The Evolution of Space Rockets

Summary

The history of rocketry spans from ancient fireworks in China to modern space exploration. Key developments include the military use of rockets in the 13th century, Newton's laws of motion, Indian Mysorean rockets, and the rocket equation by Tsiolkovsky. Goddard's liquid-fueled rockets and von Braun's V2 missile laid the groundwork for space travel. The space race between the US and USSR saw Sputnik and the first human in space. Today, private companies like SpaceX are revolutionizing rocket technology for cost-effective space travel.

Takeaways

• 🚀 The basic principles of modern rocketry were understood by the Ancient Greeks, but the first proper rockets were fireworks developed in ancient China around the 1st century AD.
• 🎯 Rockets were initially used as weapons, with early records showing their military application in 13th-century China, where they were used in the Battle of Kai-Keng against Mongol invaders.
• ⚖️ Isaac Newton's third law of motion—'every action has an equal and opposite reaction'—explains how rockets work, and was codified in the 17th century.
• 🌍 In the 18th century, the kingdom of Mysore in India developed iron-tube rockets, which later influenced William Congreve’s rocket design, used in the War of 1812.
• 📚 In the 19th century, visionary thinkers like William Leitch and Jules Verne predicted the use of rockets for space exploration, inspiring future scientists.
• 🧮 Konstantin Tsiolkovsky’s rocket equation, formulated in 1903, explained the exponential relationship between fuel and rocket velocity, laying the groundwork for modern space travel.
• 🔬 Robert Goddard launched the first liquid-fueled rocket in 1926 and contributed essential innovations like stage rockets, gyroscopes, and parachutes for safe re-entry.
• 💥 The German V-2 rocket, developed during World War II, was the first ballistic missile and the first man-made object to reach outer space.
• 👨‍🚀 The Cold War spurred rapid rocket development, with the Soviet Union’s R-7 launching Sputnik and the U.S. landing a man on the moon using the Saturn V rocket.
• 🌟 Today, private companies like SpaceX are revolutionizing space travel with reusable rockets and cutting-edge technology, paving the way for missions to Mars and beyond.

Q & A

Who is credited with understanding the fundamental principle behind modern rocketry over two millennia ago?

The Ancient Greeks are credited with understanding the fundamental principle behind modern rocketry over two millennia ago.

In what century were the first proper working rockets developed, and where?

The first proper working rockets were developed in ancient China during the first century AD.

What was the composition of the rudimentary fuel used in the early Chinese rockets?

The rudimentary fuel used in the early Chinese rockets was composed of saltpetre, sulfur, and charcoal dust.

What was the significance of the 'arrows of flying fire' during the 13th century battle of Kai-Keng?

The 'arrows of flying fire' were rudimentary Song Dynasty rockets that instilled fear in the Mongol hordes, showcasing the potential military application of rockets.

When was the term 'rocket' first coined, and what does it derive from?

The term 'rocket' was first coined in the 17th century, derived from the Italian word 'roquette', which refers to a pointy bit for holding the thread on an old-school spinning wheel.

What law of motion by Isaac Newton is fundamental to rocket propulsion?

Newton's third law of motion, which states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, is fundamental to rocket propulsion.

Who developed the rocket weapon in the kingdom of Mysore in the late 18th century?

The kingdom of Mysore in present-day southern India developed their own rocket weapon in the late 18th century using sturdy iron tubes to launch projectiles.

What was William Congreve's contribution to rocket development in the early 19th century?

William Congreve stole the idea of the Mysorean rocket and developed his own version, which he used to bombard the American colonies during the war of 1812.

What was the radical idea proposed by William Leitch in his book 'God’s Glory in the Heavens'?

William Leitch proposed the idea that mankind might make a new life among the stars with the help of rocket technology.

What did Jules Verne predict in his novel 'From the Earth to the Moon'?

In 'From the Earth to the Moon', Jules Verne predicted the cost of a 20th-century space launch, the crew size of a rocket, and that launches would occur from Florida.

What is the rocket equation, and who is credited with its development?

The rocket equation, developed by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, sets out the relationship between rocket speed and mass, and how quickly gas has to exit the propellant system to achieve lift.

What was Robert H. Goddard's contribution to rocketry?

Robert H. Goddard developed the technology behind over 214 patents and made the first-ever liquid-fueled rocket launch in Auburn, Massachusetts.

