Rocket Science Page 4   First in war ... Like a lot of other things, rocketry started in China. The Chinese invented gun powder about 300 B.C. They made an early form of firecracker by stuffing bamboo tubes with gunpowder. At some point in the next thousand years, someone came up with the idea of putting the firecracker on an arrow. Then came the realization that the arrow could be self-propelled (essentially a bottle rocket) and the first rocket was launched. We do know that the Chinese used these "fire arrows" to repel Mongol invaders during the battle of Kai-Keng in 1232. First in pieces ... The first Rocket Scientist was probably a Chinese official named Wan-Hu. Wan-Hu, one way or the other and according to legend, was probably the first person to go aloft by rocket power. [Don't try this at home!] In about the year 1500, Wan-Hu designed a "flying chair" by attaching two large kites and 47 fire arrow rockets to a wicker chair. He enlisted 47 torch-bearing assistants ("Junior Rocket Scientists") to simultaneously light the fuses. They did. A great roar and billowing clouds of smoke followed. The smoke cleared and no Wan-Hu. Did his chair soar or did Wan-Hu fly piecemeal into the sky? The answer is lost to antiquity. The Star-Spangled Banner, of course, refers to "the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air" over Baltimore's Fort McHenry in the War of 1812. Did you know that in the American Civil War, Confederate President Jeff Davis may have also qualified as a Rocket Scientist? Davis witnessed the Confederates attempt to launch a 12-foot long ballistic missle from Richmond against Washington, D.C. The rocket carried a 10-pound gunpowder warhead. The rocket ignited. Again a roar and great cloud of smoke. This time, though, the rocket rose through the smoke and out of sight overhead. The rocket was never seen or heard from again. Could it have gone into orbit? < Previous page 1  2  3  4  5  Next page >
		| Home | The Company | Services | Rocket Science | Network | Quiz | What's New | Contact us |   Best view with a 800x600 display and 16K colors © 1999: Le Velly Design Last updated: 10-21-1999