Developed in the second-century BCE, by the ancient Chinese, fireworks are the oldest form of rockets and the most simplistic model of a rocket. Preluding the liquid fueled rocket, solid propellant rockets began with contributions to the field by such scientists as Zasiadko, Constantinov, and Congreve. Although currently in a further advanced state, solid propellant rockets remain in wide spread use today, as seen in rockets including the Space Shuttle dual booster engines and the Delta series booster stages. Liquid fueled rockets were first theorized by Tsiolkozski in in 1896.
The Men Behind the Space Rockets
- Robert Goddard
The father of modern propulsion is the American, Dr. Robert Hutchings Goddard. - Konstantin Eduardovitch Tsiolkovsky
Early Russian scientist (1857-1935). - Hermann Oberth
German scientist. - Wernher von Braun
Wernher von Braun (1912-1977) was one of the most important developers and champions of space exploration during the period between the 1930s and the 1970s. - The Invention of Rockets
The inventors behind the history of rockets: from ancient fire arrows to today's modern rockets.
The Evolution of Rockets
- History of Rockets Timeline
The ancient Chinese had once fastened a myriad of small rockets to a wooden chair, where they positioned their emperor. And in their attempt to reach the heavens, the chair (and their emperor) disappeared in a cloud of fire and smoke. - How Rockets Work
A device shooting out a fast jet of gas, in order to produce a force in the opposite direction. - Newton's Three Laws Applied to Rockets
- Practical Rocketry
- The Rockets of NASA
