A Brief History of Rockets

The general principle of jet flight, which formed the basis of all rockets, is simple - some part is separated from the body, setting everything else in motion.

It is unknown who was the first to implement this principle, but various guesses and conjectures bring the genealogy of rocket science right back to Archimedes. What is known for certain about the first such inventions is that they were actively used by the Chinese, who loaded them with gunpowder and launched them into the sky due to the explosion. Thus they created the first solid fuel rockets. European governments showed great interest in missiles early

Second rocket boom

Rockets waited in the wings and waited: in the 1920s, the second rocket boom began, and it is associated primarily with two names.

Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky, a self-taught scientist from the Ryazan province, despite difficulties and obstacles, himself reached many discoveries, without which it would have been impossible to even talk about space. The idea of ​​using liquid fuel, Tsiolkovsky’s formula, which calculates the speed required for flight based on the ratio of the final and initial masses, a multi-stage rocket - all this is his merit. Largely under the influence of his works, domestic rocket science was created and formalized. In the Soviet Union, societies and circles for the study of jet propulsion began to spontaneously arise, including GIRD - a group for the study of jet propulsion, and in 1933, under the patronage of the authorities, the Jet Institute appeared.

Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky.
Source: Wikimedia.org

The second hero of the rocket race is the German physicist Wernher von Braun. Brown had an excellent education and a lively mind, and after meeting another luminary of world rocket science, Heinrich Oberth, he decided to put all his efforts into creating and improving rockets. During World War II, von Braun actually became the father of the Reich's “weapon of retaliation” - the V-2 rocket, which the Germans began using on the battlefield in 1944. The “winged horror,” as it was called in the press, brought destruction to many English cities, but, fortunately, at that time the collapse of Nazism was already a matter of time. Wernher von Braun, together with his brother, decided to surrender to the Americans, and, as history has shown, this was a lucky ticket not only and not so much for scientists, but for the Americans themselves. Since 1955, Brown has worked for the American government, and his inventions form the basis of the US space program.

But let's go back to the 1930s. The Soviet government appreciated the zeal of enthusiasts on the path to space and decided to use it in its own interests. During the war years, the Katyusha, a multiple launch rocket system that fired rockets, showed its worth. It was in many ways an innovative weapon: the Katyusha, based on a Studebaker light truck, arrived, turned around, fired at the sector and left, not allowing the Germans to come to their senses.

The end of the war gave our leadership new task: The Americans demonstrated to the world the full power of the nuclear bomb, and it became quite obvious that only those who have something similar can claim the status of a superpower. But there was a problem. The fact is that, in addition to the bomb itself, we needed delivery vehicles that could bypass US air defense. Airplanes were not suitable for this. And the USSR decided to rely on missiles.

Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky died in 1935, but he was replaced by a whole generation of young scientists who sent man into space. Among these scientists was Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, who was destined to become the Soviets' "trump card" in the space race.

The USSR set about creating its intercontinental missile with all zeal: institutes were organized, the best scientists were gathered, a missile research institute was being created in Podlipki near Moscow, and work was in full swing.

Only a colossal effort of effort, resources and minds made it possible Soviet Union build his own rocket, which was named R-7, in the shortest possible time. It was its modifications that launched Sputnik and Yuri Gagarin into space, and it was Sergei Korolev and his associates who launched the space age of mankind. But what does a space rocket consist of?

Research project

"Rocket Science:

past present Future"

Scientific supervisor: Daria Vladimirovna

1. Introduction. 3

2. The history of the origins of rocket science. 4

3. First steps in space. 7

4. Modern achievements in astronautics. 14

5. Imitation of a rocket launch at home. 16

6. Conclusion. 17

7. List of references used: 18

Introduction

Find out how rocket science began;

Explore the first steps in space,

Find out about modern achievements in astronautics,

Simulate a rocket launch at home.

The history of the origins of rocket science

At the end of the 9th century, the Chinese invented gunpowder, which they initially used to make firecrackers, which they attached to the tips of arrows and launched towards their enemies. The explosions frightened the horses and caused panic. Very soon, Chinese gunsmiths noticed that the fragile firecrackers were flying on their own: this is how the principle of launching a rocket was discovered. Soon gunpowder began to be widely used in military affairs, grenades, cannons, and rifles. Military strategists trusted direct-fire cannons more than unguided missiles, but aerial projectiles proved effective at hitting large targets. It was the invention of gunpowder that became the basis for the emergence of real rockets. Rockets began to be improved. Over time, various scientists calculated how much gunpowder was needed to launch a rocket to the moon. And since from ancient times man dreamed of breaking away from the Earth and reaching other worlds, we came to the point that we began to invent a space rocket. Even 400 years ago, the possibility of space flights was proven, but until the mid-20th century, space flights were only in the minds of scientists and science fiction writers. And only two designers S. Korolev and V. von Braun made the dream a reality.

In 1931, a group for the study of jet propulsion was created, headed by Sergei Pavlovich Korolev. The scientist immediately focused his attention on creating cruise missiles. August 17, 1933 A hybrid fuel rocket, GIRD-09, took off into the sky, the rocket rose over 400 meters, and a few months later the first rocket using liquid jet fuel, GIRD-X, was launched. Soon two devices appeared and were successfully tested: RNII-212 and RNII-217. The study of jet propulsion was of interest not only to Soviet scientists. Similar work was carried out in Germany. In 1933 In Germany, the first launch of a rocket by the German scientist von Braun took place - A-1.

The design of this rocket turned out to be unstable, which was taken into account when creating a new rocket: A-2. At the end of 1934, two missiles of this type were successfully launched from the test site. Both missiles had a liquid-propellant jet engine (LPRE). Already in 1936, the A-3 rocket was created, then the command of Nazi Germany gave the go-ahead for the development of the rocket program, and the following year tests of the A-3 began. The rocket, unlike its predecessors, weighed more and had gas rudders, which made it possible to launch it vertically from the launch pad. However, the tests ended in failure, and von Braun began work on the A-5.

