Essay --

Rockets were first introduced in 1232 AD. Therefore, they have a very long and extensive history. At first, rockets were just used as weapons, but as early as 1806 they began being used for space travel. The first rockets that were made, were made in China. This was during the time that black powder was discovered. Several years later the largest rocket in the world was built which took 18 months to finish. Many of us don’t think of all the work that has been put into creating rockets. From the tiny weapons that were used to fight off enemies, to the 300 foot tall contraption that sends people to space, rockets have forever changed history and the way that space travel has developed. A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle that obtains thrust from a rocket engine. Rocket engine exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rockets are powered by engines, and engines work by action and reaction. Pushing the rocket forward and then throwing the exhaust backwards causes the rocket to go into the air extremely fast. While comparatively inefficient for low speed use, rockets are relatively lightweight and powerful, capable of generating large accelerations and of attaining extremely high speeds with reasonable efficiency. Rockets are not reliant on the atmosphere and work very well in space. Unlike ordinary engines, rockets carry their own supply of oxygen to burn its fuel. As rockets have gotten bigger and bigger so have the engines. The largest rocket in the world which took 18 months to build was NASA’s Saturn V model. Werner von Braun designed this rocket. He developed a rocket that got the first grou p of men to the moon in July of 1969. The technology of rockets was first k... ... influenced by the Mongol invasions of the previous few centuries. Chemical rockets are the most common type of rocket and they typically create their exhaust by the combustion of rocket propellant. 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 minimize risks. In space, there are better ways of propulsion. Many of them get much more mileage, but they are slower and require an electric power source. Once we start to industrialize space, we will surely assemble large "space trucks" in low Earth orbit to haul payloads around space much more efficiently, using something else besides chemical rocketry. However, for people, who need to be transported quickly, we can assume we will be using chemical rocketry in the first stage of large scale space development.