Since ancient times, man has paid his close attention to the sky in order to understand the structure of the Universe, to learn its laws, to find out the location of bodies. It goes without saying that the knowledge of the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere, and even more so of outer space, until a certain time, the human race was very weak. But everything changed in the 20th century, when technological progress began to move forward, as they say, by leaps and bounds. We will talk in detail about the achievements of the space industry and rocket science in this article.
Pioneer
The first rocket launch with Yuri Gagarin on board changed our history, dividing it into entire epochs. On April 12, 1961, a Russian officer flew into space for the first time on the planet.
The spacecraft launched from Baikonur at about nine o'clock in the morning Moscow time. As a result, the rocket made one revolution around the planet and performed a planned landing at 10:55, near the village of Smelovka, located in the Saratov region. The successful launch was the crowning achievement of the long and laborious work of a whole team of engineers and other specialists from the Soviet Union.
Space launches
Few people know, but even before Gagarin's flight into spaceThe USSR launched the R-7 rocket in 1957. Thanks to this, the country of the Soviets won the fundamental space race against the United States. In turn, the Americans sent their rocket into the airless space on January 31, 1958. The launch took place at the American Cape Canaveral.
Followed by rocket launches in Japan (1970), China (1970), Great Britain (1971), India (1980), Israel (1988), Russia (1992), Ukraine (1995)), Iran (2009), North Korea (2012), South Korea (2013).
Launch features
The launch of a rocket into space should be carried out with the lowest possible energy costs. The following cosmodromes are considered the most optimal in terms of rocket acceleration: the European Kourou, the Brazilian Alcantra and the floating Sea Launch, which is capable of launching directly from the Earth's equatorial line.
Why are the best rocket launches from the equator? This is because in this case the device will immediately receive the speed of its movement of 465 m / s in an easterly direction. Such indicators are determined by the rotation of our planet. That is why most often the missile launch trajectories are laid in the direction of the east. Israel can only be considered an exception, since in the east it neighbors extremely unfriendly states and therefore is forced to carry out its launches in the opposite direction (to the west).
Historical background
Space technology was used by the Third Reich, whichused it as an opportunity to circumvent the Treaty of Versailles. Even before the outbreak of World War II, the Germans developed the V-2. This type of missile was launched against Antwerp and London. It was she who turned out to be the first heavy man-guided rocket on the planet.
Time has shown that the V-2 turned out to be the wrong project in the end from the point of view of the military and economists. However, its historical value lies in the fact that thanks to it, the US and USSR army specialists were able to verify the high potential of rocket technology, which manifested itself in the difficulty of detecting and intercepting the missile itself during its flight. And therefore, after the victory over the Nazis, all production secrets and documentation were taken out of Germany, which served as an impetus for the start of the space race between the Soviets and the Western world.
Flight process
The launch of a space rocket today provides for its launch into Earth's orbit. To achieve it, the spacecraft will need to be able to reach the first space velocity in the horizontal direction (7.9 km/s) at the lowest possible altitude. If this indicator is achieved, then in this case the rocket becomes an artificial satellite of our planet. If the speed is less than the specified value, then the resulting missile trajectory will be considered ballistic.
To achieve the value of the first cosmic velocity in launch vehicles, the principle of multistage is used. The rocket itself takes off from a specially designed launcher.
World Leader 2015
In 2015, the launch of rockets into space from Russia was exceptionally successful. Last year, the Russian Federation made 26 launches of spacecraft, which allowed it to take the undisputed first place in the world. Russia accounted for 30% of all space launches on the planet. At the same time, the Baikonur and Plesetsk cosmodromes were the main launch sites.
Powerful weapon
In the modern world, the military pays special attention to the so-called ballistic missiles. Each of them is a combination of two main parts:
- accelerating part;
- warhead, which, in fact, dispersed.
The first of these is often represented by a pair or three of giant multi-ton stages, completely filled with fuel. These elements guide the head of the rocket in the right direction and give it the required acceleration.
It should certainly be noted that the launch of intercontinental missiles is a rather complicated and responsible process. And their flight path passes through a layer of low-orbit satellites, with a slight delay at this level, after which they move down an elliptical trajectory, directly to the target.
Very often, an intercontinental ballistic missile is launched from nuclear submarines. A vivid example of this is the Russian ship Borey, which belongs to the class of fourth-generation strategic missile submarines. American submarines "Ohio" are also armed with ballistic missiles.
However, intercontinental missiles can be based in other places:
- on land-based stationary launchers;
- in silo launchers;
- on mobile wheel-type units;
- on rail launchers.
Today, ballistic missiles are equipped with solid propellant or liquid engines with high-boiling components. Missiles of this type arrive at their base in a ready state and can be stored in a combat-ready state throughout their entire service life. The rocket is launched remotely, using radio channels or cable channels. The launch preparation process takes several minutes.
In conclusion, I would like to say that any modern missiles are a product on the creation and maintenance of which a huge number of people work, from design engineers to ordinary soldiers and officers who carry out maintenance of units on combat duty. This ensures a reliable air shield for the country.