Having successfully launched the A-5, designers moved on to work on the large A-4 rocket, which during the war became known as the V-2. The missile, weighing 13 tons and 14 meters high, hit targets at a distance of up to 300 km, covering it in 5 minutes; later the missile served as a model for all post-war missiles. After Germany's surrender, German scientists continued to work on improving rocket technology. Von Braun surrendered to the Americans and became one of the leading specialists in the American space program.

The USSR and the USA began a race for possession of German missile secrets. The Americans, together with von Braun, received not only documentation, but also the factories where the V-2 was manufactured. However, a few months later this territory ceded to the USSR, and a group of scientists led by Korolev immediately arrived there. The rocket scientists were tasked with reproducing the A-4 rocket. In 1948

Korolev successfully tested the R-1 rocket, a slightly modernized copy of the V-2. Later, in 1953, the designers were faced with the task of creating a rocket capable of delivering a detachable warhead weighing 5 tons to a distance of up to 8 thousand km. S.P. Korolev decided to abandon the German inheritance; he had to develop a completely new rocket, which did not yet exist. Despite the fact that the new military order was designed for the new kind nuclear weapons, Korolev had the opportunity to create a rocket that could launch a ship into space. Since the engine that could put such a load into orbit did not exist even in the projects, Korolev proposed a revolutionary rocket design. It consisted of four blocks of the first stage and one block of the second, connected in parallel. This system was called a “bundle”. Moreover, the engines began to work from the ground. On May 15, 1957, the first launch of a new rocket took place, which was named R-7. The success and, as a result, reliability of the design and very high power for a ballistic missile made it possible to use the R-7 as a launch vehicle. It was launch vehicles that opened up the space age to man.

First steps in space

Korolev made rockets for the military, but dreamed of starting space exploration with their help. In the spring of 1954, he, together with academician M.V. Keldysh and a group of scientists from the Academy of Sciences, determined the range of problems that artificial Earth satellites were supposed to solve. Korolev appealed to the government with a request to allow the use of a new rocket to launch a space satellite. Khrushchev agreed, and at the beginning of 1956 a resolution was adopted on the creation of an artificial Earth satellite weighing 1000-1400 kg with equipment for scientific research weighing 200-300 kg. Scientists began work on two satellites at once. The first so-called “object-D” weighed more than 1.3 tons and carried 12 scientific instruments on board. In addition, it was equipped solar panels, from which the Mayak radio transmitter and tape recorder were powered for recording telemetry in those parts of the orbit that are inaccessible to ground-based tracking stations. However, before the start he broke down. To prevent the spacecraft from overheating in the sun, a gas thermoregulation system was developed inside the satellite. In addition, an original cooling system was invented. Thus, the “object-D”, which was supposed to open the space age, had all the systems of modern spacecraft. It was a full-fledged space research station.

The second satellite was biological. It was the head fairing of the R-7, inside which the scientists placed a pressurized cabin for the animal and containers with scientific and measuring equipment. The satellite had a mass of more than half a ton and was supposed to go into orbit after the “D object”. The purpose of his launch of the ball is quite simple - to prove that a living creature is capable of flying into space and staying alive.

However, the first to fly into space was not a satellite loaded with scientific equipment, but a small metal ball equipped with a simple radio transmitter. This device was called the “simplest satellite”, or PS. A metal ball with a diameter of just over half a meter, consisting of two hemispheres fastened with 36 bolts, had a mass of only 83 kg.

It had 4 antennas installed on it, 2.5 and 2.4 meters long. The sealed aluminum case was filled with nitrogen, this was supposed to protect the device from overheating. Also inside were two transmitters weighing 3.5 kg and three batteries. The radio signals it transmitted made it possible to explore the upper layers of the ionosphere.

The simplest satellite was assembled in record time short time. On February 15, 1957, a resolution was adopted on its creation, and on October 4 of the same year, it entered orbit. The “beep-beep” signal received by all radio amateurs heralded the beginning of a new space age. PS-1 spent 92 days in orbit, and already on November 4, exactly a month after launch, PS-2 went into space with the dog Laika on board. The first living creature was supposed to survive in orbit for a week, but the device overheated and the dog quickly died. Nevertheless, the main goal was achieved - Korolev proved the possibility of flying a living creature into space.

Laika was the first living creature to travel into space, but she was far from the first animal to fly in a rocket. Scientists in the USSR and USA used animals to study overloads during flight. The Americans preferred to fly monkeys, and we preferred to fly dogs, which we found in the courtyards of the Institute of Aviation Medicine. Scientists have trained dogs to wear special clothes to eat automatic feeder moistened food, because it is impossible to lap in zero gravity. The dogs underwent training, preparing for overloads and ejection.

In the same year S.P. Korolev began research on creating a manned satellite spacecraft. The launch vehicle was to be the R-7. Calculations have shown that it is capable of delivering cargo weighing more than 5 tons into low-Earth orbit.

At the same time, Korolev’s bureau began work on the Vostok spacecraft. In total, three types of ships were created: the Vostok-1k prototype, on which the systems were tested, the Vostok-2k reconnaissance satellite, and the Vostok-3k, intended for human flights into space.

After completing work on the future Vostok spacecraft, it was time for testing. The first to fly on the satellite ship was the dummy, followed by the dogs. On August 19, 1960, the Sputnik 5 spacecraft, which was a prototype of the Vostok spacecraft, was launched into space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The dogs Belka and Strelka went on the ship.

They spent about a day in orbit and returned safely to earth. For several months there were still attempts to launch dogs into space, but all were unsuccessful and the dogs died. S.P. Korolev could not send a man into space until he was sure that the ship was reliable and the astronaut would return to Earth safe and sound, so dog launches continued. On March 9, 1961, the Sputnik 9 spacecraft launched, carrying on board a mannequin, a dog Chernushka, a mouse and a guinea pig. When returning after entering the dense layers of the atmosphere, the dummy successfully ejected, and the animals landed in the descent module.

