The History of Space Exploration

The history of space exploration is filled with exciting developments, political intrigue, and momentous advancements. This timeline will take you through a brief history of space exploration. Starting with the development of rockets, you will move on to the 20th century and review the epic space race to land a man on the Moon. You will also explore modern achievements such as the utility of the space shuttle and the launch of the International Space Station, which is pictured here in 2009. Click the player to begin.

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Rockets

Closed and Open Systems

All rockets are governed by the same physics and principles that are needed for any size rocket. Newton’s third law proves that for every reaction there is an equal and opposite reaction. In a closed system, there is no place for pressures to be released and there is no change in pressures in any directions. Rockets can not be closed systems.

In an open system occurs, as the right side of the picture depicts, exhaust is pushed or funneled out towards the bottom. As this exhaust is being pushed or funneled out, an unequal force is now present. The small black arrows show where the pressures are being acted on, based on the release of gases at the bottom. The arrows represent the pressures or forces that are opposite of the opening and are what actually propel the rocket.

Remember Newton’s third law starts for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, in the above example the exhaust is pushing out of the bottom of the rocket and this is causing pressure on the closed portion of the rocket. This law is what causes the rocket to begin its lift off headed toward outer space.

Properties of Rockets

Historically, rocket technology has provided humans with the ability to travel into space. In this interactivity, click on the buttons in the lower right corner to view the properties of a rocket. Four major aerodynamic properties are investigated here; thrust, weight, drag and lift. Click the player to begin.

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