History of Spaceflight

First documented attempt at spaceflight in 1500 in China Wan Hu (China) Fireworks (rockets) strapped to chair

Most math and physics used in spaceflight was developed !

Influence of Science Fiction H. G. Wells Jules Verne

First Space Engineers Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (Russian, ) – First to analyze rocket motion using Newton's Laws of Motion

Hermann Oberth (German, ) – Published a paper in 1923 on the use of rockets for flying people into space

Robert Goddard ( ) – Received first patent for a rocket in 1914 – first stable liquid-propellant rocket in 1926

German and Soviet Rocket Clubs formed in 1920's and 1930's – Werner von Braun (German) – Walter Dornberger (German) – Sergei Korolev (Russian)

WWII, Germany

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After the war, some German rocket scientists went to the USSR and some to the US (including von Braun)

The Space Race Primary interest in US and USSR was to develop rockets to deliver nuclear weapons to distant targets Oct 4, USSR placed Sputnik I (184 lb satellite) into Earth orbit; US feared that this meant USSR was technically superior and could launch nuclear weapons via rockets

Nov 3, USSR orbited Sputnik II (1120 lb spacecraft with passenger dog Laika, who lived for a week)

Werner von Braun took over US efforts Explorer I (18 lb. satellite) into orbit on Jan 31, 1958

March Pres. Eisenhower formed NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Admininstration)

National Defense Education Act Signed into law on September 2, 1958

April 12, Yuri Gagarin became first human to orbit Earth

May 5, Alan Shepard flew for 15 min. on sub-orbital flight

Feb John Glenn first US astronaut to orbit Earth

Space Race became a race to the moon Pres. Kennedy challenged US to send astronauts to moon and back before 1970

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Rocket plane development (X-1, X-15) - alternative path that US did not pursue some believe it would have been better

X World record for the fastest speed ever reached by a manned rocket powered aircraft. – 4,519 mph

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Mercury Program Single astronauts

Gemini Program pairs of astronauts first space walks

Gemini Rendevous

Apollo Program triples of astronauts to the moon

Saturn V

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Moon Rover

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Space Shuttle (National Space Transportation System --NSTS) Development of shuttle system begun in 1970's First orbiter -- Enterprise (named by popular demand of Star Trek fans)

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List of orbiters: Enterprise Discovery Atlantis Endeavour (replaced Challenger) Challenger (destroyed during launch, Jan. 28, all crew were lost) Columbia (destroyed on re-entry, Feb. 1, all crew were lost)

Interstellar travel GI GI

Difficulties of interstellar travel Vast distances  very great speed and/or a very long travel time Vacuum Radiation Weightlessness Micrometeoroids

The fastest outward-bound spacecraft yet sent, Voyager 1, would take 72,000 years to get to Proxima CentauriVoyager 1

Solar sail Reduce time to ~ 2000 years

Nuclear pulse propulsion Reduce time to ~ 100 years

Fusion Powered Spacecraft Human Outer Planet Exploration (NASA/MSFC, 2003), ICAN-II (The Pennsylvania State University)

Relativistic Time Dilation As velocities approach the speed of light, relativistic time dilation would make the voyage much shorter for the travelervelocities approach the speed of lighttime dilation

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Wormholes Schwarzschild wormholes or Einstein-Rosen bridges are bridges between areas of space

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Newton’s Laws of Motion and Rockets

Newton’s First Law of Motion Objects at rest tend to stay at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force. Objects in motion tend to stay in motion in a straight line unless acted on by an unbalanced force.

Newton’s Second Law of Motion As force is increased, acceleration increases. As mass is increased, acceleration decreases. Therefore, force equals mass times acceleration. (force = mass x acceleration)

Newton’s Third Law of Motion For every action or force there is an equal, opposite and simultaneous reaction or force

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