Zvezdochka was the next to go into space. On March 25, a spacecraft with a dog and a dummy on board went into orbit, performed a series of tests and returned to earth. The safety of the spacecraft was proven, and now Korolev, with a calm heart, gave the go-ahead for human flight. The single-seat Vostok spacecraft carried an astronaut into orbit, who was flying in a spacesuit. The life support system was designed for 10 days of flight. After the completion of the research program, the descent module was separated from the ship, which delivered the astronaut to the ground. At an altitude of 7 km, the astronaut ejected and landed separately from the descent module. However, in emergency cases, he could not leave the device. The total mass of the spacecraft reached 4.73 tons, length (without antennas) 4.4 m, and maximum diameter 2.43 m. The compartments were mechanically connected to each other using metal bands and pyrotechnic locks. The ship was equipped with systems: automatic and manual control, automatic orientation to

The sun, manual orientation to the Earth, life support, designed to maintain an internal atmosphere close in its parameters to the Earth's atmosphere for 10 days, command and logic control, power supply, thermal control and landing.

The weight of the spacecraft together with the last stage of the launch vehicle was 6.17 tons, and their combined length was 7.35 m. When developing the descent vehicle, the designers chose an asymmetrical spherical shape, as the most well studied and having stable aerodynamic characteristics for all ranges at different speeds. This solution made it possible to provide an acceptable mass of thermal protection for the device and implement the simplest ballistic scheme for descent from orbit.

At the same time, the choice of a ballistic descent scheme determined the high overloads that the person working on board the ship had to experience. The descent vehicle had two windows, one of which was located on the entrance hatch, just above the astronaut’s head, and the other, equipped with a special orientation system, in the floor at his feet.

On April 12, 1961, an 8k78 launch vehicle carrying the Vostok spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. On board the ship was pilot-cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who was the first to overcome the gravity of his native planet and enter low-Earth orbit. "Vostok" made one revolution around the Earth, the flight lasted 108 minutes. The flight of the Vostok spacecraft with a person on board was the result of the hard work of Soviet scientists, engineers, doctors and specialists in various fields of technology. On August 6, 1961, the ship, called Vostok-2, was launched with pilot-cosmonaut G.S. Titov. The flight lasted 25 hours. The orbital flight and descent went well. A professional reportage film camera was installed on the Vostok-2 ship, modified for on-board filming. Using this camera, a 10-minute photograph of the Earth was taken through the ship's windows.

The shooting objects were chosen by the astronaut himself, trying to obtain material illustrating the pictures he observed during the flight. The resulting high-quality footage was widely shown on television, published in national newspapers, and aroused the interest of the scientific community in studying images of the Earth from space. The next stage was the Voskhod program for man's entry into space. For this purpose the design was changed. The two-seater Voskhod-2 was equipped with an inflatable airlock chamber, which was fired back after use. Outside the camera, the designers installed a movie camera, cylinders with a supply of air for inflation, and a supply of oxygen. A special Berkut spacesuit was developed for the flight. The suit had a multi-layer hermetic shell, with which pressure was maintained, and on the outside there was a special coating that protected from sunlight. On March 18, 1965, Voskhod-2 launched with cosmonauts Belyaev and Leonov. An hour and a half after the start of the flight, Leonov opened the outer hatch and went into outer space.

Space shuttle launches have been put on hold new era into space exploration. In 1962, designers began designing the Soyuz spacecraft to fly around the Moon. Simultaneously with Soviet scientists, the US space agency began developing a lunar program; they wanted to be the first to explore the surface of the moon. Lunokhods were created to study the surface of the Moon. New launch vehicles and spacecraft, such as the Apollo, created by NASA scientists, to carry astronauts to the surface of the Moon. On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 launched. The lunar module landed on the moon. Neil Armstrong descended onto the lunar surface on July 21, 1969, making the first lunar landing in human history. Spaceships could not provide a long stay in orbit, so scientists began to think about creating an orbital station. In 1971, the Salyut orbital station was launched into orbit using the Proton launch vehicle. 2 years later, the United States launched the Skylab station.

Orbital stations (OS) were intended for long-term stay of people in low-Earth orbit, for conducting scientific research in outer space, observing the surface and atmosphere of the planet. What distinguished the OS from artificial satellites was the presence of a crew, which was periodically replaced using transport ships. The ships carried crew changes, fuel supplies and materials for the station, and also life support equipment for the crew. The length of stay at the orbital station depended on whether it could be refueled and repaired in time. Therefore, when developing the third generation orbital station Salyut, it was decided to create a cargo ship on the basis of the manned Soyuz spacecraft, which later received the name Progress. During the design, onboard systems and the design of the Soyuz spacecraft were used. "Progress" had three main compartments: a sealed cargo compartment with a docking unit, which housed materials and equipment delivered to the station, a refueling compartment, and an instrumentation compartment.

In 1979, Soviet designers began work on a new type of long-term orbital stations. 280 organizations worked on “The World”. The base unit was launched into orbit on February 20, 1986. Then, over the course of 10 years, six more modules were docked one after another. Since 1995, foreign crews began to visit the station. Also, 15 expeditions visited the station, 14 of them international.

The station spent 5,511 days in orbit. In the late 1990s, numerous problems began at the station due to the constant failure of various instruments and systems. After some time, the decision was made to scuttle the Mir. On March 23, 2001, the station, which had worked three times longer, was sunk in the Pacific Ocean. In the same 1979, American designers built the first Shuttle, space shuttle, and reusable transport spacecraft. The shuttle launches into space, performs maneuvers in orbit as a spacecraft, and returns to Earth as an airplane. It was understood that the Shuttles would scurry like shuttles between low-Earth orbit and the Earth, delivering payloads in both directions. The ships began to be used to launch cargo into orbit at an altitude of 200-500 km, conduct research, and service orbital space stations.

