Myths and Legends

Otto Lilienthal
Wright Brothers

World War I
World War II
Specialized  Aircraft
Space Exploration

Basic Rocket Technology
   The basic theory of a rocket engine is that when rocket fuel is burned, the gasses that result from the burnt fuel push the rocket in the opposite direction, similar to Isacc Newton's law of action and reaction.

Thrust 
   The thrust of a rocket engine is measured in units of weight or in Force (Newton's).

Staging
   When most of the rockets fuel has been exhausted, the rocket is carrying a lot of extra weight and is using the  rocket engine's thrust. So they developed a scheme to discard extra tanks and engines. This simple plan was to place a whole new (smaller) rocket on top of the larger one; this is called a tandem staging. Other approaches involve the use of side-engines, or engines that can be discarded during flight.  This is known as parallel staging. 

Launch
   The main phase of a launch  must use the most fuel and the strongest engines.

Guidance
   This operation of the mission involves control and navigation.

Return to Earth
    To slow down the orbiting to reenter Earth there is a procedure called a ìdeorbitî maneuver that uses on board thrust to slow the vehicle's speed by 1 percent.  Entry into the atmosphere has some problems like heat, and air compression. So scientists have created shields to protect the rocket.

Satellites
    Satellites are used to take pictures and make all sorts of maps. They are also used for communications. Satellites have been used to explore planets.