A rocket is a type of aircraft specifically designed to carry people or objects much higher or farther than a typical airplane or jet. Rockets take people to the moon and travel around the solar system to study what cannot be seen from Earth. Here are three facts about rockets.
1. They Use Two Types of Fuel
When a driver puts fuel into their car, they put liquid gasoline into their tank before driving off again down the road. Rockets, however, typically use solid as well as liquid fuel in their engines. Solid fuel is useful in overcoming the huge amount of gravity required for the rocket to leave the Earth’s atmosphere. Liquid fuel, which generally consists of liquid hydrogen and oxygen, is used at other times. Often, a rocket engine will have a paddle plate boxes that is used to control the amount of fuel that goes to the engine. In the future, there could be something known as ion propulsion that helps rockets lift off into the sky.
2. Rockets Are Not New
Although the specific rockets that people know today that take astronauts into space are a fairly recent invention, variations of those rockets have been around a long time. For example, in the year 1232, the Chinese army warded off invaders with the use of an arrow containing gunpowder that would ignite to produce thrust. Since then, technology has come a long way, but modern astronauts have these early inventors to thank.
3. Rockets Have Many Uses
In addition to being used for space travel and fending off enemy invaders, rockers are used for such things as ejection seats on other aircraft, missiles, and fireworks. You have rocket technology to thank the next time you watch a fireworks show.
Remember these three facts about rockets the next time you play trivia.
