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Feb 19, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (16) |
12
(PhysOrg.com) -- A reusable spaceplane that can take off from a conventional aircraft runway, carry over twelve tonnes to orbit and then return to land on the same runway could be less than a decade away thanks ...
Sir Richard Branson All Fired Up With Latest Rocket Motor Test
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 31, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (15) |
16
Virgin Galactic owned by Sir Richard Branson completed a successful test on May 28, 2009 of its hybrid nitrous oxide motor designed by Scaled Composites and a subcontractor Sierra Nevada Corporation. The ...
Obama space panel says moon return plan is a no-go (Update)
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 08, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (15) |
40
(AP) -- A White House panel of independent space experts says NASA's return-to-the-moon plan just won't fly.
NASA, AFOSR Test Environmentally-Friendly Rocket Propellant
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Aug 21, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (11) |
4
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, or AFOSR, have successfully launched a small rocket using an environmentally-friendly, safe propellant comprised of aluminum powder and ...
New rocket aims for cheaper nudges in space: Plasma thruster is small, runs on inexpensive gases (Video)
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Feb 23, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (11) |
7
(PhysOrg.com) -- Satellites orbiting the Earth must occasionally be nudged to stay on the correct path. MIT scientists are developing a new rocket that could make this and other spacecraft maneuvers much less ...
Nanosatellites expected to benefit from advanced propulsion technology
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Oct 19, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (12) |
3
A University of Michigan professor is developing an electric rocket thruster, NanoFET, that uses nanoparticle electric propulsion and enables spacecraft to travel faster and with less propellant than previous ...
Design chosen for British 1,000 mph car (w/ Video)
Nov 25, 2009 |
4 / 5 (12) |
8
(PhysOrg.com) -- A British team hoping to be the first to get a car to 1,000 mph (1,610 km/h) has made its final design selection. The six-tonne car, known as the Bloodhound, will be powered by a Eurofighter ...
NASA puts new Ares I-X rocket on launch pad for test flight
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 20, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (10) |
9
(PhysOrg.com) -- For the first time in more than a quarter century, a new vehicle is sitting at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Ares I-X flight test vehicle arrived at the pad ...
