How has Aeronautics turned hot air balloons into N.A.S.A.'s rockets?

Bibliography

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Similarities

You may think that hot air balloons, airplanes, helicopters and rockets are extremely different, but they are all similar. First off, they all use aeronautics, and second, they have some similar design features.

Hot air balloons and rockets both use an expanding gas.

Helicopters and Airplanes use propellers.

Airplanes, rockets, and helicopters have air chambers for high altitudes.

Rockets

The Chinese were the first civilization to use rockets, the first self propelled flying object, before the Aerial Screw, hot air balloons, and airplanes. However, it wasn't until about 1000 years later that rockets started to visit space, and for centuries rockets were only used to signal, projection, and as weapons.
The Chinese weren't the only civilization to use rockets, but they were the first. As rocketry spread to Europe, they were only used as weapons, and some rockets were even used to hunt whales.





It wasn't until the 20th century that people began to understand how rockets worked and had enough knowledge to create advanced technology.





In 1926, A United States Physicists, Dr. Robbert Goddard he launched the first liquid rocket 41 feet. In Germany, Wernher von Braun worked on a V-2 missile and came to the U.S. after World War II. The U.S. began working on satellites in 1955, but in 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite Sputnik I, and two months later, they launched Sputnik II, carrying a dog in it.





Soon the U.S. launched their own satellite Explorer I, and replaced N.A.C.A. with N.A.S.A. in 1958. In 1958, project Mercury began with the first American in space. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy promised to have a man on the moon before the end of the decade.





Project Gemini was a series of space flights to prepare to land a man on the moon, and Project Apollo was the final step to land a man on the moon. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin land on the moon.




























The International Space station Mir was the first space station. Mir was operated by both the Soviet Union and the United States that demonstrated international cooperation. The U.S. space station Skylab proved that humans can survive in space for long periods of time.





In 1981, the Space Shuttle was used for space travel. It is a reusable space transportation system (STS) that was used to conduct scientific experiments, to launch satellites, and to house astronauts. The Space Shuttle Program (which is now retired) was also used to transport parts and people to the International Space Station.(ISS)































The ISS has sixteen countries working on it:the United States, Canada, Brazil, Russia, Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Japan, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Norway and Denmark. It was completed in 2004 and conducts scientific experiments.

Helicopters

Many people have been trying to master vertical flying for centuries, even before hot air balloons and airplanes. As stated earlier, Leonardo da Vinci designed the Aerial Screw in the 1400's. Paul Cornu invented the first piloted helicopter in 1907, but it was not successful. In 1924, Etienne Oehmichen built and flew a helicopter one kilometer. The German Focke-Wulf Fw 61 was another helicopter that flew a small distance.






Igor Sikorsky was a Russian emigrate who is considered to be the "Father" of helicopters because he invented the first successful helicopter. He began to design helicopters in 1910, and by 1940, his VS-300 was the first single rotor helicopter. He also designed the XR-4, the first U.S. military or any military helicopter that he delivered to U.S. Colonel Franklin Gregory. Igor Sikorsky had created helicopters that could travel any way, up, down, forwards, backwards, side to side, etc. In 1958, his company attached a boat hull to a helicopter so it could land and take off on water.












In 1944, Stanley Hiller Jr. built a helicopter that used all metal rotor blades that allowed the helicopter to travel faster than ever before. In 1949, he invented a helicopter called the Hiller 360 that he used to fly across the U.S.

Airplanes

1800's

People have been trying to engineer powered flight well before the Wright brother's flights. In 1804, Sir George Caylay started modern aeronautical engineering with test and flying the fist successful winged aircraft. Otto Lilienthal also studied aeronautical engineering with aerodynamic test that influenced future aeronautical experiments.

1901
Samuel Langley creates the first successful flying model propelled by an internal combustion engine. He builds his model "Aerodromes," with wingspans up to 15 feet.

1903

Wilbur and Orville Wright fly the first sustained flight with a powered, controlled engine four miles South of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in Kill Devil Hills. Their best flight is 852 feet in 59 seconds.

1910

Eugene Ely pilots a Biplane and is the first to take off from a ship. He takes off on an anchored cruiser and land on the coast of Virginia. He is also the first person to take off from land and land on a ship in California.

1914

Lawrence Sperry demonstrates an automatic gyrostabilizer that can travel in a strait line without a pilot in New York. Two years later, he and his partner create the first automatic pilot.

