Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857-1935) was a Russian mathematics teacher who in 1903 published the ‘Tsiolkovsky formula’ which is an equation that remains the basis of spacecraft engineering even today. This formula established the relationships among rocket speed, the speed of the gas at exit, and the mass of the rocket and its propellant. Tsiolkovsky also conducted theoretical work on the design of liquid-fuel rocket engineering which included the ideas of throttling capability and multi-staging, gyroscopes, escape velocities from the Earth’s gravitational field, and the principle of action and reaction. He paved the way for Sputnik I (the world’s first artificial satellite) and the Vostok rocket (the first of manned spaceflight). Tsiolkovsky is considered one of the fathers of rocketry. Robert H. Goddard (1882-1945), considered the father of modern rocketry, was a physics professor who had a talent for practical engineering and experimentation. By 1926, he constructed and tested the world’s first liquid-fuel rocket. Goddard’s work also included using gyroscopes and vanes for steering, and in 1929, he tested the first rocket to carry scientific instruments (a barometer and camera) which he separated from the rocket in flight and returned to Earth. Roberts Esnault-Pelterie (1881-1957) was a French rocket pioneer who suggested that rockets could be used as long-range ballistic missiles. He experimented with various liquid fuels in rocket motors of his designs. Hermann Oberth Hermann Oberth (1894-1992), a German physicist and mathematician born in Romania was the final of the three founding fathers of rocketry. Although Oberth conducted similar research and arrived at similar conclusions as Tsiolkovsky and Goddard, there is no evide... ... middle of paper ... ...g in 1935. At the end of World War II, the von Braun team surrendered to the U.S. forces rather than risk capture by the Soviet army. In Huntsville, Alabama, von Braun and his team worked on the ballistic rockets called Redstone, Jupiter C, Juno and the Saturn 1B. In 1953, von Braun launched the Redstone rocket and in 1956, the Jupiter C, a three-stage rocket, flew 500km and reached an altitude of 1000km. In 1960, von Braun’s group headquarters became the George C. Marshall Space Flight Centre and the group became responsible for all space launch vehicles for NASA. Von Braun developed the Saturn V rocket that propelled the first astronauts to the moon. One of von Braun’s largest contributions was as he was the head of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Centre, helping develop the Saturn V booster rocket that helped land the first men on the Moon in July 1969.
During the late 1950’s the space race began. This was a race to see who could achieve the most space firsts, between the USA and Russia. Sonny, O’Dell, Sherman, Roy Lee and Quentin live in Coalwood, West Virginia.The space race inspired these boys, who decide to call themselves the Rocket Boys, to make their own rockets. The BCMA (Big Creek Missile Agency) was born when Sonny called a meeting with his friends in his room and discussed how he wanted to build rockets. With the help from the a man at the town’s machine shop, Mr.Bykovski, the BCMA built its first rocket, called Auk I. The rocket was named after an extinct bird that was unable to fly. Auk I was equipped with a wooden bullet shaped nose cone, an aluminum tubing body, fins, and a soldered washer at the bottom. The boys mixed together black powder and postage stamp glue to act as fuel for their rocket. The rocket flew up 6ft, and then fell back down. The rocket boys later found out that the reason their rocket stopped flying was because the solder melted. The BCMA was happy with the result from the rocket, because it was their first ever rocket to fly.
The Soviet’s were responsible for putting man on the moon, rovers on Mars, and launching the Hubble Space Telescope. Indeed, it was the United States’ foes that drove the U.S. to accomplish perhaps the greatest feats of the twentieth century. Following the defeat of Germany and Japan in World War II, tensions between former allies, the United States and the Soviet Union, began to grow. In the following decades, the two superpowers would duke it out in competitions and tremendous shows of nationalism. They formed unmatchable rivalries in politics, economics, sciences, and sports. These rivalries would become clear when two countries competed in the space race, a competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union concerning achievements in the field of space exploration. The Soviet’s took the early lead as they put the first satellite, Sputnik 1, into space. The launch of Sputnik 1 established a sense of fear into the American Public, resulting in the creation of NASA in the late 1950’s which opened the door for space exploration today and for future generations.
Wernher von Braun. Idealist and visionary. Braun began his career in 1925 with the hopes and dreams of leading humanity to the stars. Do you know what he said when the first rocket hit London? He said that “the rocket performed perfectly, it just landed on the wrong planet.”
With respect to the rocket program, the A1 rocket was first completed at the end of 1933. It was only 5 feet long and powered by an alcohol and liquid oxygen motor. Gener...
One thing that helped build a space rocket was a V-2 rocket built by the Germans during WWII. Throughout the years the V-2 rocket turned into the Saturn V rocket. The Saturn V was a rocket NASA built to send people to the moon. The Saturn V rocket was 363 feet tall and about the height of a 36-story-tall building. The Saturn V that launched the Skylab space station only had two stages. The Saturn V rockets used for the Apollo missions had three stages. Each stage would burn its engines until it was out of fuel and would then separate from the rocket and then the next one will start. If it wasn’t for the V-2 and German scientist, von Braun the USA would probably have not traveled to space. The USA sent astronaut John Glent to circle the Earth in 1962 to retaliate the launching of Sputnik. In 1969, a milestone was reached when the USA sent astronaut Neil Armstrong to the moon. The technology on the ship that took Neil to space was equivalent to a basic calculator built in 1980. They took a 64Kb computer (the moon lander) with them to space. It had approximately 64...
