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Forefathers of Rocketry - Part 1 In This Issue Forefathers of Rocketry - Part 1 Cover Photo: Oddl’ Rockets’ Flics Kit. Get one now at: www.ApogeeRockets.com/oddl_corkscrew_flic.asp Apogee Components, Inc. — Your Source For Rocket Supplies That Will Take You To The “Peak-of-Flight” 3355 Fillmore Ridge Heights Colorado Springs, Colorado 80907-9024 USA www.ApogeeRockets.com e-mail: [email protected] Phone: 719-535-9335 Fax: 719-534-9050 ISSUE 307 FEBRUARY 28, 2012 Forefathers of Modern Rocketry: Part 1 By Bart Hennin The “Forefathers” of Modern Rocketry were actually Let’s meet these fascinating rocketeers. “Four Fathers” of Modern Rocketry (plus one Grandfather). In model rocketry, we often take inspiration from REAL Konstantin Tsiolkovsky rocket scientists. This two-part article examines the fasci- We’ll start with the one whom I’ve termed the grandfa- nating lives, accomplishments, and eccentricities of modern ther of modern day rocketry, rocketry’s early visionaries. I refer to Tsi- When we think of innovations, we tend to credit a single olkovsky as grandfa- person with any new invention. ther of modern day For example, when we think of the telephone it brings rocketry (rather than a single name to mind - A.G. Bell. Similarly, the invention of father) because: 1) the reflecting telescope brings Sir Isaac Newton to mind. He preceded every- one else, 2) He was Even the ubiquitous AIRPLANE had no more than as much a ‘philoso- TWO inventor’s names associated with it, and they were pher’ as he was ‘sci- brothers! entist’, 3) Though he On the other hand, when we ask who ‘invented’ the submitted a plethora modern day ROCKET, we must include not just one or two of designs, he never names, but FIVE! Each of these “brilliant five” were obses- actually built a flying sive in their own way and each was a “crazy” dreamer rocket; But he still laid who believed mankind could have a brighter future. Each out important theoret- Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. He lived worked independently or mostly so (and often in isolation ical aspects of rocket from September 17, 1857 to Sep- on different continents). flight. Tsiolkovsky’s tember 19, 1935. Though separate, these five had in common a dogged revolutionary scien- determination to pursue what they believed in rather than tific ideas laid a solid groundwork upon which future rocket what was popular. Their work and adventures left us with building endeavors would rely. Interestingly, he accom- inspirational quotes, accomplishments, and a brighter plished this with NO formal education! future. Most importantly, each of these five men showed us Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was born to a lower middle- that when we dare to dream big, we can aspire to accom- class family in Izhevskoye in what was then in the Russian plish great deeds! Empire (now in Spassky District, Ryazan Oblast). He was This article is a celebration of the “FOUR Fathers” of stricken at age 9 with scarlet fever, which left him severely modern day rocketry, Robert Goddard, Hermann Julius hearing impaired for the rest of his life. As such he was not Oberth, Sergei Korolev and of course Wernher von Braun; allowed to enter school and so he had to teach himself, It also includes a tribute to the GRANDFATHER of modern making use of the only free library near where he lived. day rocketry, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, who preceded them Young Tsiolkovsky was determined to prove himself smart- all. er and cleverer than others despite his disability. Each of these men overcame huge personal hardships His lack of knowledge as to what was current in sci- to make great and historically vital contributions to the field ence at his time led to him independently producing the of modern rocketry. Each man courageously brought forth ‘theory of gasses’ (even though it had already been known radical ideas that, though they sounded crazy at the time, for some time). The KEY idea Konstantin showed was that turned out to be brilliant insights that would ultimately bring a rapidly expanding gas (presumably generated from a space exploration from the realm of fantasy into the realm of feasible reality! Continued on page 3 About this Newsletter Newsletter Staff You can subscribe to receive this e-zine FREE at the Apogee Writer: Tim Van Milligan Components web site (www.ApogeeRockets.com), or by Layout / Cover Artist: Tim Van Milligan sending an e-mail to: [email protected] with “SUB- Proofreader: Michelle Mason SCRIBE” as the subject line of the message. Page 2 ISSUE 307 FEBRUARY 28, 2012 Continued from page 2 Forefathers of Modern Rocketry - Part 1 of reaching the depths of space - and not an end in itself... rapid chemical reaction) There’s no doubt that it’s very important to have rocket could produce a directed ships since they will