This article will present the reader with such most interesting topic, like a space rocket, a launch vehicle and all the useful experience that this invention brought to humanity. It will also talk about payloads delivered into outer space. Space exploration began not so long ago. In the USSR it was the middle of the third five-year plan, when the Second World War. The space rocket was developed in many countries, but even the United States failed to overtake us at that stage.

First

The first to leave the USSR in a successful launch space launch vehicle with an artificial satellite on board October 4, 1957. The PS-1 satellite was successfully launched into low-Earth orbit. It should be noted that this required the creation of six generations, and only the seventh generation of Russian space rockets were able to develop the speed required to enter near-Earth space - eight kilometers per second. Otherwise, it is impossible to overcome the gravity of the Earth.

This became possible in the process of developing long-range ballistic weapons, where engine boost was used. It should not be confused: a space rocket and a spaceship are two different things. The rocket is a delivery vehicle, and the ship is attached to it. Instead, there can be anything there - a space rocket can carry a satellite, equipment, and a nuclear warhead, which has always served and still serves as a deterrent for nuclear powers and an incentive to preserve peace.

Story

The first to theoretically substantiate the launch of a space rocket were Russian scientists Meshchersky and Tsiolkovsky, who already in 1897 described the theory of its flight. Much later, this idea was picked up by Oberth and von Braun from Germany and Goddard from the USA. It was in these three countries that work began on the problems of jet propulsion, the creation of solid fuel and liquid jet engines. These issues were best resolved in Russia; at least solid fuel engines were already widely used in World War II (Katyusha engines). Liquid jet engines were better developed in Germany, which created the first ballistic missile, the V-2.

After the war, Wernher von Braun's team, taking the drawings and developments, found shelter in the USA, and the USSR was forced to be content with a small number of individual rocket components without any accompanying documentation. The rest we came up with ourselves. Rocket technology developed rapidly, increasingly increasing the range and weight of the load carried. In 1954, work began on the project, thanks to which the USSR was able to be the first to fly a space rocket. It was an intercontinental two-stage ballistic missile R-7, which was soon upgraded for space. It turned out to be a success - extremely reliable, securing many records in space exploration. It is still used in its modernized form.

"Sputnik" and "Moon"

In 1957, the first space rocket - the same R-7 - launched the artificial Sputnik 1 into orbit. The United States decided to repeat such a launch a little later. However, in the first attempt, their space rocket did not go into space; it exploded at the start - even at live. "Vanguard" was designed by a purely American team, and it did not live up to expectations. Then Wernher von Braun took up the project, and in February 1958 the launch of the space rocket was a success. Meanwhile, in the USSR the R-7 was modernized - a third stage was added to it. As a result, the speed of the space rocket became completely different - a second cosmic speed was achieved, thanks to which it became possible to leave the Earth's orbit. For several more years, the R-7 series was modernized and improved. The engines of space rockets were changed, and a lot of experiments were done with the third stage. The next attempts were successful. The speed of the space rocket made it possible not only to leave the Earth’s orbit, but also to think about studying other planets in the solar system.

But at first, mankind's attention was almost completely focused on the Earth's natural satellite - the Moon. In 1959, the Soviet space station Luna 1 flew to it, which was supposed to make a hard landing on the lunar surface. However, due to insufficiently accurate calculations, the device passed a little past (six thousand kilometers) and rushed towards the Sun, where it settled into orbit. This is how our star got its first artificial satellite - an accidental gift. But our natural satellite was not alone for long, and in the same 1959, Luna-2 flew to it, having completed its task absolutely correctly. A month later, Luna 3 delivered us photographs of the far side of our night star. And in 1966, Luna 9 softly landed right in the Ocean of Storms, and we received panoramic views of the lunar surface. The lunar program continued for a long time, until the time when American astronauts landed on it.

Yuri Gagarin

April 12 has become one of the most significant days in our country. It is impossible to convey the power of the people's jubilation, pride, and truly happiness when the world's first human flight into space was announced. Yuri Gagarin became not only a national hero, he was applauded by the whole world. And therefore, April 12, 1961, a day that triumphantly went down in history, became Cosmonautics Day. The Americans urgently tried to respond to this unprecedented step in order to share space glory with us. A month later, Alan Shepard took off, but the ship did not go into orbit; it was a suborbital flight in an arc, and the United States succeeded in orbital flight only in 1962.

Gagarin flew into space on the Vostok spacecraft. This is a special machine in which Korolev created an extremely successful space platform that solves many different practical problems. At the same time, at the very beginning of the sixties, not only a manned version of space flight was being developed, but a photo reconnaissance project was also completed. "Vostok" generally had many modifications - more than forty. And today satellites from the Bion series are in operation - these are direct descendants of the ship on which the first manned flight into space was made. In the same 1961, German Titov had a much more complex expedition, who spent the whole day in space. The United States was able to repeat this achievement only in 1963.

"East"

An ejection seat was provided for cosmonauts on all Vostok spacecraft. This was a wise decision, since a single device performed tasks both at the launch (emergency rescue of the crew) and the soft landing of the descent module. Designers focused their efforts on developing one device rather than two. This reduced the technical risk; in aviation, the catapult system at that time was already well developed. On the other hand, there is a huge gain in time than if you design a completely new device. After all, the space race continued, and the USSR won it by a fairly large margin.

Titov landed in the same way. He was lucky to parachute around railway, along which the train was traveling, and journalists immediately photographed it. The landing system, which has become the most reliable and softest, was developed in 1965 and uses a gamma altimeter. She still serves today. The USA did not have this technology, which is why all of their descent vehicles, even the new SpaceX Dragons, do not land, but splash down. Only shuttles are an exception. And in 1962, the USSR already began group flights on the Vostok-3 and Vostok-4 spacecraft. In 1963, the first woman joined the corps of Soviet cosmonauts - Valentina Tereshkova went into space, becoming the first in the world. At the same time, Valery Bykovsky set a record for the duration of a single flight that has not yet been broken - he stayed in space for five days. In 1964, the multi-seat Voskhod ship appeared, and the United States was a whole year behind. And in 1965, Alexey Leonov went into outer space!

