Thursday, December 30, 2010

Rockets in Antiquity


Ancient China is the first known civilization to have developed rocketry for military purposes. While searching for the Elixir of Life, Chinese Taoist Alchemists created black powder, which was soon realized to be useful in explosives, and eventually, projectiles.

Exactly when the Chinese first used Rockets in battle is not known, but it is thought that the Chinese used rocket technology against Mongol hordes in 1232, where there were reports of fire arrows causing damage for a radius of 600 meters. The fire arrows could either have been arrows with explosives at the end, or arrows propelled by gunpowder, such as the Korean Hwacha which consisted of a launch pad containing up to 100 steel-tipped arrows, all rigged to be set off at the same time towards the opposing force.

In the Chinese military text Huologjing multistage rockets are mentioned, but it is still unknown whether they were actually implemented or even built.

The Spread of Chinese Rocket Technology


After the Mongols came to power in China and across Asia, contact with Europeans was made and with it the cultural and technological diffusion between the two cultures.

The Mongols made use of their Rocket technology to conquer much of their land, including the capture of Baghdad in 1258, the conquering of Russia, and Eastern and Central parts of Europe. This marked the start of European innovation in Rocket technology and use in warfare.

As Europeans were starting to discover and use Rockets, so too were Muslim empires in the Middle East. The first iron rocket, that is iron-cased and metal-cylinder artillery, was created by Tipu Sultan of the Kingdom of Mysore in the 1780s.

During the first Mysore war against the British, this rocket technology was used to defeat the British. When the British learned of this technology, they created their own variant known as the Congreve Rocket, which, during the Second Mysore war, was used to defeat Tipu Sultan, and usher in the age of European rule in India.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Modern Rocketry Begins

In 1898, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, a Russian schoolteacher, was the first person to propose the idea of space exploration, using the power of rockets. He suggested the use of liquid propellants, in order to achieve greater range. For his research and vision, Tsiolkovsky has been called the father of modern astronautics.

In the early 20th century Robert Goddard conducted various experiments in rocketry with the goal of achieving altitudes that were not possible with lighter-than-air balloons. He started out experimenting with solid-fueled rockets, but became convinced that they would be easier to control with liquid propellant. This was a very difficult task because fuel and oxygen tanks were needed, along with turbines and combustion chambers. Goddard achieved the first successful liquid-propellant rocket flight on March 16, 1926 in Auburn Massachusetts. Goddard's experiments in liquid propellant rockets continued for many years, and developed a gyroscope system for flight control.

Another influential rocket scientist was Hermann Oberth, born in Transylvania, published a book in 1923 about rocket travel into space. Many small rocket societies popped up around Europe and the world because of his writings. The German society, Verein fur Raumschiffahrt (Society for Space Travel), later developed the V-2 rocket.

Small in comparison to modern rockets, the V-2 achieved great thrust by burning a mixture of liquid oxygen and alcohol at a rate of one ton every seven seconds. The V-2 had the capability to devastate whole city blocks, which it did when it was launched against London during World War 2. Fortunately, the development of the V-2 came too late in the war, and not enough damage was caused to have any serious impact on the war.

With the fall of Germany, many V-2 rockets, and their designers and scientists, were captured by the allies. One of the head scientists from the V-2 program was Wernher von Braun, who was taken back to the United States to work on the growing American rocket program, as now the United States and Soviet Union both saw the military and scientific potential in rockets. At this point, various medium and long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles were built, which became the starting points to the American and Soviet space programs.