How hard is it to launch something into space? Recently the Elon Musk run SpaceX Company sent its first cargo module from its rocket the Falcon Heavy to link up with the International Space station with the possibility of delivering Human’s instead of cargo. It’s not the only time that SpaceX has done this sort of thing. Previously they thought it was a good idea to send a Tesla Roadster with a mannequin called “Starman” at the wheel out into space using the “Falcon Heavy” rocket. It should return in about 2091 by either hitting the Earth or Venus. As things sent into space go it’s probably one of the most useless things to have, but a Skip on the other hand, that could be useful, especially if the International Space Station astronauts have accrued a lot of rubbish. Back here on earth if you need skip then a Llanelli skip hire company can help you out. It’s unlikely you’ll have any space junk to get rid of but what does it actually take to put a rocket into orbit?
First off all don’t be thinking that Rockets are a particularly new invention. The technology to do it has been within our grasp for centuries. The Chinese were the first use them, almost eight hundred years ago, sending sparkling glittering streams of doom into any advancing barbarian horde that fancied its chances coming over the Great Wall and doing a bit of raiding. It was also what powered Montgolfier for a start into the air with his famous balloon, risking a huge explosion and fire as he’d used a paper one!
Modern rockets use liquid fuel, petrol to you and me rather than a huge amount of gun powder like the Chinese did. This is a lot safe for everyone including the Astronauts on the rocket. In the base of the Rocket is a massive jet engine. The Earth has a considerable amount of gravity, this is a good thing otherwise we’d all fly off into space. At least we wouldn’t technically need rockets. The Rocket needs to achieve a speed fast enough to reach escape velocity. There is some pretty tricky Maths required to figure out how much fuel you need in relation to the weight of the rocket and the pull of the gravity to get the thing up into space. For example, one of the largest ever was the Saturn V that sent humans to the Moon. Its initial take off blast power output is thought to be the same as eighty five Hoover Dams.
