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
Rotating Space Elevator Propels its Own Load
May 21, 2009 |
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(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, ...
Design chosen for British 1,000 mph car (w/ Video)
Nov 25, 2009 |
3.9 / 5 (11) |
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(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 ...
2 parachutes malfunctioned in NASA test flight
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 30, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (6) |
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(AP) -- Two of three parachutes malfunctioned in the test flight of a prototype moon rocket earlier this week, causing major damage to the booster, NASA said Friday.
Russia hopes nuclear ship will fly humans to Mars
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 29, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (33) |
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(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 |
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(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.
New aluminum-water rocket propellant promising for future space missions
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Oct 07, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (21) |
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(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 ...
Plasma Rocket Could Travel to Mars in 39 Days
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 06, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (122) |
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(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 Racing Could be Futuristic NASCAR Sport
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jul 31, 2008 |
4.1 / 5 (10) |
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With its first demonstration of a rocket-powered plane, the Rocket Racing League is hoping to have invented a new sport. Thousands of spectators witnessed the league´s first flight, held at the Experimental ...
NASA puzzled why parachutes failed in rocket test
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Dec 03, 2009 |
3.4 / 5 (5) |
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(AP) -- NASA still isn't sure why two parachutes failed during a test flight of its prototype moon rocket just over a month ago.
NASA: Booster rocket damaged in test flight
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 29, 2009 |
3 / 5 (6) |
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(AP) -- NASA says the booster rocket used in a test flight was badly dented when it fell into the Atlantic.
Bad weather delays NASA new rocket test flight
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 27, 2009 |
not rated yet |
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(AP) -- NASA tried for hours Tuesday to launch its newest rocket for a shakedown flight, but clouds and high wind kept it stuck on the pad.
NASA puts new Ares I-X rocket on launch pad for test flight
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 20, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (10) |
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(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 ...
Nanosatellites expected to benefit from advanced propulsion technology
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Oct 19, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (12) |
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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 ...
Key process for space outpost proved on 'vomit comet' ride
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 24, 2009 |
4 / 5 (4) |
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Flying high over the Gulf of Mexico, researchers from NASA and Case Western Reserve University found a key to unlocking oxygen from the surface of the moon.
Rockets vie in simulated lunar landing contest
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 17, 2009 |
4 / 5 (4) |
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(AP) -- A privately built rocket vying for NASA prize money lifted off in the Mojave Desert and flew half of a simulated lunar lander mission Wednesday before an engine problem forced its developers to call ...
