This is the final part of "From Stargazers to Starships," a historical overview of spaceflight, stressing the technology of rockets, satellites and orbits, and its use in unmanned missions.
It consists of four main parts:
The principles of rocketry and its evolution, from early Chinese rockets to Robert Goddard's work (especially the adaptation of the DeLaval nozzle), to rocket development in WW II and to the "space race" after the launch of Sputnik 1.
The many different uses of unmanned spacecraft, with examples and links.
Exotic means of flight into space--nuclear, light-gas cannon, solar sails and ion engines.
Some orbits and orbital maneuvers of special significance--synchronous and sun-synchronous orbits, Lagrangian points and gravity-assist maneuvers, by which a spacecraft deflected my a moving planet can gain or lose velocity. That last item has an interesting connection to the water turbine designed by Lester Pelton in California, shortly after the Gold Rush.
25. The Principle of the Rocket
26. Robert Goddard and his Rockets
27. The Evolution of the Rocket
29a. Satellites observing the Sun, solar system and the universe
29b. Satellites observing Earth from above
29c. Satellites which observe the local space environment
29d. Satellites for commercial benefits
29e. Missions to planets and distant space
30. Far-out Pathways to Space: Great Guns?
30a. Project HARP and the Martlet
31. Far-out Pathways to Space: Nuclear Power
32. Far-out pathways to Space: Solar Sails
32a. Early Warning of Interplanetary Disturbances
33. Ion Rockets
34. Orbits in Space
34a. The Distance to the L1 Point
34b. The L4 and L5 Lagrangian Points
34c. The L4 and L5 Points--Another Derivation
35a. Planetary Swing-by and the Pelton Turbine
Afterword: "Do Frogs Exist there Too ?"
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Author and Curator: Dr. David P. Stern
Mail to Dr.Stern: stargaze("at" symbol)phy6.org .
Last updated: 9-22-2004