Rockets and Space Travel Essay -- Space Exploration Essays

Flying into orbit, at times, seems just an ordinary event. We have been launching objects into orbit for several decades now. Over time, it seems that the knowledge of the first attempt to send an object into the atmosphere was lost. One lone American was very absorbed into the science of this very thing. He had an obsession about him. John Goddard spent endless hours trying to perfect a small rocket launch. Though it sounds simple, lighting a fire underneath a small projectile, and make go in a straight line toward the heavens, is very detailed orientated. In a book written by Arthur C. Clark, he talks about early work that was done in the world of rocketry, but at the time it was only for entertainment. It happened hundreds of years ago. One of the first experiences with rockets came from â€Å"thirteenth century Chinese† (Clarke 71). Today, the technology is so advanced; flights of hundreds of miles are not uncommon. In the beginning of rocket experimentation, there were many trial and errors. They would fire up the engine of a projectile in hopes of a spectacular launch into the atmosphere. Many times it would only result in some kind of explosion. Catastrophe, if anything, is the nature of launching any projectile. Mans attempt to send objects toward the clouds has sparked interests in going further than ever before. The moon and the outer planets of our solar system have now become an obsession with not only the science community, but with a lot of ordinary folks as well. In order to satisfy this obsession, ways had to be found in order to get to these distant objects. The world we live on is small compared to the surrounding planets and universe but it is large compared to the complexities of ways to leave its ... ..., the commander will create a steeper angle of descent to minus 20 degrees (almost seven times steeper than the descent of a commercial airliner) (http://science.howstuffworks.com)†. This is only a small glimpse of what goes on before and after the lift off of the space shuttle. Details of micro gravity during the orbital maneuver and the interaction of the crew during its mission can add volumes to this report alone. In the end, the space shuttle is a very versatile instrument. From experiments in human research to inserting the Hubble space telescope into orbit. What would it be like in another 200 years when man has established colonies on mars or the moon? What an interesting life our future children will have. Works Cited: Arthur C. Clark http://science.howstuffworks.com http://science.howstuffworks.com Physics, a worldview, Kirkpatrick and Wheeler,