Marius

Rocket Science

My project is about rockets and rocket science. I also did a little studying on space shuttles and astronomy's greatest scientists. I also tried to research on rocket principles, but I did not find much. I selected this topic for numerous reasons. I really liked my model rocket that I got for my birthday. Around December of last year I watched the movie October Sky, which was about a group of boys who built and launched rockets in a clearing in the woods. The whole town loved watching their rockets fly. I loved it, and that's when I had the idea to do report on rockets. That is how my project began. I hoped to accomplish a lot, and I did, and I did not. (Hey that rhymes)I basically wanted to learn about rockets from "A" to "Z". I wanted to learn about scientists that built rockets and their designs that helped to create our modern space age. I guess I learned a lot of interesting facts about rockets, but not all that I expected. I learned a lot of facts, but they were all grouped around a few sub-topics. Things definitely did not turn out as I expected. That is because I lost my ISP folder! I had no clue where it was so I had to start all over! Otherwise, I think I did really well. There were many different strategies I have picked up over the three years I did ISP. I would say the most helpful resource is probably a book. They are so much better than an interview with an expert and the Internet. Books don't have schedules like people, they cannot be infected with a virus, and they are a lot more reliable because, as you know, the Internet is full of advertisements. Of course, the number one place to find books is at the library. The Internet is on the computer, and people are everywhere on the PLANET ! What technique suits you best? Rockets go far back in history. The first recordings of rockets may have been over 1,000 years ago in ancient China. It read, "then they shot with arrows of flying fire." No one knows for sure whether it is talking about rockets, but rockets are a pretty good guess. The British first encountered rocketry in India during war. The British copied these rockets that the people of India were using and used it against them. One of the most famous scientists of rocketry is Werner Von Braun. After working for the Europeans, he decided to com and work for the U.S. where he built rockets for the army and helped with torpedoes in the navy. Another famous rocket scientist is Robert Goddard. He developed the first the first liquid fueled rocket which he proved could be used in the vacuum of space. A lot of people contributed to rocket science! There are two main types of rocket fuel: solid and liquid. Liquid fuels are stronger and less wasteful then solid fuels. They can also work in the vacuum of space. Unlike liquids, solids take up more room, but they do not need to be pumped around the combustion chamber. Liquid fuels are really super cooled gases. I wonder if we will ever develop a plasma fuel. There are three parts to a space shuttle: the external tank, the solid rocket boosters (SRB's), and the orbiter. The external tank is designed to hold and protect its contents. It is the largest part of the space shuttle, and it is also the only part that isn't recovered. The SRB's are what the shuttle uses to get into the air at liftoff. They are the second largest part of the space shuttle and they are ejected about 75 seconds after liftoff. A parachute is ejected out of them and they land in the ocean where they are recovered. The only part of the shuttle that makes it into space is the orbiter. It is named for the thing it does best, orbit the earth. The orbiter is covered in heat resistant tiles that protect the orbiter and its crew from burning up. After its "scorching" reentry the orbiter lands on its runway like a plane and ejects a parachute to slow it down. The shuttle is the most commonly used space craft at NASA. There have been a few accidents at NASA, but people are still becoming astronaut. About 72 seconds after liftoff, the Challenger's right solid rocket booster sprung a leak, causing a huge explosion which engulfed the shuttle in a cloud of smoke. While training on Apollo I, the capsule caught on fire and the crew was killed. During reentry, the Columbia disintegrated, killing the crew. Robert Goddard is perhaps the most famous scientist of all time. Robert succeeded in many things, but he loved the field of rocketry. Robert built the first liquid powered rocket, which he proved was stronger and more efficient then solid fuel. He also proved that liquid fuel could be used to get rockets into the vacuum of space. He also built the first multi-staged rocket (but what he didn't know was that somebody else had thought about it, but never took it seriously). Robert contributed a lot to modern rocketry. There are plenty of jobs connected to rocketry. First of all, NASA has all sorts of jobs that are in the field of rocketry. Astronauts may not build the rocket, but they have to fly it. So they have to learn about rockets almost as much as the architects have to. Another job is building the rocket, which could be dangerous because if you build the rocket wrong you could have loads of trouble at launch. You could also work at mission control, which is another tough job because you have to make sure the mission goes smoothly. Though through all the difficulty, plenty of people are joining NASA today. This was definitely the HARDEST year I have done ISP. It is also my last year doing ISP, and I cannot say that I went out with a bang. Like last year, this year I did not just loose my report, I lost EVERYTHING!!! Matter of fact, I typed this report by memory. To me, I think I did okay by memory. What do you think? .

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