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Definitions...

⦿ A rocket is a vehicle, or a missile which obtains thrust as reaction to the fast flowing exhaust gases from within the rocket engine.

⦿ Often the term rocket is also used to mean a rocket engine.

⦿ Contains the substances necessary for operation it is not dependent on atmospheric oxygen, and thus is capable of operating in outer space.

⦿ 2100 Years on the Timeline it spans as the science and technology of the rocket builds from inception to maturity.

⦿ This presentation chronicles briefly the major events.

⦿ 100 BC - A Greek inventor known as Hero of Alexandria invented a rocket-like device called an aeolipile.

⦿ 13th century - The solid-propellant rocket was invented by the Chinese. The Chinese used rockets in battles.

⦿ 1232 AD - The Chinese used rockets against the Mongols. An arrow with a tube of gunpowder produced an arrow of flying fire.

⦿ 13th-15th Century – All through there were many rocket experiments.

For example, Joanes de Fontana of Italy designed a surface-running rocket-powered torpedo for setting enemy ships on fire.

⦿ 16th Century early-

An ancient legend: a Chinese official named Wan-Hu, World's First "Astronaut”, attempted a flight to the moon. As assistants rushed forward to light the fuses, the flying wicker chair and Wan-Hu were gone with a bang.

⦿ 1650 - A Polish artillery expert, K Siemienowicz, published a series of drawings for a staged rocket.

⦿ 17th Century Late - The army of the Muslim

Indian prince, Haidar Ali, the ruler of Mysore, had a standing corps of rocket throwers.

British troops broke and

ran as they came under a rocket barrage at Seringapatam.

⦿ 1806 – The British used Congreve rockets, named after William Congreve, to attack Napoleon's headquarters in France.

⦿ William Congreve’s rocket used a guide stick to help stabilize the rocket.

⦿ 1812 - The British fired Congreve rockets in the war against the USA.

⦿ 1882 – Carl Patrick Gustaf de Laval invented the convergent-divergent nozzle. The de Laval nozzle helped usher in the era of compressible flow applications such as supersonic and hypersonic flight.

⦿ 19th Century Late –

Theorists, like K Tsiolkovsky in Russia, were examining the fundamental scientific theories behind rocketry.

They were beginning to consider the possibility of space travel.

⦿ 1903 - Tsiolkovsky published a report that suggested the use of liquid propellants for rockets in order to achieve greater range.

⦿ Tsiolkovsky stated that the speed and range of a rocket were limited by the exhaust velocity of escaping gases.

⦿ Tsiolkovsky has been called the father of modern astronautics.

⦿ 1923 - Dr Hermann Oberth, a German, published a book about the rocket travel into outer space.

⦿ It was the first serious scientific work on the topic that received international attention.

⦿ Dr Oberth fathered the first rocket societies around the world.

⦿ 1926 - Robert H Goddard, an American, launched the first liquid-fueled rocket.

⦿ It laid the foundation for a technology that would eventually take man to the moon and beyond.

⦿ Goddard has been called the father of modern rocketry.

⦿ 1932 - This is an early rocket motor designed and developed by the American Rocket Society.

⦿ 1942 - W von Braun and W Dornberger launched the first V-2 rocket in northern Germany.

⦿ The V-2 became one of the best known of all early missiles.

⦿ In Huntsville, USA, von Braun’s German team, with Americans, would develop plans for exploring space.

⦿ They would build the rockets that served the American space program for years to come.

⦿ 1953 - The first American ballistic missile was launched.

⦿ The Redstone was a high-accuracy, liquid-propelled, surface-to-surface missile.

⦿ 1957, May 15 - Launch of the first ICBM, the USSR's R-7.

⦿ 1957, Aug 8 – JUPITER-C, America's first satellite Launcher, was successfully tested.

⦿ 1957, Oct 4 - The USSR launched Sputnik-I, the world's first artificial satellite.

⦿ 1958, Jan 31 - The USA launches Explorer-I, the first American artificial satellite, aboard a rocket, the Juno-I (modified JUPITER-C).

⦿ 1958 - USA launches the first ICBM, the Atlas-B.

⦿ 1961, April 12 - Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet, became the first man to orbit the Earth.

⦿ A-Class (Vostok-1 rocket) was used.

⦿ 1967 - The USA Saturn-V, first launched, was the most powerful member of the Saturn family.

⦿ 1969, July 20 – The crowning achievement for the Saturn-V rocket came when it launched Apollo-11 astronauts to the moon.

⦿ 1973 - Skylab, America's first space station was launched aboard a two-stage Saturn-V vehicle.

⦿ 1981 – The first Space Shuttle mission was launched by the USA.

⦿ 1986 - 1996

Mir was assembled in orbit by successively connecting several modules, each launched separately.

Mir was a highly successful Soviet (and later Russian) space station.

It was humanity's first consistently inhabited long-term research station in space.

⦿ 1998 - USA Deep Space-1 is the first deep space mission to use an ion thruster for propulsion.

⦿ 2004 - USA SpaceShipOne pioneers commercial reusability, carried launch and glide landings.

NOTE: Although most rockets used bygovernments and research organizations are veryreliable, there is still great danger associated with

the building and firing of rocket engines. Individualsinterested in rocketry should never attempt to buildtheir own engines. Even the simplest-looking rocket

engines are very complex. Case-wall burstingstrength, propellant packing density, nozzle design,

and propellant chemistry are all design problemsbeyond the scope of most amateurs. Many homebuilt

rocket engines have exploded in the faces oftheir builders with tragic consequences.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (USA)