What was the significance of the V2 rocket developed by Werner von Braun?

The V2 rocket was the world's first ballistic missile, the first man-made object to break the sound barrier, and the first to reach outer space.

What was the impact of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 on the US space program?

The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 led to the formation of NASA and a significant acceleration in the US space program, which eventually landed the first man on the moon.

How did the Space Shuttle program change space travel?

The Space Shuttle program introduced reusable spacecraft, which aimed to reduce the cost of space travel and make it more accessible.

What is the current status of the Space Launch System (SLS) mentioned in the script?

As of the script's knowledge, the Space Launch System (SLS) is expected to put the first woman on the moon in 2024.

What is Elon Musk's SpaceX contributing to the future of rocketry?

Elon Musk's SpaceX is contributing to the future of rocketry with innovations like reusable, landable Falcon 9 rockets, and the development of Starship, which aims to be a fully reusable spacecraft for both Earth and Mars travel.

Outlines

00:00

🎇 Ancient Rockets and the Start of Space Exploration

The idea of rocketry has roots in ancient Greece and China, with early fireworks in China being the first working rockets. These crude rockets, originally for entertainment, were later used in warfare, spreading from Asia to Europe. By the 17th century, rockets were known in Europe, where Isaac Newton's laws of motion, especially his third law, explained how rockets function. The kingdom of Mysore in India advanced rocketry by using iron tubes, which inspired the development of military rockets in Europe and America. Rockets eventually evolved beyond warfare, becoming tools for space exploration, as thinkers like William Leitch and Jules Verne envisioned rockets as vehicles for space travel.

05:04

🚀 Rocket Equation and Early Rocket Pioneers

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, a Russian mathematician, and Robert Goddard, an American physicist, developed the scientific foundations of modern rocketry in the early 20th century. Tsiolkovsky formulated the 'rocket equation' explaining the relationship between a rocket's mass, speed, and fuel. Goddard, inspired by science fiction, launched the first liquid-fueled rocket and patented many essential technologies for space exploration. The de Laval nozzle, which increases thrust by converting heat into kinetic energy, was a key innovation. Despite skepticism from mainstream media, these early pioneers laid the groundwork for future space travel.

10:07

🔭 World War II Rockets and the Rise of Modern Space Programs

World War II saw the development of the V2 rocket by Germany, the first ballistic missile and the first human-made object to reach space. After the war, many of the V2 engineers, including Werner von Braun, were recruited by the US and Soviet space programs. These teams drove significant advancements in rocketry, with the US developing the Saturn V rocket, which carried humans to the moon, and the Soviet Union launching the first satellite and human into space. The Cold War fueled the 'space race,' driving rapid progress in rocket design and technology on both sides.

🛰️ Space Race, Cold War Tensions, and Reusable Rockets

The Space Race between the US and USSR accelerated rocket development during the Cold War, with key milestones such as the Soviet Sputnik satellite and Yuri Gagarin's first manned spaceflight. In the 1960s, the US invested heavily in rocketry, leading to the Saturn V rocket and the Apollo moon landings. While the US developed reusable spacecraft like the Space Shuttle, these were expensive and had safety issues, including the Challenger and Columbia disasters. Other nations, including China, continued their own rocket programs, launching satellites and exploring space independently.

💡 Privatization of Space and the Future of Rocketry

In the 21st century, private companies like SpaceX have revolutionized rocketry with innovations like reusable rockets and cost-effective launches. Elon Musk’s company has developed rockets like the Falcon 9 and the methane-fueled Raptor engines, with the aim of enabling space travel to Mars. Meanwhile, new players like Rocket Lab are developing advanced rockets using 3D printing. The future of rocketry may include nuclear-powered engines and further exploration of space, as private enterprise continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible in space travel.

Keywords

💡Rocketry

Rocketry is the field of engineering and science that deals with the design, construction, and operation of rockets. In the context of the video, rocketry is the central theme, highlighting its evolution from ancient fireworks to modern space exploration. The script traces the development of rocketry from its early use in warfare to its current role in launching satellites and spacecraft.

💡Newton's Third Law

Newton's Third Law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This law is fundamental to rocket propulsion, as it explains how rockets move by expelling gas downwards, which in turn creates an upward thrust. The video uses this law to explain the basic principle behind rocket propulsion, as first codified by Isaac Newton.

