Technological Developments are Making Space Exploration Possible and Offer Benefits on Earth Unit E: Topic Two

2.1 Getting There: Technologies for Space Travel

Biggest Hurdles in Space Travel To go fast enough to achieve orbit around Earth or break free of Earth’s gravity and travel to other planets Gravitational escape velocity had to be reached (28,000 km/hr) if humans were to venture into space To keep equipment operating in the extreme environment of space such as in high levels of radiation, against small celestial particles, in extreme temperatures To transport people out and back safely

The Science of Rocketry Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This law was proposed by Sir Isaac Newton

How a Rocket Works/Earth to Space Eg SpaceX Falcon 9 and Dragon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0AMQ6kRNMA

Rockets! A rocket is a tube that contains combustible materials in one end. On the other end of the rocket is the materials or device that the rocket carries – this is called the payload. What sorts of things would a rocket carry?

Rocket Fuel Rockets NEED a combustible fuel to make them fly Fuels create exhaust The speed the exhaust leaves the rocket is called the exhaust velocity This determines the rockets range – how high and how far Rockets, before 1926, were launched with solid fuel. Gun powder Robert Goddard successfully launched a rocket with liquid fuel in 1926.

Staged Rocket A staged rocket is one that once launched will drop a section of the rocket once the fuel is used up. The rocket flies in stages. Why would it want to drop part of the rocket?

V-2 Rockets - Werner von Braun and WWII The V-2 Rocket Werner von Braun was a German scientist during WWII He experimented with liquid fuel rockets to help Nazi war efforts The worlds FIRST ballistic missile (a bomb powered by a rocket engine) was launched in 1942 This rocket successfully hit a target 200km away These kinds of rockets were then fired at Great Britain V-2 Rockets - Werner von Braun and WWII

End of WWII Near the end of WWII, the American’s and Russian’s wanted what von Braun had created. The American’s got von Braun to go to American to work on the rockets The developed the rocket to take the first U.S. astronauts into space in 1960. Werner von Braun and space exploration

No pilot? If there is no pilot how do they control where the rocket goes?

Gravitational Assist Gravitational assist is a method used to accelerate a spacecraft to gain extra speed by using the gravity of a planet. SLINGSHOT

Rockets and Computers The Hubble Space Telescope In 1990, the space shuttle Discovery blasted off with Hubble on board. The telescope is the size of a bus Computers on Earth communicate with Hubble to tell it where to go and what to do.

Three Basic Parts to a Rocket Structural and mechanical elements Engines, storage tanks, fins. Fuel Liquid oxygen, gasoline, liquid hydrogen. The mixture is ignited in a combustion chamber, causing the gases to expand and leave as exhaust. The speed that the exhaust leaves the rocket at is the exhaust velocity. Payload Materials needed for flight: crew cabins, food, water, air, people.

Water Rockets

Water rockets A water rocket is a type of model rocket using water as its reaction mass. The water is forced out by a pressurized gas, typically compressed air.  We will doing an engineering challenge to test how to design a rocket to travel the farthest. We will be using the Engineering Design Process. Scientists study how nature works, and engineers create new things.

Engineering Design Challenge Groups of 3. Design and build a rocket. Challenge – make a rocket that will travel the farthest. Consider factors to reduce drag. We will be developing communication and collaboration skills.