"Venus"

In 1966, the USSR began interplanetary flights. The Venera 3 spacecraft made a hard landing on a neighboring planet and delivered there the Earth's globe and the USSR pennant. In 1975, Venera 9 managed to make a soft landing and transmit an image of the planet's surface. And "Venera-13" took color panoramic photographs and sound recordings. The AMS series (automatic interplanetary stations) for studying Venus, as well as the surrounding outer space, continues to be improved even now. The conditions on Venus are harsh, and there was practically no reliable information about them; the developers knew nothing about the pressure or temperature on the surface of the planet, all this, naturally, complicated the research.

The first series of descent vehicles even knew how to swim - just in case. Nevertheless, at first the flights were not successful, but later the USSR was so successful in Venusian wanderings that this planet began to be called Russian. "Venera-1" is the first spacecraft in human history designed to fly to other planets and explore them. It was launched in 1961, but a week later the connection was lost due to sensor overheating. The station became uncontrollable and was only able to make the world's first flyby near Venus (at a distance of about one hundred thousand kilometers).

In the footsteps

"Venera-4" helped us find out that on this planet there are two hundred and seventy-one degrees in the shadow (the night side of Venus), a pressure of up to twenty atmospheres, and the atmosphere itself is ninety percent carbon dioxide. This spacecraft also discovered a hydrogen corona. "Venera-5" and "Venera-6" told us a lot about the solar wind (plasma flows) and its structure near the planet. "Venera-7" clarified data on temperature and pressure in the atmosphere. Everything turned out to be even more complicated: the temperature closer to the surface was 475 ± 20°C, and the pressure was an order of magnitude higher. On the next spacecraft, literally everything was redone, and after one hundred and seventeen days, Venera-8 gently landed on the day side of the planet. This station had a photometer and many additional instruments. The main thing was the connection.

It turned out that the lighting on the nearest neighbor is almost no different from that on Earth - just like ours on a cloudy day. It’s not just cloudy there, the weather has really cleared up. The pictures of what the equipment saw simply stunned the earthlings. In addition, the soil and the amount of ammonia in the atmosphere were examined, and wind speed was measured. And “Venera-9” and “Venera-10” were able to show us the “neighbor” on TV. These are the world's first recordings transmitted from another planet. And these stations themselves are now artificial satellites of Venus. The last to fly to this planet were “Venera-15” and “Venera-16”, which also became satellites, having previously provided humanity with absolutely new and necessary knowledge. In 1985, the program was continued by Vega-1 and Vega-2, which studied not only Venus, but also Halley's comet. The next flight is planned for 2024.

Something about a space rocket

Since the parameters and specifications All rockets are different from each other; consider a new generation launch vehicle, for example Soyuz-2.1A. It is a three-stage medium-class rocket, a modified version of the Soyuz-U, which has been in operation very successfully since 1973.

This launch vehicle is designed to launch spacecraft. The latter may have military, economic and social purposes. This missile can take them to different types orbits - geostationary, geotransition, sun-synchronous, highly elliptical, medium, low.

Modernization

The rocket is extremely modernized; a fundamentally different digital control system has been created here, developed on a new domestic element base, with a high-speed on-board digital computer with a much larger amount of RAM. The digital control system provides the rocket with high-precision launch of payloads.

In addition, engines have been installed on which the injector heads of the first and second stages have been improved. A different telemetry system is in effect. Thus, the accuracy of the missile launch, its stability and, of course, controllability have increased. The mass of the space rocket did not increase, but the useful payload increased by three hundred kilograms.

Specifications

The first and second stages of the launch vehicle are equipped with liquid rocket engines RD-107A and RD-108A from NPO Energomash named after Academician Glushko, and the third stage is equipped with a four-chamber RD-0110 from the Khimavtomatika Design Bureau. Rocket fuel is liquid oxygen, which is an environmentally friendly oxidizing agent, as well as slightly toxic fuel - kerosene. The length of the rocket is 46.3 meters, the weight at launch is 311.7 tons, and without the warhead - 303.2 tons. The mass of the launch vehicle structure is 24.4 tons. The fuel components weigh 278.8 tons. Flight tests of Soyuz-2.1A began in 2004 at the Plesetsk cosmodrome, and they were successful. In 2006, the launch vehicle made its first commercial flight - it launched the European meteorological spacecraft Metop into orbit.

It must be said that missiles have different launch capabilities payload. There are light, medium and heavy carriers. The Rokot launch vehicle, for example, launches spacecraft into low-Earth orbits - up to two hundred kilometers, and therefore can carry a load of 1.95 tons. But the Proton is a heavy class, it can launch 22.4 tons into a low orbit, 6.15 tons into a geostationary orbit, and 3.3 tons into a geostationary orbit. The launch vehicle we are considering is intended for all sites used by Roscosmos: Kourou, Baikonur, Plesetsk, Vostochny, and operates within the framework of joint Russian-European projects.

April 12 - World Aviation and Space Day

On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin on the Vostok spacecraft made the world's first orbital flight around the Earth, opening the era of manned space flights. One revolution around the globe lasted 108 minutes.

The development of manned flights in our country took place in stages. From the first manned spacecraft and orbital stations to multi-purpose space manned orbital complexes - this is the path traveled by Soviet and Russian manned cosmonautics.

According to the decision of the International Aeronautical Federation (FAI), April 12 is celebrated as “World Aviation and Cosmonautics Day”.

IN Russian Federation The memorable date “Cosmonautics Day” was set on April 12 in accordance with Article 1.1 Federal Law dated March 13, 1995 No. 32-FZ “On the days of military glory and memorable dates in Russia.”

