History of Rocket Propulsion

  • Hero of Alexandria
    700 BCE

    Hero of Alexandria

    It was called an aeolipile. It used steam as the propulsive gas. It was mounted on a sphere on top of a water kettle where the kettle turned the water into steam. The gas went through the pipes ot the sphere.
  • Aulus Gellius
    400 BCE

    Aulus Gellius

    It was fueled by steam. It worked by a pigeon made of wood that was suspended on wires. It used the action-reaction principle.
  • Qi Jiguang
    Jan 1, 1232

    Qi Jiguang

    It was made from saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal dust. They filled the bamboo tubes with a mixture and put them in fires. These rockets were propelled by the gases and sparks produced by the burning gunpowder
  • Jean Froissart
    Mar 21, 1412

    Jean Froissart

    It was launched through tubes and fueled by gunpowder.
  • William Gravesande

    William Gravesande

    It was propelled by jets of steam. They were rockets with a mass of more than 45 kilograms. They were so powerful they escaping exhaust flames bored deep holes in the ground
  • William Hale

    William Hale

    It worked by spin stabilization where the method exhaust gases struck small vanes at the bottom of the rocket which caused it to spin as much as a bullet does in flight. It was fueled by exhaust gas.
  • Konstantin Tsiokovsky

    Konstantin Tsiokovsky

    It worked by using liquid propellants for rockets in order to achieve greater range. The speed and range of the rocket were limited only by exhaust velocity. It was fueled by liquid propellants.
  • Robert H. Goddard

    Robert H. Goddard

    He used solid-propellant rockets. The various types of solid fuels burn gases. He used fuel and oxygen tanks, turbines, and combustion chambers.
  • Space X

    Space X

    It is powered by rocket engines that burn liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene propellants. It uses liquid fuel.
  • Hermann Oberth

    Hermann Oberth

    It worked by burning a mixture of liquid oxygen and alcohol at a rate of about one ton for every seven seconds. It led to the development of the V-2 rocket