💡Rocket Equation

The Rocket Equation, also known as Tsiolkovsky's equation, describes the mathematical relationship between the speed of a rocket, its mass, and the rate at which its propellant is expelled. The video mentions this equation in the context of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky's work, emphasizing that the relationship between fuel and speed is exponential, meaning that to double the speed, more than double the fuel is needed.

💡Staged Rocketry

Staged rocketry is a design principle where a rocket is composed of multiple stages, each of which is jettisoned in sequence during the launch. This allows the rocket to shed weight as it ascends, making it more fuel-efficient. The video refers to staged rocketry in the context of Robert Goddard's work and how it's used in modern space missions.

💡De Laval Nozzle

The De Laval Nozzle is a specially shaped nozzle that increases the velocity of exhaust gases, thereby increasing thrust. It's mentioned in the video as a key innovation by Robert Goddard, allowing rockets to achieve greater speeds by converting heat energy into kinetic force without additional combustion.

💡V2 Rocket

The V2 Rocket, or Aggregat-4, was the world's first long-range guided ballistic missile, used by Germany in World War II. The video discusses the V2 as a significant development in rocket technology, which later influenced post-war rocket programs in both the US and the Soviet Union.

💡Sputnik

Sputnik was the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957. The video uses Sputnik's launch as an example of the beginning of the space race between the US and the USSR, marking a pivotal moment in the history of rocketry and space exploration.

💡Saturn V

The Saturn V was the most powerful rocket ever built, used by NASA to send astronauts to the Moon during the Apollo program. The video highlights the Saturn V as the realization of Werner von Braun's vision for space travel, showcasing the peak of 1960s rocket engineering.

💡Space Shuttle

The Space Shuttle was NASA's reusable spacecraft system, designed for human spaceflight and cargo transport to and from Earth's orbit. The video discusses the Space Shuttle as a visionary project that aimed to reduce the cost of space travel but was ultimately expensive and faced tragic setbacks.

💡Falcon 9

The Falcon 9 is a rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX, capable of carrying payloads and astronauts to space. The video mentions the Falcon 9 as an example of modern rocketry's focus on reusability and cost-effectiveness, with its ability to land and be reused for future missions.

💡Starship

Starship is a fully reusable spacecraft designed by SpaceX for long-duration space travel, including missions to Mars. The video discusses Starship as part of Elon Musk's vision for the future of space travel, capable of both interplanetary transport and rapid Earth-to-Earth travel.

Highlights

Ancient Greeks understood the fundamental principle of rocketry.

First proper working rockets were fireworks in ancient China during the first century AD.

13th century battle of Kai-Keng saw the use of 'arrows of flying fire'.

Mongols developed their own rocket weapon in response to the Chinese.

17th century saw the coining of the term 'rocket' based on the Italian word 'roquette'.

Isaac Newton's third law of motion explains how rockets work.

Mysore in India developed their own rocket weapon in the late 18th century.

William Congreve stole the Mysorean rocket design and used it in the war of 1812.

Rockets' utility as a weapon faded after the 19th century due to the rise of guns.

William Leitch proposed the idea of space travel using rockets in 1861.

Jules Verne's novel 'From the Earth to the Moon' predicted many details of space travel.

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky published the 'rocket equation' in 1903.

Robert Goddard launched the first-ever liquid-fueled rocket in 1926.

Goddard's work led to 214 patents and innovations in rocketry.

The New York Times mocked Goddard's ideas but later apologized.

Hermann Oberth inspired science fiction and worked on 'the Woman in the Moon'.

Werner von Braun developed the V2, the world's first ballistic missile.

The R-7, developed by the Soviets, launched Sputnik and later carried Yuri Gagarin into space.

The US developed the Saturn V rocket, which took humans to the moon.

Space Shuttle was a reusable spacecraft that relied on solid-fuel boosters.

China developed their own rocket program with the Long March series.

SpaceX is driving innovation with reusable, landable Falcon 9 rockets.

Rocket Lab is developing the Rutherford Engine and plans to unveil the Neutron rocket in 2024.

Nuclear fusion reactors may provide a potent fuel source for future rockets.

The future of rockets looks promising with private enterprise engagement.

