Blast Off! Rocket Science

Aerospace engineering is the branch of engineering concerned with the design, manufacture, and operation of launch vehicles, satellites, spacecraft, and ground-support facilities for the exploration of outer space. One type of spacecraft is a rocket, which is powered by gases that are forced out of one end.

Rocket-like devices were demonstrated about 360 B.C. By the Greek mathematician and scientist Archytas (428-350 B.C.). So while some form of a rocket has been in existence for many years, the science of how a rocket works was first described by the British scientist Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) in 1687. Newton stated three important scientific principles that govern the motion of all objects, whether on Earth or in space. These principles, now called Newton's laws of motion, provided engineers with the basic knowledge necessary to design modern rockets such as the Saturn V rockets and the Space Shuttle Discovery.

• 6 feet (1.8 m) of string

• 4-inch (10 cm) piece of drinking straw

• 2 chairs
• 9-inch (23 cm) round balloon
• spring clothespin
• transparent tape

1. Thread the string through the straw

2. Tie the ends of the string to the backs of the chairs

3. Position the chairs so that the string between them is as tight as possible

4. Inflate the balloon. Twist the open end of the balloon and secure it with the clothespin

5. Move the straw to one end of the string

6. Tape the inflated balloon to the straw

7. Remove the clothespin from the balloon