Blast Off! Key Objects
Black Knight Rocket
What is it?
A British government research
rocket designed to reach speeds of over 10,000 miles per hour. The
first of these rockets was launched from the Australian desert in
1958.
Background information
Rockets or rocket
engines move by expelling mass in one direction which results in
movement in the opposite direction (i.e. Newton's Third Law: every
action has an opposite and equal reaction).
All of the 'mass' is carried within the rocket until its release
and is usually fast moving, exhaust gas from a combustion engine.
Rockets are particularly useful for moving in space where there is
nothing for a vehicle to push against, or forces such as friction
and gravity, to aid movement.
The Black Knight rocket was designed to study the effects of
re-ntry on a vehicle re-entering Earth's atmosphere. Originally the
primary reason for this study was to provide information for the
Blue Streak missile programme - a ballistic, nuclear missile.
However, the information was used as part of a broader rocket
research programme and after the demise of the Blue Streak missile
programme, the Black Knight missile was re-developed into the Black
Arrow satellite launch vehicle after 1965.
Gemini Space Capsule
What is it?
A NASA space capsule built in the 1960s.
It was designed to land in the desert instead of the ocean.
Background Information
The Gemini Space
Programme bridged the gap between the early Mercury missions, which
put an astronaut into space, and the Apollo missions that landed on
the Moon. The main objective of the Gemini mission was to provide
NASA with valuable information for planning the Apollo missions and
develop techniques for advanced space travel.
The Gemini capsules had a two-man crew whose tasks matched those
that might come up on a trip to the moon. Flights could last as
long as two weeks compared to the hours and minutes of the Mercury
flights.
The capsule's design was based on the Mercury capsules with
various modifications and additions. It had small rocket engines
(thrusters) around the nose of the capsule making it maneuverable,
allowing it to alter its own orbit and dock with another space
craft.
The capsule had to hold two astronauts and store food and
scientific equipment. The supplies were carried in a service
module. During the missions the astronauts' health was continuously
monitored through a biosensor suit. When in space the astronauts
had to put on their space suits and open the hatch to stand up.
They ate freeze-dried meals, went to the bathroom using hoses
and bags and cleaned up by opening the hatch - everything not
attached was sucked into space! The first American astronaut space
walk took place on a Gemini mission.
Blast Off! key interactives
Rocket power
What is it?
You turn a handle to generate electricity, which is used to
separate hydrogen from oxygen in water.
The hydrogen generated acts as the fuel for a small rocket. You
can ‘fire’ the rocket by pressing the ignition button and watch it
rise up about 5 metres.
Background information
Water (a liquid)
consists of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom joined together
in a molecule. The electrical current breaks the bond between the
water and hydrogen, splitting the molecule into hydrogen and oxygen
ions.
The separation of water into hydrogen and oxygen using
electricity is called electrolysis. The hydrogen ions are
positively charged and collect at the negatively charged terminal
of the electrical supply. There the hydrogen ions pick up an
electron-forming hydrogen gas.
The oxygen atoms are negatively charged and collect at the
positively charged terminal. There the oxygen ions lose an electron
and form oxygen gas. The hydrogen and oxygen gas bubbles float to
the surface and enter the bottom of the rocket.
Pushing the button ignites and burns the gas in the rocket. The
heat produced expands the gases, which are pushed out the bottom of
the rocket at high speed. It is the gas being forced out the bottom
of the rocket that provides the energy to move the rocket up the
wire.
This is Newton's Third Law: For every action, there is an equal
and opposite reaction. For example, a person standing on the ground
exerts a downwards force on the ground and the ground exerts an
equal upwards force on them.
The rocket moves up the wire because the mass of hot gas is
accelerated from the rocket, producing a downwards force on the
surface below the rocket. There is an equal and opposite reaction
from the surface creating an upwards force on the rocket – this is
called thrust or propulsion.
The speed at which the rocket moves depends on the mass and
acceleration (increasing the speed) of the gases. Force is equal to
mass times acceleration (F=m x a). Increasing the mass and or the
speed of the gases being forced out the bottom of the rocket
creates a greater force on the surface below the rocket and the
rocket moves faster.
If the rocket was in outer space it would move faster, because
there would be no air resistance acting against the rocket.
Learning outcomes
- Water molecules are made of hydrogen and oxygen atoms.
Electricity can be used to separate the molecules and produce
hydrogen and oxygen gas - this is called Electrolysis.
- Newton's Third Law "For every action, there is an equal and
opposite reaction."
- The hot gases forced from the bottom of the rocket create an
equal and opposite force, called thrust, which move the rocket
forward.
- Force is equal to mass times acceleration (F=m x a).
Space suit
What is it?
You can step into a full-sized replica space suit, find out about
how it is designed and have your photograph taken looking out
through the helmet visor.
Background information
Our ability to travel into space has changed the way we live on
Earth and the way we think about and explore the universe. The
first person to step into the harsh environment of space was Alexei
Leonov, a Russian cosmonaut, on 18 March 1965.
To function in space an astronaut needs to: breathe, move,
manoeuvre, communicate, stay at constant pressure / temperature and
be protected from micrometeorites and electromagnetic radiation.
Like all astronauts that take part in extra-vehicular activity
(EVA), Alexei Leonov was protected by his spacesuit.
Space is a vacuum. An astronaut has to wear a spacesuit that
supplies oxygen for breathing and that keeps the body at a constant
pressure. If the pressure our body experiences got too low our body
fluids would boil.
Space is very cold. Spacesuits don't actually have much
insulation apart from the hands and feet, because body heat can
only be lost by radiation in space (because it's a vacuum) which is
very slow. Spacesuits have their own cooling systems. Without the
Earth's atmosphere protecting them from the full strength of the
sun an astronaut could experience temperatures of over 120?C.
The most common type of spacesuit design is the flexible
pressure suit. Typically, these suits are composed of different
layers which keep the suit airtight, flexible, pressurised, cooled
and at a constant volume (to improve mobility). They are heavy and
have a tendency to balloon up in space which makes it difficult to
move. However, they do allow a wide range of movements.
Other designs are hard-shell suits and combinations of
hard-shell and flexible pressure suits.
Learning outcomes
- What it takes for the human body to survive in space.