9781422276013

Rockets A rocket is a large vehicle that is used to travel to space. It is comprised of an engine and a propellant fuel that helps in lifting the rocket off the ground. When the fuel burns, it releases the gases to the outside from a nozzle . The force of these gases in turn pushes the rocket upward. A rocket is used to carry astronauts to outer space, and in war is known as a missile.

History The invention of the rocket took place in China during the first century CE. People made rockets from bamboo tubes filled with gunpowder. They used these rockets during religious ceremo- nies and wars. Later, in 1898 a Russian schoolteacher, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, proposed the idea of using rockets for space exploration.

SCIENCE FACTS

● ● Konstantin Tsiolkovsky is known as the father of modern astronautics, while Robert H. Goddard is known as father of modern rocketry. ● ● A rocket works on the principle of Newton’s third law of motion, which says that every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY