III. Development of rockets. (History of rocketry)

The technology of rocket propulsion appears to have its origins in the period AD 1200–1300 in Asia, where the first “propellant” had been in use for about 1,000 years for other purposes. The early uses were primarily military. Powered by black powder charges, rockets served primarily as bombardment weapons. Performance of these early rockets was poor by modern standards because the only available propellant was black powder, which is not ideal for propulsion. Military use of rockets declined from 1815 to 1936 because of the superior performance of guns.

During the period 1880–1930 the idea of using rockets for space travel grew in public interest. Stimulated by the conceptions of such fiction writers as Jules Verne, the Russian scientist Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky worked on theoretical problems of propulsion-system design and rocket motion and on the concept of multistage rockets. Robert H. Goddard, an American scientist and inventor also conducted a wide array of rocket experiments from 1908 to 1945. He independently developed ideas similar to those of Tsiolkovsky about spaceflight and propulsion and implemented them, building liquid- and solid-propellant rockets. His developmental work included tests of the world's first liquid-propellant rocket in 1926. A third pioneer, Hermann Oberth of Germany, developed much of the modern theory for rocket and spaceflight independent of Tsiolkovsky and Goddard. He not only provided inspiration for visionaries of spaceflight but played a pivotal role in advancing the practical application of rocket propulsion that led to the development of rockets in Germany during the 1930s.

Due to the work of these early pioneers and a host of rocket experimenters, the potential of rocket propulsion was vaguely perceived prior to World War II, but there were many technical barriers to overcome. Development was accelerated during the late 1930s and particularly during the war years. The most notable achievements in rocket propulsion of this era were the German liquid-propellant V-2 rocket and the Me-163 rocket-powered airplane. The main advances in propulsion that were involved in the wartime technology were the development of pumps, injectors, and cooling systems for liquid-propellant engines and high-energy solid propellants that could be formed into large pieces with reliable burning characteristics.

From 1945 to 1955 propulsion development was still largely determined by military applications. Liquid-propellant engines were refined for use in supersonic research aircraft, intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), and high-altitude research rockets.

Since 1965, missions have drawn on an ever-expanding technology base, using improved propellants, structural materials, and designs. Present-day missions may involve a combination of several kinds of engines and motors, each chosen according to its function.

IV. Space Exploration

Mankind always dreamed of overcoming gravitation and reaching other planets. But it was only in the 1960ies that this dream was to become reality. On the 12th of April 1961 the spaceship "Vostok" was launched into space with a man on board and after orbiting our planet successfully returned to the Earth. The first man to overcome gravitation and orbit the Earth was Yuri Gagarin. This day went down in history of mankind as an outstanding achievement, opening the space era. In the course of space exploration there have been lots of achievements of world science and technology. This period saw the launching of many earth satellites, numerous space laboratories. Among the achievements we may enumerate the landing of automatic stations on the Moon, the flights of space laboratories towards the Venus and Mars. These are the years of manned space flight programmes: Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman-cosmonaut to make a space flight, A. A. Leonov achieved the first "space walk" in 1965, the first Soviet experimental station with four cosmonauts on board went into orbit, the first American expedition landed on the Moon. The Soviet "Lunokhod", automatic orbital stations "Soyuz" and other space laboratories opened up a new period of space exploration. From the first experiments scientists went over to systematic exploration of space. Recently there have been calls to reduce expenditure on space research programmes. I think it would be a serious mistake to allow this to happen. There is a direct link between the development of space research programmes and different earth technologies. The higher the former are the more developed the latter are.