Samara is the capital of the Russian rocket and space industry

The Russian space industry includes numerous design bureaus and industrial enterprises, and test sites, and four spaceports. There is its own “government” - the Federal Space Agency. And its own “capital” with its complex of organizations and enterprises related to space engineering.

It was in Samara (formerly Kuibyshev) that two stages of the Vostok launch vehicle were manufactured, which launched a spacecraft carrying the world's first cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, into low-Earth orbit. The specialists of our design bureaus and factories produce the best rocket engines - and even Americans who are confident in their superiority admit this. We have developed unique alloys for space rockets and vehicles. R-7 class missiles are rightfully considered the most reliable in the world. The mere fact that almost 1,700 launches have been carried out in almost fifty years - and this exceeds the number of rocket launches in all other countries of the world combined - speaks for itself. Our rockets launched automatic vehicles and space systems not only into near-Earth orbits, but also onto routes to the Moon and planets of the Solar System.

The achievements of Samara scientists, designers, engineers and workers involved in space engineering are undeniable and have long been recognized by specialists around the world. So Samara can well be considered the unofficial capital of the Russian rocket and space industry.

Where they teach how to build space rockets

During the Great Patriotic War in 1942, the front demanded airplanes, factories demanded engineers. Major scientists and higher education teachers were evacuated to Kuibyshev (now Samara). educational institutions from Moscow, Leningrad, Kyiv, Kharkov, Voronezh. They formed the basis of the aviation institute created in the city on the Volga.
Over almost sixty-five years of existence, the institute, which is now called the Aerospace University and bears the name of the legendary Chief Designer of rocket and space systems S.P. Korolev, has graduated almost 60 thousand specialists from its walls. Students and teachers participated in the creation of the International Space Station Alpha and the Yamal launch vehicle.

Graduates of the Aerospace University are in demand at enterprises in the rocket and space industry both in Samara and far beyond the city and region. Among them are general designers, plant directors, and scientists.

Where rocket and space technology is built in Samara

Metallurgical Plant named after. Lenin

In the early 50s of the last century, construction of a metallurgical plant, one of the largest in Europe, began in Kuibyshev (now Samara). And at the end of the decade, the company began producing products for rocket and space technology - special alloys. There were special requirements for the alloys: they had to withstand very high loads with low weight, have good ductility in the manufacture of parts and assemblies of spacecraft, good weldability to ensure tightness, and the ability to work for a long time - perhaps several decades! - at ultra-low temperatures. Since 1960, Kuibyshev Metallurgical Plant named after. Lenin, equipped with the most modern and unique equipment for that time, became the main supplier of materials and semi-finished products from aluminum alloys for aviation and rocket and space technology in the USSR. Materials and semi-finished products were supplied for the R-7 family of launch vehicles - “Vostok”, “Voskhod”, “Molniya”, “Soyuz”; for the Energia super-heavy class rocket and the Buran reusable spacecraft; for various unmanned spacecraft.

They were preparing to storm the moon

Like other industrial enterprises of the aerospace complex of Kuibyshev (Samara), the Kirov plant, and since 1946 - the State Union Experimental Plant No. 2, appeared on the economic map of the city at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. It was created on the basis of several evacuated enterprises. In the second half of the 40s, the plant, located on the banks of the Volga in the village of Upravlencheskiy, was focused on the development and production of jet engines.

In the spring of 1949, N.D. became the chief designer of the enterprise. Kuznetsov (later - CEO, Lieutenant General of the Engineering and Technical Service, twice Hero of Socialist Labor, Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences, laureate of many USSR awards).

In the late 50s - early 60s, OKB-276, as the design bureau that was headed by that time was called N.D. Kuznetsov, already occupied one of the leading positions in the domestic engine industry. Therefore, it was no coincidence that S.P.’s appeal was made. Korolev to N.D. Kuznetsov with a proposal to “work for space”: The chief designer of rocket and space systems needed reliable oxygen-kerosene engines for the GR-1 intercontinental rocket and the N-1 “lunar” rocket. In a very short time, several engines for different stages of launch vehicles were created and delivered to customers. Later, in 1968, modifications of these engines were developed for reusable use.

Unfortunately, work on both the global rocket (GR) and the Lunar N-1, and the Energia-Buran program was curtailed.

Motor-building plant named after. Frunze

In August 1912, by imperial decree, a new branch of the military was created in Russia - the air force. Two months later, a small defense enterprise arose in Moscow - the Gnome plant. They began to assemble light gasoline engines of the same name as the plant, with a power of 60 hp. They were intended for small Russian fighter aircraft.

With the development of aircraft manufacturing in the late 20s of the last century, the requirements for engines increased: more and more powerful engines were needed. Small enterprises were unable to cope with such tasks. At the suggestion of M.V. Frunze united several factories based on Gnome. The result was a new plant No. 24. At the request of the engine builders, their enterprise was named after M.V. Frunze.

The history of the enterprise is marked by many outstanding technical achievements. World records of the 20s - 30s: flights Moscow - Beijing (1925, M-5 engine); Moscow - New York (1929, M-17 engine); Moscow - North Pole - Vancouver (1937, AM-34 engine). Russian aviators set records on aircraft designed by N.N. Polikarpov and A.N. Tupolev. The cars were equipped with engines manufactured at the plant named after. Frunze.

Having relocated to Kuibyshev (now the city of Samara) at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the plant began to work at aircraft manufacturing enterprises located nearby. The “flying tanks” - Il-2 attack aircraft - built at factories N1 and N18 were equipped with powerful AM-38F engines.

Soon after the war, the plant switched to the production of jet and turboprop engines. Since the fifties of the last century, the introduction into mass production family of engines designed by General Designer N.D. Kuznetsov. They lifted into the sky the Il-18, An-10 aircraft, the first supersonic passenger airliner Tu-144, and the An-22 (Antey) military transport aircraft.

