Technology

80 years ago the first rocket flew into space: how do they work now (photo)

The development of rocket technology is not in place, although the rockets are based on the same principles of physics. In June 1944, the German Fau-2 missile became the first in the world to be launched into space. Over the following decades, people have experimented with different designs to bring the devices into orbit and run them even further into deep space. The creation of new space rockets is now underway, so it is important to understand how they work, IFLSCIENCE writes. In focus.

Technology has appeared its Telegram channel. Subscribe not to miss the latest and most intrusive news from the world of science! It is important to understand that any object that has a mass tends to resist it. But if the object is in motion, it will continue to move until it feels friction or resistance. That is, the object will move inertia. It should not be forgotten about Newton's third law, which indicates that every action has a flat and opposite opposition.

Together, they form a theoretical basis for any launch of a space rocket. In order for the missiles to break away from the ground and get into space, it must move quickly. For example, to cross the pocket line, that is, a peculiar limit where space begins at a height of 100 km, the rocket should have a speed of about 3500 km/h or almost 1 km per second. In order for the rocket to get into orbit and stay there, it must be accelerated. The speed required for low Earth orbit is approximately 8 km/s.

To overcome the gravitational influence of the Earth, the rocket must be moved even faster. This speed is at least 11. 2 km/s or approximately 40 thousand km/h. No matter what speed you need to gain, you need to create a thrust. The thrust depends on the speed of exhaust gases and the mass of gas released in a second. Therefore, you need to move from the principles of physics to chemistry of explosions. Simply put, it is an exothermic reaction during which heat and energy are released.

This is what causes conventional internal combustion engines. The rocket engine requires fuel, oxidizer and fire source. Most often, liquid oxygen is used as an oxidizer. But rocket fuel is different. For example, Falcon SpaceX missiles are used as a rocket kerosene fuel, and Starship the same company is methane. The NASA rocket called Space Launch System and the Ariane 6 rocket of the European Space Agency are used as liquid hydrogen fuel.

But to balance the rocket a thin and high rocket, with a thrust that comes from below is like balancing a pencil on your fingers. Therefore, flexibility is required. Flexibility is achieved due to the presence of moving engine nozzles, as well as other structural elements, such as fins. When the rocket begins to rotate uncontrollably, it means that these systems do not work, and the rocket is about to explode itself, or this explosion is triggered by engineers on Earth.

Space missiles have one thing in common: they have accelerators. But they are not needed for all rockets, because not everyone needs to create the same thrust. Another important characteristic of rockets is that they usually consist of two or more degrees. It is important to mention inertia again here. The greater the mass of the object, the more thrust requires to achieve the desired speed. But the more thrust requires, the more fuel is needed.

Therefore, there is a separation of the steps of the rocket that have already fulfilled their function during the flight. But in some space rockets, like SpaceX missiles, the first degrees can be reused. In other cases, only a capsule in which the cargo or crew is used. The focus has already written about whether the tectonics of the plate on other planets except the Earth.