Congreve Rockets This rockets were invented by Englishman, Sir William Congreve. Congreve successfully demonstrated a solid fuel rocket in 1805, and the following year his rockets were used in action for the first time, fired from special boats against the French fleet off Boulogne. They were used against American forces during the War of 1812 and provided the rocket s red glare which Francis Scott Key saw during the battle in Baltimore harbor.
German V-2 Rocket The V-2 rockets were launched by the Germans during World War II. Nearly 1400 were launch against London, killing about 7000 people. The V2 rocket became the first man-made object launched into space during some test flights, reaching an altitude of 189 km.
Saturn V Rocket The Saturn V (popularly known as the Moon Rocket) was a multistage liquid-fuel expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs. Saturn V was designed under the direction of Wernher von Braun at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Sputnik History changed on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The world's first artificial satellite was about the size of a basketball, weighed only 183 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path.
Gemini The Gemini Program was conceived as an intermediate step between Project Mercury and the Apollo Program. Named after the third constellation of the zodiac - the Gemini Program perfected the techniques of rendezvous and docking with other orbiting vehicles, and maneuvering the docked vehicles in space.
Apollo Eight years of hard work by thousands of Americans came to fruition on July 20, 1969, when Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong stepped out of the lunar module and took "one small step" in the Sea of Tranquility, calling it "a giant leap for mankind." Six of the missions -- Apollos 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17 -- went on to land on the moon, studying soil mechanics, meteoroids, seismic, heat flow, lunar ranging, magnetic fields and solar wind. Apollos 7 and 9 tested spacecraft in Earth orbit; Apollo 10 orbited the moon as the dress rehearsal for the first landing. An oxygen tank explosion forced Apollo 13 to scrub its landing, but the "can-do" problem solving of the crew and mission control turned the mission into a "successful failure."
Soyuz The longest serving manned spacecraft in the world, Soyuz was first launched in 1966 and new models continue to visit the International Space Station. A Soyuz space capsule took the first crew to the International Space Station in November 2000. Since that time, at least one Soyuz has always been at the Station, generally to serve as a lifeboat should the crew have to return to Earth unexpectedly. The Soyuz is the vehicle which carries space tourists.
Energia The Energia rocket, designed in the USSR, served as a heavy-lift expendable launch system as well as a booster for the Buran Space Shuttle. It had the capacity to place around 100 metric tons in Low Earth orbit (LEO), although it could have been (but never was) upgraded for heavier payloads comparable to (or even greater than) the LEO capacity of the Saturn V. Production of Energia rockets ended with the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Buran shuttle project.
US Space Shuttle NASA's Space Shuttle, officially called Space Transportation System (STS), is the United States government's current manned launch vehicle. The winged shuttle orbiter is launched vertically, usually carrying five to seven astronauts (although eight have been carried) and up to 50,000 lb (22,700 kg) of payload into low earth orbit. When its mission is complete, it fires its maneuvering thrusters to drop out of orbit and re-enters the earth's atmosphere. During the descent and landing, the shuttle orbiter acts as a glider and makes a completely unpowered landing. First launch was April 12, 1981. Next expected launch is August 27, 2006.
Squid All cephalopods use jet propulsion, but squids are undoubtedly the best at it and are built almost like fighter planes to make propulsion more efficient. Water is drawn in from the free edge of the mantle and expelled through a siphon, or funnel, on the squid's underside. The mantle walls expand to draw the water into the mantle cavity while the siphon is closed. The intake is sealed by the head, and then the mantle cavity's walls contract sharply, driving water at high speeds out the siphon. The flow of water can be controlled through a muscle valve just inside the siphon's opening, and the siphon can also be aimed forward or backward by the squid. These jets are extremely powerful, and using them, squids are capable of swimming at amazing speeds. Common Pacific squids can travel at 5 to 8 MPH. Larger species have been seen moving at around 20 miles per hour, occasionally overtaking ships.