help mankind to settle elsewhere in the force. He viewed that universe. But what I’m working for is this resettling... The such a reactionary force whole idea is to move away from the Earth to settlements machine could in fact be in space.” used to propel a pay- He also said: “We are further compelled to take up the load, or even a man into struggle against gravity, and for the utilization of celestial space. space and all its wealth because of the overpopulation of For all his interest our planet.” in science and rock- He also saw our home planet as fragile and vulnerable ets, Tsiolkovsky saw in a time when such ideas were normally not thought of nor these works as mere given serious consideration. supplements to his In his own words... philosophical research of which he produced “Man must at all costs overcome the Earth’s gravity and some 400 works (ap- have, in reserve, the space at least of the Solar System. All proximately 90 of which kinds of danger wait for him on the Earth... For instance, were directly related to Konstantin’s conceptual a cloud of bolides [meteors] or a small planet a few dozen space travel). His space design of a reaction machine kilometers in diameter could fall on the Earth, with such an related designs included - using rapidly expanding impact that the solid, liquid or gaseous blast produced by rocket steering thrusters, gasses to PROPEL a payload it could wipe off the face of the Earth all traces of man and multi-stage boosters, into space. his buildings.” space stations, airlocks, These words are amazing when we realize that they and closed cycle biological systems (to provide food and came in a time of scientific naivety where scientists re- oxygen for space colonies). mained unaware of the many violent collisions that histori- Tsiolkovsky saw the Earth as finite. He assumed cally occurred (and are occurring) in our solar system. humankind would soon outgrow its living space and re- Theories such as dinosaur extinction being due to a sources. “For me, a rocket is only a means - only a method Continued on page 4 Your Source For Everything Rocketry Your www.ApogeeRockets.com “The one altimeter you’ll use AltimeterOne in every rocket you fly.” AltimeterOne - See how high your rocket flew • Records peak altitude up to 29,000 feet (ASL). Displays in meters too! • Easy-to-read LCD display. No need to count beeps or flashes of light. AltimeterTwo - See how fast and high your rocket went • Records peak speed and acceleration using 3-axis accelerometer. NEW! • Also tells you how high the rocket flew. www.ApogeeRockets.com/AltimeterOne.asp Penny shown for size comparison ISSUE 307 FEBRUARY 28, 2012 Page 3 Continued from page 3 Forefathers of Modern Rocketry - Part 1 Tsiolkovsky conceived of a large number of ideas that massive asteroid impact (in the Yucatan Peninsula) were have been used in rockets. This included using graphite still many decades away from discovery! It has only been gas rudders for rocket flight control, and circulating cold in recent years that NASA and other private and public fuel around vital components of the rocket engine (such as agencies have begun to recognize the Earth-wide hazard the outer the walls of the combustion chamber, the nozzle, of killer space collisions that could wipe human life off the and fuel pumps) to keep them from melting. (He also sug- planet. Konstantin correctly pondered these dangers in the gested using cold fuel to cool the shell of the spacecraft late 1800’s! during re-entry to Earth!). Though self taught, Tsiolkovsky was able to pass the He calculated the optimal descent trajectory of a required exams to become a teacher, and from 1880-1892 spacecraft returning to Earth from space. he taught mathematics. During this same period, he also In the field of rocket propellants Tsiolkovsky studied a began his scientific research in air balloon building (he large number of different fuel / oxidizer pairings and made wanted to build an all metal dirigible that could change vol- recommendations. He also did pioneering work on the ume and thus run on hot air rather than helium), life in free theory of jets, and even published a design of a train riding space, aerodynamics and philosophy. on an air cushion! In 1897, Tsiolkovsky derived and published the funda- In short, Tsiolkovsky was a visionary beyond his time. mental rocket equation that relates a rocket’s maximum delta-V (maximum change in speed possible) as a function Robert H. Goddard of its effective exhaust velocity, its initial mass, and its final Imagine this scene: mass. In this same year he developed the first aerodynamic sirens wailing as a police laboratory (wind tunnel) in Russia in his apartment! car plus TWO ambulances In 1903 came his most important work, “The Explora- race along the Massachu- tion of Cosmic Space by Means of Reaction Devices”.
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