1915
United States Congress charters National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (N.A.C.A) for advanced aeronautic research.

1927

Charles Lindberg completes the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean in the "Spirit of St. Louis," leaving from New York and arriving in Paris, France at 3,600 miles.

1933

Boeing introduces the 247, a twin engine, ten passenger airplane used as the first commercial airliner.

1937

The first jet engine is designed and tested by Frank Whittle and Hans von Ohian that later was used to make the first jet aircraft.

1947
On October 14, U.S. Air Force Captain Charles "Chuck" Yeager pilots the Bell X-1 and breaks the sound barrier for the first time.

1950

The B-52 bomber is made with 8 turbojet engines, and a capacity of 500,000 pounds.

1990

The B-2 bomber, developed by Northrop Grumman, uses stealth technology and is undetectable on radar. In the same year, Lockheed makes the F-117 stealth fighter (A.K.A. Nighthawk) and is also uses stealth technology and is undetectable on radar.

Hot Air Balloons

1700's

On September 19, 1783, a sheep, a duck, and a rooster were three passengers aboard the first hot air balloon called "Aerostat Reveillon." It was launched by Pilatre De Rozier, and crashed down 15 minuets later.

Two months later, on November 21, 1783, in a hot air balloon made by Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier the first manned attempt to fly in a hot air balloon was made. The hot air balloon was launched from the centre of Paris and flew for 20 minuets.

In 1785, a French balloonist, Jean Pierre Blanchard and his American co pilot, John Jefferies, took a big leap for long distance ballooning and flew over the English Channel. Later that year, the world's first balloonist Pilatre De Rozier, died in attempt to cross the English Chanel in a experimental hot air balloon which was a hydrogen balloon and a hot air balloon tied together that exploded half an hour after launch.

On January 7, 1793, Jean Pierre Blanchard flew the first hot air balloon in North America with George Washington present for launch.

Setting Records

Over a hundred years later, In the August of 1932, a Swedish Scientist made the first manned flight to the Stratosphere and set a new altitude record of 52,498 feet. Over the next few years, altitude records were set every couple of months. In 1935, an altitude record was set at 72,395 feet, the altitude was so high that the balloon Explorer 2, a gas helium model, used a pressurized chamber that proved that people can survive in extremely high altitudes that helped make space travel possible one day. The record and remained the highest for 20 years, but it was set yet again in 1960 by Captain Joe Kittinger with an altitude of 102,000 feet. Captain Joe Kittinger didn't ride back down on the balloon, he set another record for the highest parachute jump, and he was going so fast that he broke the sound barrier with his body.

The Atlantic and Pacific Challenges

The first successful flight over the Atlantic Ocean (The Atlantic Challenge) was made in 1978 by a balloon called the Double Eagle II. The Balloon had three passengers, Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson, and Larry Newman, they set a new flight duration time of 137 hours.

Three years later in 1989, the first transatlantic (Pacific) crossing was made. The Double Eagle V launched from Japan and landed in California in 84 hours also setting a distance record at 5,678 miles. In 1999, one decade later, the first around the world trip was completed by Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones. Their flight started in Switzerland and ended in Africa. Their trip took 19 days, 21 hours, and 15 minuets.

Starting Off

Chinese Fireworks-800's

The Chinese were the first people to make and launch fireworks. It was thought that the first fireworks were made during the Sung Dynasty, (in the years 960-1279 A.D.) along with the invention of black powder. At first their use was to entertain, but later they used the technology for war and to ward off evil spirits. Even though these fireworks were the first self-propelled flying objects, their principle is still used in today’s modern rockets.

Leonardo Da Vinci -1400’s

Leonardo Da Vinci was an amazing artist and inventor, who also played a key role in air flight. He painted many pictures and designed many inventions, but one particular invention that has to do with air flight. This device, called the “Aerial Screw,” had a screw like propeller that was powered by four men turning cranks that rotated a shaft for flight. Scientist believe that his invention would not fly due to weight conditions, however though, his design helped make modern helicopters.

Understanding

You hear a lot of words that have the prefix aero, like aerodynamic, aeronautics, aerospace and even Aerosmith. They all have the word aero in them, so what does it really mean? Or is it just a cool word? No. Aero actually means "air," and aeronautics means "the science or art of flight." From the classroom's paper airplane, to the world's most powerful rocket, they both have something in common, they use aeronautics.