A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle that obtains thrust from a rocket engine. Rocket engine exhaust is formed entirely from propellant carried within the rocket. Rocket engines work by action and reaction and push rockets forward simply by expelling their exhaust in the opposite direction at high speed, and can therefore work in the vacuum of space.
A solid-propellant rocket or solid rocket is a rocket with a rocket engine that uses solid propellants (fuel/oxidizer). The earliest rockets were solid-fuel rockets powered by gunpowder; they were used in warfare by the Chinese, Indians, Mongols and Persians, as early as the 13th century.
A hybrid-propellant rocket is a rocket with a rocket motor that uses rocket propellants in two different phases: one solid and the other either gas or liquid. The hybrid rocket concept can be traced back to at least the 1930s.
A model rocket is a small rocket designed to reach low altitudes and be recovered by a variety of means.
Estes Industries is a model rocket company that was started in Denver, Colorado, USA. The company was the first to mass-produce model rocket engines with consistent and reliable performance.
The National Association of Rocketry (NAR) is a non-profit tax-exempt scientific organization dedicated to consumer safety, youth education, and the advancement of technology in the hobby of sport rocketry in the United States. Founded in 1957, the NAR is the oldest and largest spacemodeling organization in the world with over 6000 members and 145 affiliated clubs across the U.S. It was established in 1957 by Orville Carlisle and G. Harry Stine. It supports all aspects of safe consumer sport rocket flying, from small model rockets with youth groups to very large high power rockets flown by adult hobbyists.
High-power rocketry is a hobby similar to model rocketry. The major difference is that higher impulse range motors are used. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) definition of a high-power rocket is one that has a total weight of more than 1,500 grams (3.3 lb) and contains a motor or motors containing more than 125 grams (4.4 oz) of propellant and/or rated at more than 160 Newton-seconds of total impulse, or that uses a motor with an average thrust of 80 newtons (18 lbf) or more.
Motors for rockets and high-powered rockets are classified by total impulse into a set of letter-designated ranges, from ⅛A up to O. The total impulse is the integral of the thrust over burn time.
Amateur rocketry, sometimes known as experimental rocketry or amateur experimental rocketry, is a hobby in which participants experiment with fuels and make their own rocket motors, launching a wide variety of types and sizes of rockets. Amateur rocketeers have been responsible for significant research into hybrid rocket motors, and have built and flown a variety of solid, liquid, and hybrid propellant motors.
Rocket Candy, or R-Candy, is a type of rocket propellant for model rockets made with sugar as a fuel, and containing an oxidizer. The propellant can be divided into three groups of components: the fuel, the oxidizer, and the additive(s). In the past, sucrose was most commonly used as fuel. Modern formulations most commonly use sorbitol for its ease of production. The most common oxidizer is potassium nitrate (KNO3). Potassium nitrate is most commonly found in household stump remover. Additives can be many different substances, and either act as catalysts or enhance the aesthetics of the liftoff or flight. A traditional sugar propellant formulation is typically prepared in a 65:35 (13:7) oxidizer to fuel ratio.
The British space programme is the British government's work to develop British space capabilities. The objectives of the current civil programme are to "win sustainable economic growth, secure new scientific knowledge and provide benefits to all citizens."
Ammonium perchlorate composite propellant (APCP) is a modern fuel used in solid-propellant rocket vehicles. It differs from many traditional solid rocket propellants such as black powder or zinc-sulfur, not only in chemical composition and overall performance, but also by the nature of how it is processed. APCP is cast into shape, as opposed to powder pressing as with black powder. This provides manufacturing regularity and repeatability, which are necessary requirements for use in the aerospace industry.
The Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) is an annual American model rocketry competition for students in grades six to 12 sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association and the National Association of Rocketry. Co-sponsors include NASA, United States Department of Defense, the American Association of Physics Teachers and the Civil Air Patrol.
Aerotech Consumer Aerospace, established in 1982, is a company that supplies motors, kits and components for mid and high power rocketry.
The Canadian Association of Rocketry - L'Association Canadienne De Fuséologie (CAR-ACF) is a Canadian federal not for profit self-supporting association and governing body representing amateur/model rocketeers across Canada. The history of amateur/ model rocketry in Canada goes back to 1965 with its approval by the Canadian Federal government with the assistance of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute (CASI), the Royal Canadian Flying Clubs (RCFCA), the new Canadian Association of Rocketry (CAR), and then with the help of the Youth Aeronautic and Aerospace of Canada (YAAC). CAR-ACF was incorporated in 2009 from the then existing Canadian Association of Rocketry - CAR.
CU Spaceflight is a student-run Cambridge University society founded with the aim of achieving cheap access to space. It is supported by the Cambridge-MIT Institute.
Daniel Jubb is a British rocket scientist. In a 17 November 2008 article from the British newspaper The Times, he was named "one of the world's leading rocket scientists", by the Royal Air Force Wing Commander Andy Green.
The UK Youth Rocketry Challenge (UKRoC) is a youth rocket building competition, established in 2007. It provides secondary school student teams, a realistic experience in designing a flying aerospace vehicle that meets a specified set of mission and performance requirements. Students have to work together in teams, emulating the practices of real aerospace engineers. Not intended to be easy, and considered well within the capabilities of secondary school students with a good background in science and maths, and some craftsmanship skills.
Kate Pyne was an English historian working at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE), Aldermaston. Her work there included the writing of technical history on various aspects of the British nuclear weapons programme from its earliest days to the present time. Prior to taking a degree in Modern History at Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, she worked for many years in the aircraft industry.
Rocketry SA is the official voice and controlling body for all aspects of non-commercial and non-governmental rocketry in South Africa. The organization is registered as a non profit organization in South Africa. Rocketry SA promotes model rocketry, high-power rocketry, amateur rocketry, and aerospace modelling.
