History of Rocketry

  • Gunpowder Rocket
    Jan 1, 1232

    Gunpowder Rocket

    Chinese use gunpowder rockets to scare invaders at the Battle of Kaifung-fu.
  • Step-rocket
    Sep 15, 1540

    Step-rocket

    Johann Schmidlap, firework maker, invents (what modern day engineers call) the step rocket.
  • Galileo Observes Jupiter

    Galileo Observes Jupiter

    Galileo viewed Jupiter and found that it has four sattelites, which was a major finding of his time.
  • Newton's Three Laws of Motion Published

    Newton's Three Laws of Motion Published

    In the late 17th century, Sir Isaac Newton developed and published his Three Laws of Motion and the Universal Law of Gravitation.
  • British Military Rockets

    British Military Rockets

    The British use shrapnel (case-shot) and incendiary rockets during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812.
  • Spin-rockets

    Spin-rockets

    William Hale invents and patents the spin-rocket. It is used in the Mexican-American War and the Civil War.
  • De la terre a la lune

    De la terre a la lune

    Jules Verne writes his fictional novel De la terre a la lune, giving people the idea that space travel was indeed possible.
  • Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

    Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

    Russian schoolteacher Konstantin Tsiolkovsky writes many books and articles about rocketry and spaceflight.
  • Goddard's Solid Fuel Rockets

    Goddard's Solid Fuel Rockets

    Robert Goddard begins testing solid-fuel rocket models.
  • A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes

    A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes

    Robert Goddard publishes his paper "A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes" in which he stated that rockets would function better in space.
  • First Liquid Fueled Rocket Launched

    First Liquid Fueled Rocket Launched

    Robert H. Goddard launched the world's first liquid-fueled rocket in a field in Auburn, Massachusetts.
  • America Launches the Explorer 1

    America Launches the Explorer 1

    Shortly following Russia, America launches its' first artificial satellite, Explorer 1, into space to orbit the Earth.
  • Space Shuttle Program Retired

    Space Shuttle Program Retired

    The Space Shuttle Program (STS) was retired after more than 30 years of spaceflights
  • Spacex Dragon Launch

    Spacex Dragon Launch

    Spacex launches their Falcon 9 and Dragon spacecraft.
  • New Horizons Reaches Pluto

    New Horizons Reaches Pluto

    The New Horizons spacecraft flies by Pluto, taking lots of spectacular photos.