Transcripts

The fundamental principle behind  modern rocketry was understood two  

and a half millennia ago by the Ancient Greeks.

But the first proper working rockets, historians  agree, were fireworks in ancient China,  

during the first century AD. Hollow bamboo tubes,  stuffed with a rudimentary fuel of saltpetre,  

sulfur and charcoal dust would’ve made for a  cool noisy projectile to show off at parties.

Before long some dreadful meanie saw the  potential military application. Surviving  

accounts from the 13th century battle of Kai-Keng  report terrifying ‘arrows of flying fire’,  

basically rudimentary Song Dynasty rockets,  raining down on the rampaging Mongol hordes.

In all likelihood these crude missiles  sucked. But they struck sufficient fear  

into Mongol hearts that the nomadic  horse-folk crafted their own rival  

rocket weapon. Which is most likely how  the idea eventually made it to Europe.

By the 17th century, the concept was well enough  understood that the term ‘rocket’ was coined,  

based on the Italian word ‘roquette’ incidentally,  

a pointy bit for holding the thread  on an old-school spinning wheel.

Around the same time, in England,  

Isaac Newton codified the laws of motion for  the first time. Newton’s third law – every  

action has an equal and opposite reaction –  neatly sums up how rockets do their thing.

Back in Asia, in the late 18th century,  

the kingdom of Mysore in present-day southern  India developed their own rocket weapon,  

using sturdy iron tubes to launch  projectiles an impressive 2km or so.

So successful was the Mysorean rocket  program that an Englishman named William  

Congreve stole the idea and, by the  early 19th century, was cheerfully  

bombarding the upstart American colonies  with his clone rockets in the war of 1812.

Rockets’ utility as a weapon of war  faded somewhat after this, as the  

superior performance and accuracy of guns made  smaller-format weapons more effective in battle.

Still, these whiz-bang contraptions  had captured the popular imagination.  

And it wasn’t long before bold visionaries were  positing a very different application for rockets.

In 1861 a Scottish priest and amateur  astronomer called William Leitch wrote  

a book called ‘God’s Glory in the Heavens’, in  which he advanced the radical idea that mankind  

might make a new life out among the stars,  with the help of this exciting technology.

‘Let us… attempt to escape from the  narrow confines of our globe… and  

see it from a different point  of view’, eulogized Leitch.

‘But what vehicle can we avail  ourselves off for our excursion?  

The only machine we can conceive of would  be one of the principles of the rocket.’

In that same decade, science fiction writer  Jules Verne published his uncannily prescient  

novel ‘From the Earth to the Moon’. In the book  – written 100 years before the Apollo missions,  

by the way – Verne correctly predicted  the cost of a 20th-century space launch,  

controlled for inflation, and foresaw nifty  details like the fact there’d probably be a  

three-man crew. He even correctly guessed  it would be launched from Florida.

One Jules Verne fan in particular set even out  to make art imitate life. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky,  

a mild-mannered Russian high school maths  teacher published an early iteration of  

what’s now known as the ‘rocket equation’ in  a 1903 aviation magazine article thrillingly  

entitled ‘Exploration of Outer  Space with Reaction Machines’.

The rocket equation, since you ask, sets out  the relationship between rocket speed and mass,  

and how quickly gas has to exit the propellant  system to achieve lift. One crucial insight from  

Konstantin’s work is that the relationship between  fuel and speed is exponential. That means it’s  

non-linear. If you want to double the velocity of  your rocket, simply doubling the fuel won’t do.

Tsiolkovsky did more than just the math.  

He vividly articulated a vision of what  future spacecraft might ultimately look like.

‘Visualize… an elongated metal chamber,  

the shape of least resistance,’  he wrote, in about 1900 remember.

‘Equipped with electric light, oxygen  and means of absorbing carbon dioxide,  

doors and other animal secretions.

‘At the narrow end of the tube,’ he went on,  

‘explosives are mixed: this is  where the dense, burning gases…  

explode outward into space at a tremendous  relative velocity at the… flared end of the tube.

‘Clearly, under definite conditions, such  a projectile will ascend like a rocket.’

Konstantin wasn’t alone in this  vision. In the United States,  

Robert Goddard independently developed  his own version of the rocket equation,  

inspired by yet another science fiction  writer, HG Wells. In March of 1926  

Goddard made history launching the first-ever  liquid-fuelled rocket in Auburn, Massachusetts.

