Transportation
Rocket Technology
Mr. Kalka
Rocket basics
• W= weight of rocket
• F= force ( average thrust of rocket engine)
• Consult engine chart
• G= acceleration due to gravity (32ft./sec)
• Apogee- highest point a rocket reaches
before gravity takes over.
• Two forces acting on a rocket
• Gravity
• Drag
Altitude
• Altitude- The highest point a rocket
reaches.
• Three steps to measure
• Distance from launch site (baseline)
• Angular distance measured in degrees.
Convert the angle to Tangent.
• Multiply tangent by length of baseline.
Explanation of tangents
• Tangent is a numerical ratio of
the length of the opposite side
and the length of the adjacent
side, when working with a right
triangle.
• Tangent of <A = opposite side
adjacent side
Restrictions on Altitude
• Wind will cause a rocket to not
go straight up thus not letting it
reach full altitude.
Speed
• Rockets gain speed very quickly
• A rocket will move faster and faster as the engine
is thrusting (maximum speed is reached at the end
of the thrust period)
• Thrusting – engine providing force
• Coasting- retained energy from thrust
• Speed of sound is 1100 fps
• Satellites 4.85 miles/sec
• The fastest manned rocket ship was the Saturn V,
used in the Apollo program. In order to break
earth's orbit it achieved a speed of 25,000 miles per
hour... or 6.94 miles per second.
Calculating speed
• To calculate the average speed
in fps you need to record the
length of time your rocket took
to reach apogee.
Acceleration against
gravity
• Gravity will cause an object to
fall at a rate of 32 fps. A falling
object will continue to
accelerate until friction from air
causes it to reach terminal
velocity.
• Calculating acceleration
Horsepower
• Lets calculate horsepower of
our rockets.
• What is the formula for horse
power
• HP formula- weight (lbs) x
Distance (ft)/Time (sec) / 550