O launchinrockets consists of sending a space vehicle, manned or unmanned, out of the earth atmosphere. The launch can be done in order to place artificial satellites in Earth orbit or even to take astronauts on research missions or repair missions to meteorological instruments.
This type of operation is of great importance for the explorationspace, for research in Astronomy, to the telecommunications and also for the development of new navigation systems, propulsion, among others.
See too: Apollo 11 - The man's first trip to the moon
What is a space rocket?
The space rocket is a vehicle with a jet engine capable of transporting equipment or even people off the Earth to space, that is, to every region beyond the earth's atmosphere. In space there is no oxygen, so rockets are not powered by conventional engines like those we use in automobiles. In rockets, fuels are used that carry their own supply of oxygen, otherwise it would not be possible for their combustion.
To get away from the big gravitational attraction from Earth, the rockets consume an enormous amount of energy. To give you an idea, the rocket that took the first astronauts to the moon, SaturnV, was capable of generating a force of 34.5 million newtons, rising more than 100 km in height in a few minutes.
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rocket launch
O working principle of rocket enginesis based on Newton's third law. To move upwards, the rockets spew huge jets of heated gas downwards. In this way, according to the law of action and reaction, the expelled gases push the rocket upwards. Since the movement of the rocket does not depend on whether it is in contact with a medium or another body, as in the case of vehicles land, ships and planes, they are able to continue accelerating even in a vacuum as long as there is fuel in their reservoir.
THE rocket power is called buoyancy. This force is obtained when the rocket fuel combusts and is forced out through a small nozzle at the bottom of the rocket, directing the reaction force in the vertical direction.
The magnitude of the force that the gas produces on the rocket depends on the mass of its particles and also on the speed at which the gases are expelled. The larger these measurements, the greater the amount of impulse produced by the propellant, that is, the fuel used by the rocket. Impulse is the physical quantity that measures the change in force applied to the rocket every second. More specifically, fuels used in rockets are classified according to their thrust. specific, which corresponds to the force produced per second for each kilogram of gas expelled by the rocket.
Lookalso: Facts that prove the arrival of man on the moon
Fuel used in rockets
Most rockets are powered by fuelschemicals, which can be either solid or liquid. You solid fuels they are made from a powder compacted under great pressure. In this powder, dry fuels are mixed with strong oxidizers, capable of releasing a large amount of oxygen during combustion.
In rockets powered by liquid fuels, in turn, it is common for there to be chambers that separate the fuels from the oxidants, which only mix from the moment of ignition, thus allowing greater control of the thrust on the rocket. The most commonly used liquid fuels in rockets are the hydrazine it's the liquid hydrogen.
Rocket Launch Steps
Rocket launches happen by stages, that is, cylindrical sections that, when fitted, give shape to the rocket. Depending on their number and function, these stages may vary in shape and size. The most modern rockets currently used to place satellites in Earth's orbit, for example, they only have twostages.
O first stage of the rocket is the most robust of all. It is the heaviest part, as it is made to support the entire friction with the Earth's atmosphere. Furthermore, most rocket engines are at this stage.
O secondphaseand moreLight, because it starts to operate at high altitudes, where the atmosphere is much thinner. When the second stage starts, the rockets detach from various fairings, as well as the sharp heat shield that protects your main load.
See too: Why don't we feel the Earth rotate?
Where are rockets launched from?
They exist dozensof launch sites of rocket ships around the world. Most of them, however, are found in the HemisphereNorthand along the Lyah from Ecuador. Where the rockets are launched from is very important since, on the Equator Line, the Earth revolves around itself at a speed of approximately 1600 km/h. However, there are rockets that carry out orbits over the Earth's polar regions, so in these regions there are also launch sites.
Where a rocket is launched from is also important in determining where it will be. the place of fall of its stages. Previously, stages deteriorated on entering the atmosphere due to their friction with the air, but nowadays stages are developed to support the return to the atmosphere. Earth. Rocket parts are generally launched so that they fall into the open sea, which allows for a great reduction in the costs of sending a rocket into space.
In recent years, companies like SpaceX has invested in rocket technologies that are capable of automatically landing on the ground, further lowering the costs involved in launching them.
By Rafael Hellerbrock
Physics teacher
