Space Exploration & Rocketry Power and Transportation Technology By: Mr. Smith

What Will We Learn and Do?  Learn about space travel…  Discuss why we explore space…  View photos of the space… shuttle and various rockets…  Learn how a rocket operates…  Learn about the forces that act on a rocket…  Discuss Sir Isaac Newton and the 3 laws of Motion…  Watch the movie “October Sky”  Design, Build and Launch a model Rocket…

Why Space?  Exploration  What’s out there…  Life on other planets…  Another planet that could sustain life…  New Elements that may be useful to us…  Can you think of anything else?

International Space Station  By clicking the picture you’ll see it come together.

Photographs Shuttle, Cape Canaveral, and more… Go to Google  Images  type in “Space, or Shuttle, etc.” to find more pictures on your own.

Rockets and how they work Lets find out how they move.

How Does A Rocket Work?  Propulsion…  Rockets are forced upward by producing extreme amounts of thrust from the rear of their body tube.  The Space Shuttle weighs in at 4.5 million pounds and requires over 7 million pounds of thrust to propel it into orbit  200 miles above earth.

Propulsion Device  Rocket Engine(s)  Rocket Engines come in two forms;  Solid Fuel  Liquid Fuel Rocket engines contain important substances in order to work in space where there is no air – or Oxygen.

Sir Isaac Newton  Sir Isaac Newton presented three natural laws of motion in  One of the three laws explains how rocket thrust pushing down pushes the shuttle up.  1 st Law of Motion…  2 nd Law of Motion…  3 rd Law of Motion…

The Laws of Motion  1 st Law of Motion  If an object is motionless, it will stay motionless unless acted upon by some force.  2 nd Law of Motion  The greater the force on an object, the greater the acceleration -- (F = m*a).  3 rd Law of Motion  For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

3 rd Law of Motion  Though all three laws apply to rocketry our major focus will be on the third…  For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.  This is why a Rocket Engine is classified as a “Reaction” Engine  The Downward thrust will push our model Rocket up.

Examples of Reactions  Letting go of an inflated balloon.  Shooting a Shotgun (Recoil).  Spraying high pressure water or air.

Solid Rocket Engines  The Space Shuttle uses Solid Fuel Engines like the ones we use when we build model rockets.  The Solid Fuel Engines the shuttle uses are called the Rocket Boosters or SRBs for short  Though bigger, they are much the same.  After the ignition of a flammable substance, an explosive force takes place thrusting exhaust from the rear of the engine.  The Primary Purpose of the SRBs is to get the shuttle moving to the point that the Main engines can take over.

Solid Rocket Engines Con’t…  The boosters contain solid propellant packed into a cylindrical container.  As the propellant burns, thrust is produced downward.  This downward pressure forces the shuttle upward.  The SRBs are dropped before exiting the earth’s atmosphere and like the shuttle, can be used over and over.  This keeps NASA’s cost down SRBs

Liquid Fuel Rocket Engines  Liquid-Fuel rocket engines are much more complex than solid-fuel.  The advantage to Liquid fuel is that they are safer.  We can control the amount of thrust by controlling the amount of fuel and oxygen we inject into the combustion chamber.

Robert Goddard  In 1926, Robert Goddard tested the first liquid- propellant rocket engine.  Goddard used Gasoline and Liquid Oxygen.  He is pictured here with his original design.  It flew for only 2.5 seconds, climbed 41 feet, and landed 184 feet away.

Propellants and Oxidizers  Fuel and Oxidizers are components of every rocket engine.  An Oxidizer is a chemical substance that mixes with fuel to allow combustion.  Propellants are mixtures of fuel and oxidizers. Fire… Fire… !

Fuels and Oxidizers (con’t)  Solid Fuel Rocket Engines  combine Fuels and Oxidizers into a cylindrical container with one open end.  The fuel and amount of oxygen contained in this type of engine determines the amount of thrust it can produce.  Cannot be stopped once started – must burn completely.  Liquid Fuel Rocket Engines  Have storage tanks on board that separate and store the liquefied fuel and oxidizer.  Can be regulated during flight like a Fuel injection system used on cars, boats, and motorcycles today.  Can be shut down in the case of an emergency.

Model Rocket Engines  Model Rocket Engines are Solid Fuel Engines.  Heavier rockets require a larger engine.  Though larger, the basic shape and design is the same.  Note the names of the various parts of a rocket engine.

The Rocket Engine In Action

Engine Phases  Using the labeled view, follow the progress of the Engine as it ignites and takes off.  The Second drawing shows the Ignition of propellant.  Once ignited, rockets take less than 1 second to leave the launch pad.

Engine Phases (con’t.)  Thrust is produced through the Boost phase.  The Yellow Material is the Delay Material. It burns slow and does not add thrust.  Last is the Ejection Charge (in Purple). The purpose of this phase is to dislodge the nose cone, and release the recovery system.

Phases of Model Rocket Flight  Countdown  Ignition  Igniter Heats and lights propellant  Launch  Rocket leaves Launch Pad  Powered Flight – Propellant Burns  Thrust from rocket engine  Coast Phase – Delay Material Burns  Slow burn to use up rockets momentum  Ejection Charge – Explosion Takes Place  Nose Cone & Recovery System Ejected.  Slow Descent  Recovery System Slows Rocket’s Descent to Earth  Recovery  Rocket is Recovered and can be re-used The Next Slide will show you a drawing of each Phase.

Flight Path of a Model Rocket

Parts of a Model Rocket You will need to label the parts of a model rocket for a grade.

Nose Cone  NOSE CONE  Usually made of balsa wood or plastic, helps to direct airflow smoothly around rocket.

PAYLOAD SECTION  PAYLOAD SECTION  Area for electronics, cameras, eggs, or any other load allowed by the safety code.  Not common on most Rockets.

Body Tube  BODY TUBE  Usually made of paper, plastic or any other crushable material.  The body tube is the basic airframe to which all other parts are attached.

Recovery System  RECOVERY SYSTEM  A parachute, streamer or any other device or system that will safely return the model.

Launch Lug  LAUNCH LUG  Small tube that fits over a rod to help keep the model stable during the first few feet of flight.  The Launch Lug resembles a Straw.

Recovery Wadding  RECOVERY WADDING  Keeps hot ejection gasses from damaging the recovery system.  Without Recovery Wadding, the parachute would become damaged and melt.  A melted Chute will not slow the rocket enough for a safe landing.

Fins  FINS  Usually made of balsa wood or plastic, and located at the rear of the rocket.  Fins are what keep a model rocket flying straight up.

Engine Mount  ENGINE MOUNT  Holds the engine securely and keeps the heat of the engine away from the body tube.

Rocket Launch

On-Board Camera

The End Prepare for a Quiz and to build a rocket