...f his research, the inventor was able to accomplish his goal of creating a rocket capable of flight, and his design would later reach the stars. Furthermore, had his work been sponsored by the Armed Forces after the First World War, the space race would have not been such a challenge for the United States (Yost, 144). Dr. Goddard is still revered and remembered as the Father of Modern Rocketry.
The Vostok Space Program, launched by the USSR during the Cold War, was a huge breakthrough in the field of astronautics. This program managed to launch the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, which left Americans speechless. The Russians’ achievements provoked America to start keeping up with them. The Russians’ and the Americans’ struggle to be the most technologically advanced nation in the world is known as the Space Race. As a consequence of their race, many inventions and advancements came into being, many of them being used for other purposes than astronautics. The Vostok Program was a turning point in history by humanity’s first exploration of space, its provocation of the space race during the Cold War, and the practical uses of the inventions created for competing in the space race.
—Washington Star editorial, 20 June 1977” Wernher von Braun was one of the most controversial figures ethically. He helped us reach our goal of space yet was a former Nazi and used slave labor to build his V-2 missile. 7,000 British citizens died as a result of these rockets, but producing the rockets 20,000 more died. The U.S., knowing of von Braun’s Nazi past, recruited him to come to their space program. Had von Braun not been blinded by his goal of rocketry and rather considered his moral obligations, he would have undoubtedly been considered a national hero in the U.S. rocket program.
Although the two countries never said that The Space Race was a competition, everyone knew it was because the two countries were already competing for weapons. The Soviets “won” the first “round” by shooting an item into space, Sputnik 1; this became the first human made satellite to be launched into space. This accomplishment had triggered the Space Race. About four months later, Wernher von Braun, a German engineer and space architect, and the US launched their first satellite, known as Juno 1. Wernher von Braun was said to be the “Father of Rocket Science”. Although Von Braun was a Nazis, he was allowed protection and entrance into America.
During the 1950’s and the 1960’s the “space race” was a huge dispute between the U.S and Russia. The U.S and Russia had a competition to see who was capable to earn more achievement involving space. This competition was called the “space race”. In 1957 Russia sent the first artificial satellite “ Sputnik” into space gaining the lead in the “space race”. About four years later on April 12,
The Space Race is remarkably similar to that of the arms race because of the parallel between the creation of the atomic bomb and the goal of reaching the moon. The United States’ bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki effectively established its place as the technologically superior nation; however, major milestones in space achieved early by the Soviets damaged America’s reputation. In 1957, Soviet scientists shocked the world by successfully launching the Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, beyond the Kármán Line (the boundary of space). This amazing breakthrough “rattled American self-confidence. It cast doubts on America’s vaunted scientific superiority and raised some sobering military questions.” This blow to national pride along with the fear that the Soviets could potentially launch ICBMs from space led to “Rocket fever”. The sudden wave of nationalism and the desire to build a space program worthier to that of the Soviet Union led to the...
One of the most important events that made history was the Apollo program accomplishing the landing of the first human being to step on the Moon. When the Apollo was first declared in 1961, only two human beings had already been in space. Beginning the mission to the moon, scientist had to construct a rocket ship powerful enough to travel to the moon, and a spacecraft that could return back to earth. The rocket that was constructed for this mission was called the Saturn V rocket. With 13 successful launches, the Saturn V rocket carried the Apollo craft into Earth orbit. The initial start of the Apollo 11 mission began July 16, 1969 with the liftoff of the Saturn V rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. After traveling 240,000 miles in 76 hours,
The space race was the product of the Cold War. It was an effort to prove technological superiority but on the other hand, it was also feared on both sides that weapons of mass destruction will be placed in orbit. In 1957, the Soviet Union sent the 184 pound Sputnik 1 satellite into Earth’s orbit. It was the first artificial satellite and the first manmade object to be placed into Earth’s orbit. Following that, they also sent the first animal into space, Laika the dog. In 1958, the United Sates also launched their first satellite into orbit, dubbed Explorer 1. The Soviet space program advanced once again in 1959. The Soviet Union launched Luna 2, which was the first space probe to hit the moon. In April 1961, the Soviet Union had the ultimate success, sending the first human into space. The name of the Russian cosmonaut was Yuri Gagarin, who made a 108 minute suborbital flight in a Vostok 1 spacecraft. One month after that, Alan Shepard became the American in space aboard the Freedom 7 spacecraft. Continuing from there, each nation step...
The idea of an elevator into space is not a new one. First contemplated by a Russian scientist in 1895,
Space travel was born from the flames of war – or in this case, the refrigerators of war. The Soviet Union and the United States were ready to show up each other in the fields of science and engineering, and with the recent advent of rocketry, it was evident that space was the next goal. Russia held the first few victories: including the first man-made satellite and the first man in space. Following these defeats, America picked itself up, and defeated the Russians on the race to the moon.