Goddard’s contribution to  rocketry can’t be overstated,  

developing the technology behind no fewer than  214 patents. In his experiments he concluded,  

among other insights, that combustion  should happen in small chambers,  

separate from primary fuel. Which should, he  reckoned, be held in two separate tanks – one  

containing fuel, typically alcohol based  on his early trials, and an oxidizer.

He also realized space-bound rockets would  need to be arranged in stages. As early as  

the 16th-century German firework maker Johann  Schmidlap proposed a "step rocket”, in which a  

large rocket advances as far as it can, burning  all its fuel, before launching its own second  

projectile to go even higher – the principle  behind all modern space missions. But Goddard  

made it work for real. He also ascertained that  solid rocket fuel burns too unevenly for accurate  

control, so liquid was better. He also devised  a clever gyroscope to keep things on course,  

parachutes to bring things safely back to  earth, and the use of the de Laval nozzle.

The de Laval nozzle, since you ask,  

accelerates the flow of gases through a  section of tube by narrowing it into an  

asymmetric yet finely calibrated hourglass  shape. That might not sound like much, but  

alchemising heat energy into kinetic force creates  an additional lift without any extral combustion.

In 1920 Professor Goddard was so famous for his  dream of getting a rocket into space the New York  

Times published a mocking editorial, suggesting  he didn’t properly grasp Newton’s Third Law.

He ‘…does not know the relation of  action to reaction,’ thundered the paper.  

‘Or of the need to have something better  than a vacuum against which to react.

‘He seems to lack the knowledge  ladled out daily in high schools’.

The Times subsequently issued an apology  to Goddard, 14 years after his death,  

and about a month before the moon landings.

Another early giant of the field – one of  many scattered across tinkering workshops and  

amateur societies around the field – was one  Hermann Oberth. Born in present-day Romania,  

Oberth spent much of his life in Germany.  Rather than being inspired by science fiction  

like Konstantin in Russia and Goddard in the  States, Oberth actually inspired science fiction,  

working as a scientific consultant on  legendary film director Fritz Lang’s  

1929 film ‘the Woman in the Moon’. Clearly already  a big name in rocketry, that same year he wrote a  

book called "Ways to Spaceflight" and took on as  an apprentice a young man named Werner von Braun.

Von Braun took Oberth’s teachings  and went on to develop one of the  

most important rockets in history – the  German Aggregat-4, better known as the V2.

The V2, used to devastating effect against the  allies in World War 2, was the world’s first  

ballistic missile. Stubby by today’s standards at  just 14 metres high, it somehow managed phenomenal  

thrust burning liquid oxygen and alcohol at a  rate of around a ton every seven seconds. It was  

the first man-made object to break the sound  barrier, and the first to reach outer space.

Still, it couldn’t win the war for Germany.  After the conflict the V2’s senior engineers  

were lured over to either the US or Soviet Russia,  to progress their own nascent rocket programmes.

Werner Von Braun always preferred the  idea of making rockets for space travel,  

instead of killing civilians.

And his know-how helped drive postwar  rocket development in the United States,  

where NACA, the National Advisory Committee  for Aeronautics, a forerunner of NASA,  

oversaw progress on rocket features from basic  structural components, mechanical elements  

like pump valves, engine cooling systems,  clever new direction controls and more.

‘Blunt Body Theory’, from which it  is understood blunt shapes are better  

at surviving burnup on re-entry than more  aerodynamic bodies, was developed by NACA.

Experiments in staged rocketry were  conducted on captured German V2 rockets  

upgraded with a smaller rocket as  payload to be launched at peak altitude.

Advances in the development of more energetic  and stable solid fuels found a use in ICBM,  

or Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles,  which in the febrile Cold War climate  

needed to be ready to fire at a moment’s notice.

The Russians, for their part, weren’t  hanging around. Their own ex-German recruit,  

Helmut Gröttrup, helped Soviet chief  designer Sergei Korolev develop the R-1.  

This in turn led to the R-7, a two-stage  ballistic missile capable of traveling  

8,000 km, that became the workhorse of the  Russian space program for half a century.

