Colloquially referred to as one of the hardest professions, rocket science is actually a common name for spacecraft/space-systems engineering. However, one can also generalize this to include all forms of rocketry, including rockets that are not capable of space travel.
Questions tagged [rocket-science]
768 questions
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Should a spacecraft be launched towards the East?
In textbooks it is said that it would be better to launch a spacecraft towards the east to take benefit from the Earth's self-rotation. However, in TV we see that all rockets are launched vertically. It seems that it is because of technical…
velut luna
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Rocket engines: air & vacuum
Could you please help me understand what is the difference between rocket engines designed to work in air (first stage) and vacuum (later stages)?
BarsMonster
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5 answers
Why are there more vertical takeoff than horizontal for spacecrafts?
Vertical takeoff requires disposable rockets (would it a satellite rocket), which is a money loss, and also a lot of fuel, because initial velocity is zero. Also vertical takeoff seems risky, involves huge pieces of equipments, launch pads, to…
jokoon
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What is lighting up Space Shuttle Endeavour's main engines?
Al Jazeera has a terrific collection of Space Shuttle photos. In photo #11 we can see something bright in each Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) as Endeavour lands. What might that be? A reflection off the back of the combustion chamber? Something…
dotancohen
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Would it be economical to add a counterweight to rocket launches?
It seems a large amount of rocket fuel during launches is spent to get the mass moving; indeed according to QuickLaunch, Inc. it takes 40% of the rocket fuel to get to Mach 1.3. It seems as though the engines are firing quite a while before liftoff,…
Ehryk
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Why are rockets launched vertically?
Why the rockets mostly used for space missions are launched vertically upwards and not horizontally like an airplane carrier, gradually increasing its altitude, wouldn't that be more efficient?
Criesto
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2 answers
How does fire create thrust in rocket?
All big rockets are burning either gas or fluid to create thrust. While this is so, I have filled up a plastic bottle with air at high pressure, and it can go long distances by blowing the pressurised air at reverse direction. If my bottle can do…
tcak
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4 answers
Why do rockets accelerate fastest horizontally?
I've heard that rockets accelerate fastest when travelling horizontally to the ground, not downwards or upwards. Is that true, and why?
callum
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3 answers
Why doesn't NASA use RAMJET rockets to get into space?
I would think an open cylinder type rocket where the rocket fuel gets injected into the "hollow" cavity that air is going through would be a more effective than the rocket fuel just burning itself. Does anyone know of any links showing data from…
Joe
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Low-temperature hobby rocketry
I work with a lot of Boy Scouts who want to complete the Space Exploration merit badge. It's a great program, and one of the coolest requirements is building, launching, and recovering a model rocket. Unfortunately, my Scouts are in the city and…
EAMann
- 141
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2 answers
How big would a rocket without stages have to be?
Using currently available fuels and technology and an unlimited budget. How big would a rocket without stages have to be to make it to a stable orbit?
and how big would a rocket without staged have to be to escape Earth's gravity? "edited" - or for…
Jitter
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Can someone explain the Hall effect thruster to me?
I am in high school, and am doing a major research project on Russia. Part of that is a section on the space race, and ion engines/hall effect engines have come up several times. Unfortunately, Google and other searches on this site have turned up a…
Harper
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Why the exhaust pressure should be equal to ambient pressure?
I've came across various sources on rocket operation basics (e.g. this one), and they all pretty much give the same equation for thrust that looks something like this:
$
F = \dot{m}v_e + (p_e - p_a)A
$, where $\dot{m}$ is the mass flow rate, $v_e$…
J. Pipiskin
- 264
3
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2 answers
Why the constant term in this stoichiometric (mass-based) specific impulse equation?
Some months ago I was doing research on Tsiolkovsky's rocket equation, and I created a PDF "cheat sheet" (using $\LaTeX$) with the various parameters re-arranged ($m_{\text{i}}$, $m_{\text{f}}$, $I_{\text{sp}}$, $\Delta v$, etc.) to help me better…
pr1268
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Which is the heaviest present day lifter (rocket)? And is it comparable to the Saturn V rocket?
I know of the Ariane 5 ECA, the Delta IV rocket and a few more, but which of the present day's rockets is the top heavy lifter, say, to low Earth orbit (LEO)?
Although it is not a certain fact, I would imagine that a very heavy lifter to LEO is also…
Ioan Paul Pirau