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IV.   Spaceflight                

    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:

  1.       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.

  2.       The many different uses of unmanned spacecraft, with examples and links.

  3.       Exotic means of flight into space--nuclear, light-gas cannon, solar sails and ion engines.

  4.       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
    28. Spaceflight
    29. Spacecraft

     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
    35. Starships
     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