In 1959, using liquid rocket engines, manufactured at the enterprise, the Luna-2 interplanetary station was launched into the trajectory, and on April 12, 1961, the Vostok spacecraft with Yuri Gagarin, the first cosmonaut of the planet, was launched into orbit around the Earth. Samara-made rocket engines have been successfully used for space research for more than forty years.

At the end of the last century, the plant acquired a new status: now it is open Joint-Stock Company"Engine Builder"

The history of TsSKB dates back to the creation in 1959 at the Progress plant in Kuibyshev by order of the Chief Designer of Rocket and Space Systems S.P. Korolev of a special bureau - department N25 of OKB-1. The main task of the department was design support for the production of the R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile. The head of the new division was D.I. Kozlov (later - twice Hero of Socialist Labor, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, full member of a number of academies, laureate of the Lenin and State Prizes, holder of many orders, honorary citizen of the Samara region, the cities of Samara and Tikhoretsk ).

Soon the department was transformed into a branch of OKB-1. Since 1964, it has become the leader in the creation of medium-class launch vehicles of the R-7 type and automatic spacecraft for remote sensing of the Earth. In 1974, the branch received the right to become an independent enterprise - the Central Specialized Design Bureau (TSSKB). The main manufacturing plant, in whose workshops the design developments of TsSKB were embodied in metal, was the Progress plant.

Together, the two companies have accomplished an extraordinary amount.

In 1959 - 1960 The designers developed a new four-stage Molniya rocket, intended to launch space stations to the Moon, planets of the Solar System, as well as communications satellites into high orbits. In 1965, the Molniya-M was launched with the automatic interplanetary station Luna-7. Subsequently, the improved rocket was used to launch stations to Venus and Mars.

The first completely independent development of Kuibyshev designers was the three-stage Soyuz rocket, designed for launching automatic spacecraft, manned and transport ships into low circular orbits. Operation of this carrier began in 1963. Later, several modifications of the Soyuz were created. Soyuz launch vehicles have become the only domestic means of delivering cosmonauts to long-term missions. orbital stations. And they still are. Our carriers were also used by American astronauts when NASA was forced to suspend the operation of its shuttles for a long time.

Another area of ​​activity of the TsSKB is the development and creation of artificial Earth satellites for various purposes. During the period from 1965 to 1998, 17 types of satellites were created and commissioned by the Ministry of Defense.

Plant "Progress"

Motherland Samara plant"Progress" - Moscow. There, in 1894, a small private factory, Dux, was created, producing bicycles. Products were different high quality and was in great demand - even Nicholas II ordered a children's bicycle here for Tsarevich Alexei. Bicycles production was not limited. In 1913, on the Nieuport-4 aircraft, built at the Dux plant, pilot P.N. Nesterov made the world’s first “dead loop,” which later became known as the “Nesterov loop.” Russia's first airship "Krechet", the first domestic snowmobiles and airplanes (based on the drawings of French companies)... "Progress" was already striving to be in the lead (“Dux” in Latin means leader, leader).

Obviously, it was no coincidence that later, already under Soviet rule, the Progress plant began to be called Aviation Plant No. 1. It produced advanced equipment for its time - fighters and fighter-interceptors.

Soon after the start of the Great Patriotic War, in October 1941, the enterprise was evacuated to Kuibyshev (now the city of Samara), to the territory of a new aircraft plant under construction.

During the war years, 13,088 Il-2 and Il-10 attack aircraft were manufactured, which is more than a third of the total number of such machines produced during the Great Patriotic War in the USSR.

Soon after the end of the war, the plant switched to the production of jet technology - MiG-9 fighters, then MiG-15 and MiG-17, Il-28 light jet bombers and, finally, mastered the production of the Tu-16 strategic jet bomber, which for many years was the main strike force of the Soviet Air Force. In total, the plant built 545 Tu-16 aircraft.

In 1958, Moscow made a decision: the enterprise would be repurposed for the production of rocketry.

Transformations have taken place at the plant. And on February 17, 1959, the first R-7 rocket, manufactured in Kuibyshev, went into the sky from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

Samara cosmonaut went into low-Earth orbit on a Samara rocket

The launch and flight of a rocket is an incomparable spectacle. Especially the flight of the “elegant” Soyuz middle-class rocket. The Soyuz family of rockets is the most reliable in the world. The reliability coefficient of these media is 0.996.

And now April 8, 2008 - another start. The Soyuz-FG rocket launched three cosmonauts who will work on the International Space Station into low-Earth orbit. The ship's commander is Sergei Volkov. Flight engineer - Oleg Kononenko. In the recent past, Oleg worked in Samara, at the TsSKB-Progress Center, so today’s launch is especially significant both for Kononenko himself and for us Samarans. Also sent to the ISS female astronaut from South Korea Soyon Yi. She will have to work at the station for 10 days. During this time, she will conduct 14 scientific experiments and several lessons directly from space for South Korean schoolchildren: she will show them how the laws of physics work in conditions of weightlessness. Sergei Volkov, Oleg Kononenko and NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman will work on the ISS for the next six months.

In terms of its composition, the launched crew is the youngest and, moreover, for all participants this is the first space flight in their lives; this has never happened before.

Russian cosmonauts will conduct 47 scientific experiments in various fields of science and make two spacewalks.

The ship's commander, Sergei Volkov, was escorted to the launch by his father, cosmonaut pilot Alexander Volkov, who had already worked in orbit three times and thus became the founder of the first "space" dynasty in history. Her Sergei Volkov’s son, Egor, is going to be the successor. “I, too, like dad, want to become an astronaut,” he said.

ISS-17 flight engineer Oleg Kononenko plans to open an art studio in orbit. “I graduated from art school, I’ll take pencils with me and maybe I’ll draw in space,” he said at a pre-flight press conference in Star City. The astronaut clarified that he had already practiced drawing with crayons and paints, creating conditions on Earth close to weightlessness, but in the end he chose pencils.