It won some significant early battles  in the so-called race for space when,  

on October 4, 1957, the R-7 hurled the first-ever  

man-made satellite Sputnik into orbit. A  month later, Laika the dog followed suit.

In the US President Eisenhower was  incensed to have been beaten to the punch,  

and briskly signed the National  Aeronautics and Space Act in July 1958.

Despite rapidly developing the Mercury Redstone  booster, again based on the basic V-2 outline,  

Russia again made the running by  launching the first human into space,  

Yuri Gagarin, on a modified version  of the classic Soviet R-7 rocket.

The 1960s was boom time for rocket engineers,  with President Kennedy promising a man on  

the moon by the end of the decade. Humongous  injections of state cash drove the evolution  

of rocketry at this point, and Werner Von  Braun’s ultimate vision was realised in  

the shape of the three-stage Saturn V that in  1969 carried mankind all the way to the moon.

The Russians, for their part, tried to  catch up. But with budget issues and the  

death of their whizkid Sergei Korolev,  it never really happened for them.

Meanwhile an imperious and cash-rich USA  developed the Space Shuttle, a visionary  

re-usable craft that distinctively relied  upon two solid-fuel boosters to get to orbit.

The first shuttle was named Enterprise – clearly  sci-fi influencing real science yet again – and  

the idea may well have caught on, had it not  been a wildly expensive means of getting to and  

from space. Not to mention the sad fallout from  the Challenger disaster of 1986, which led to a  

radical redesigns of those solid-fuel boosters  we mentioned, and the Columbia tragedy of 2003.

To be clear, it isn’t just the Russians and  Americans sending rockets into space. Inspired by  

Soviet successes from Sputnik onwards, the Chinese  developed their own late 50s rocket programme,  

which continues to this day with the Long March  programme regularly launching from the tropical  

island of Hainan. The deep-pocketed superpower  is highly secretive about the programme,  

which earlier this year had a hair-raising  moment and attracted international condemnation  

when an out of control rocket came hurtling  down to earth, luckily without hurting anybody.

Still, most of the important ground-breaking  work has come out of America. In 2004  

president George W Bush announced the  retirement of the Shuttle programme  

but the introduction of two new lunar rockets,  the Ares I and Ares V. Both two-stage rockets,  

the idea was once again to get to orbit on  a first stage using solid fuel boosters,  

then switching to liquid fuelled Rocketdyne J-2X  engines to make it to the moon and ideally beyond.

However in 2010, citing the  global financial crisis,  

Barack Obama cancelled the Ares programm.  Still, in the same move they greenlit the SLS,  

or Space Launch System, which looks set to put the  first woman on the moon in 2024. Thanks, Obama.

If the history of rockets can be summed up  as pretty fireworks, which became weapons,  

became tools of geopolitical  posturing in the late 20th century,  

these days it’s all about money.  Not necessarily in a bad way.

The radical innovations happening under Elon  Musk’s watch at SpaceX – not least reusable,  

landable Falcon 9s – are driven by the  profit motive. To get payloads – and  

indeed, now, astronauts – to orbit  in a safe and cost-effective manner.

This in turn is driving every  greater speed of design iteration,  

like the progression from the  throttlable Merlin to the Raptor engines.

The latter of which runs on Meth-Ox, a  methane-based fuel because it burns clean.  

This is obviously great from  a re-usability perspective,  

meaning engines require less maintenance between  flights. But also because the Starships currently  

in development in south Texas should be able  to extract their own methane as a fuel source  

on mars, a concept almost beyond  the dreams of science fiction.

If Musk gets his way, the starships will  not only be ferrying Mankind to mars,  

but will also be carrying us from point to point  here on earth faster than any conventional jet.

And what does the future hold? New Zealand  startup Rocket Lab is developing a Rutherford  

Engine that incorporates 3D printed  elements with an electric pump-fed engine,  

and should unveil its own  heavy-lift Neutron rocket in 2024.

Going forwards, Nuclear fusion reactors  may even provide an even more potent  

fuel source without needing combustion at all.

Now private enterprise is fully  engaged, we human beings aren’t  

flinging rockets at each other (all  that much) and space is cool again,  

one thing we can be sure of is that  the future for rockets is looking up.

What do you think? Does mankind’s love  of sci-fi, or its warmongering instincts,  

most deserve credit for the revolution  in rocketry? Let us know in the comments,  

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