How Do Rockets Work?

Matt Haynes

2005

Basic Principle of a Rocket

• “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.”

Model Rockets•Type that you’d blast off in large backyard or field

•Engine rated by power

•Engine ratings are in letters

•Letters g and above are high powered model rockets

Model Rockets•In engine the fuel turns into propellant

•propellant is what makes rocket shoot up in air

Space Shuttles• Fuel burned with oxidizer or propellant .

• Creates hot gasses.

• Shoots rocket up.

Space Shuttles • Shoots up because of hot gases.

• Pushes through throat because of pressure and compression.

Space Shuttles

• Upward force becomes greater than downward force

•Lifts off because of Newton’s third law

Navigation of Space Shuttles•Uses a GPS.

•Sends all information like position in space, its velocity and its attitude to flight computers.

•To know which way it is pointing, has several gyroscopes.

•The computers then control the navigation from there unless on manual navigation.

What the Computers Control

•Operations of the orbiter.

•Interfacing with the crew of the shuttle.

•Caution and warning systems.

•Data acquisition and processing from experiments.

•Navigation.

Solid-Fuel Rockets•Used to be used to deliver bombs

•Need something to burn quickly but not explode

•Fuel similar to gunpowder with altered ingredients

Liquid-Propellant Rocket•To fly needs fuel and oxidizer

•Pumped in combustion chamber

•Many different combinations of fuel can be used

About Me My name is Matt Haynes. I am thirteen years old. I have a dog named Bo and a cat named Morris. I am a huge Duke and Panthers fan. My favorite sport is

basketball. My other favorite is football. I like college basketball but not the NBA and I like the NFL and not college football.

BibliographyBrain, Marshall. How Rocket Engines Work. HowStuff

Works, Inc. 29 April, 2005.<http://science.how

stuffworks.htm>.

How Do these rockets work? 30 April, 2005. <http://fly

rockets.com/work.html>.

Sciworks lady. Group presentation. May 2, 2005.