... 15 hours 16 minutes. Start. In a puff of smoke, on a short orange fiery “tail,” the Samara rocket leaves the launch pad and rises faster and faster into the spring Kazakhstan sky.

Based on materials from RIA Samara and the agency Roscosmos

The rocket is so far the only vehicle, capable of launching a spacecraft into space. And then K. Tsiolkovsky can be recognized as the author of the first space rocket, although the origins of rockets date back to the distant past. From there we will begin to consider our question.

History of the invention of the rocket

Most historians believe that the invention of the rocket dates back to the Chinese Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), with the discovery of gunpowder and the beginning of its use for fireworks and entertainment. When a powder shell exploded, a force arose that could move various objects. Later, the first cannons and muskets were created using this principle. Powder weapon shells could fly long distances, but were not rockets, since they did not have their own fuel reserves, but It was the invention of gunpowder that became the main prerequisite for the emergence of real rockets. Descriptions of the flying "fire arrows" used by the Chinese indicate that these arrows were rockets. A tube made of compacted paper was attached to them, open only at the rear end and filled with a flammable composition. This charge was ignited and the arrow was then released using a bow. Such arrows were used in a number of cases during the siege of fortifications, against ships and cavalry.

In the 13th century, together with the Mongol conquerors, rockets came to Europe. It is known that rockets were used by the Zaporozhye Cossacks in the 16th-17th centuries. In the 17th century, a Lithuanian military engineer Kazimir Semenovich described a multistage rocket.

At the end of the 18th century in India, rocket weapons were used in battles with British troops.

IN early XIX century, the army also adopted combat missiles, the production of which was established by William Congreve (Congreve's Rocket). At the same time, the Russian officer Alexander Zasyadko developed the theory of rockets. Great success the Russian artillery general achieved in improving missiles in the middle of the nineteenth century Konstantin Konstantinov. Attempts to mathematically explain jet propulsion and create more effective missile weapons were made in Russia Nikolay Tikhomirov in 1894.

Created the theory of jet propulsion Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. He put forward the idea of ​​using rockets for space flight and argued that the most efficient fuel for them would be a combination of liquid oxygen and hydrogen. He designed a rocket for interplanetary communication in 1903.

German scientist Hermann Oberth in the 1920s he also outlined the principles of interplanetary flight. In addition, he conducted bench tests of rocket engines.

American scientist Robert Goddard in 1926 he launched the first liquid-propellant rocket, using gasoline and liquid oxygen as fuel.

The first domestic rocket was called GIRD-90 (an abbreviation for the “Group for the Study of Jet Propulsion”). It began to be built in 1931, and was tested on August 17, 1933. GIRD at that time was headed by S.P. Korolev. The rocket took off 400 meters and was in flight for 18 seconds. The weight of the rocket at launch was 18 kilograms.

In 1933, in the USSR at the Jet Institute, the creation of a fundamentally new weapon was completed - rockets, the installation for launching which later received the nickname "Katyusha".

At the rocket center in Peenemünde (Germany) it was developed A-4 ballistic missile with a flight range of 320 km. During the Second World War, on October 3, 1942, the first successful launch of this rocket took place, and in 1944 it began combat use called V-2.

The military use of the V-2 showed the enormous capabilities of rocket technology, and the most powerful post-war powers - the USA and the USSR - also began developing ballistic missiles.

In 1957 in the USSR under the leadership Sergei Korolev The world's first intercontinental ballistic missile, the R-7, was created as a means of delivering nuclear weapons, which in the same year was used to launch the world's first artificial Earth satellite. This is how the use of rockets for space flight began.

Project by N. Kibalchich

In this regard, it is impossible not to recall Nikolai Kibalchich, a Russian revolutionary, Narodnaya Volya member, and inventor. He was a participant in the assassination attempts on Alexander II, it was he who invented and manufactured projectiles with “explosive jelly”, which were used by I.I. Grinevitsky and N.I. Rysakov during the assassination attempt on the Catherine Canal. Sentenced to death.

Hanged together with A.I. Zhelyabov, S.L. Perovskaya and other Pervomartovites. Kibalchich put forward the idea of ​​a rocket aircraft with an oscillating combustion chamber to control the thrust vector. A few days before his execution, Kibalchich developed an original design for an aircraft capable of space flight. The project described the design of a powder rocket engine, flight control by changing the angle of the engine, a programmed combustion mode, and much more. His request to transfer the manuscript to the Academy of Sciences was not satisfied by the investigative commission; the project was first published only in 1918.

Modern rocket engines

Most modern rockets are equipped with chemical rocket engines. Such an engine can use solid, liquid or hybrid rocket fuel. A chemical reaction between the fuel and oxidizer begins in the combustion chamber, the resulting hot gases form an escaping jet stream, are accelerated in the jet nozzle (or nozzles), and are expelled from the rocket. The acceleration of these gases in the engine creates thrust - a pushing force that makes the rocket move. The principle of jet propulsion is described by Newton's third law.

But chemical reactions are not always used to propel rockets. There are steam rockets, in which superheated water flowing through the nozzle turns into a high-speed steam jet, which serves as propulsion. The efficiency of steam rockets is relatively low, but this is compensated by their simplicity and safety, as well as the cheapness and availability of water. The operation of a small steam rocket was tested in space in 2004 on board the UK-DMC satellite. There are projects using steam rockets for interplanetary transportation of goods, with water heating using nuclear or solar energy.

Rockets like steam rockets, in which the working fluid is heated outside the engine's operating area, are sometimes described as systems with external combustion engines. Examples of external combustion rocket engines are most designs of nuclear rocket engines.

Currently being developed alternative ways lift spacecraft into orbit. Among them are the “space elevator”, electromagnetic and conventional guns, but they are still at the design stage.