Rocket

“ I always thought a rocket to be a beautiful thing. Probably this belief is a heritage from that time in my boyhood when first I saw Fourth-of-July fireworks. But never again will a red rocket fired at night be to me anything except a reminder of the most pitiable, the most heart-racking thing I have ever seen—that poor appeal for help from the sinking Tuscania flaming against that foreign sky. ”

“ The displays last for nearly an hour, and consist almost entirely of rockets. Every kind of rocket is there: rockets which simply soar with a rush, burst into stars and fall; rockets which when they reach the highest point of their trajectory explode with a report that shakes the city and must make some of the campanili very nervous; rockets which burst into a million sparks; rockets which burst into a thousand streamers; rockets whose stars change colour as they fall; rockets whose stars do not fall at once but hang and hover in the air. ”

“ The only machine, independent of the atmosphere, we can conceive of, would be one on the principle of the rocket. The rocket rises in the air, not from the resistance offered by the atmosphere to its fiery stream, but from the internal reaction. The velocity would, indeed, be greater in a vacuum than in the atmosphere, and could we dispense with the comfort of breathing air, we might, with such a machine, transcend the boundaries of our globe, and visit other orbs. ”

“ Are all rockets furnished with a head? [xxxviii] What is understood by the furniture of a rocket? How are the serpents, stars, fire-rain, &c. forming the furniture of a rocket, discharged into the air, when the rocket has terminated its flight, or arrived at its maximum of ascension? What forms the difference between a balloon, in fire-works, and a rocket? As the balloon contains also furniture, and is projected vertically from a mortar, how is fire communicated to it, so as to burst it in the air? Is the fuse used, in this case the same as that for bombs, howitzes, and grenades? ”

“ All of a sudden, at the blank hour of two in the morning, a vague movement of relief from a long strain expresses itself in all hands; the third officer’s lantern tinkles, and he fires a rocket, and another rocket. A sullen solitary light is pointed out to me in the black sky yonder. A change is expected in the light, but none takes place. ”

“ Brilliant rockets were fired off in thousands, and countless, coloured balloons of every shape and size were thrown from machines doing the most extraordinary gyrations in the air. They were able to act together in perfect unity just as trained armies do after several years of drill and practice. A hundred machines acting together represented a great wheel rolling slowly across the sky. Others would rush into the sky in a group, and then suddenly spread out like a bursting rocket. ”

“ A rocket is a flying fusée, (Fusées Volantes of the French) , formed with paper, of a cylindrical shape, and filled with a composition of certain inflammable substances, being pierced in the diameter of its length. It is furnished with a stick, serving as a counter-weight, or balance, to guide it vertically in its ascension. It carries generally different garnishes, or furniture; as stars, serpents, fire-rains, marrons, meteors &c. which are thrown off, and produce an elegant appearance, when it terminates its flight. ”

“ For an instant it seemed as if the pressure had vanished in the rocket, for a split second the rocket stopped accelerating as it waited for the new impact. Then like a blast of lightning newly released from a storm, a shot of energy flashed through the racing metal body. ”

“ They fell silent, looking down at the reeling Earth. On the ground, two hundred miles below, at every tracking and control station around the world, men worked without pause, trying to make their tired minds outrace a speeding rocket. ”

“ Instead, however, of torturing our imagination to conceive of a rocket device, which would eclipse the performances of all flying machines, let us take one of nature's rockets as the material aid to our imaginary flight. ”

“ To cause a Rocket to form an arc in rising. 11. TO CAUSE A ROCKET TO FORM AN ARC IN RISING.
Cut some circles, about three or four inches diameter, out of some tin, or other thin plate; then to the rod of each Rocket, and about twice the length of the case from its mouth, fix one of these pieces of tin, [124] nearly at right angles from the rod, and make it quite fast by a bracket underneath. The fire acting upon this, as it proceeds from the mouth of the Rocket, will divide the tail in such a manner, that it will cause it to proceed in a circular course, and form a very pleasing appearance. ”

“ HONORARY ROCKETS.
Take about a pound Rocket of our first description, such as is represented in fig. 23; then on the case, close to the top of the rod, tie on, in a transverse direction, a two-ounce case, which should be filled with a strong charge, and choaked quite close at both ends; then towards each end, and in the reverse sides, bore a hole of moderate size, and from each carry a leader into the top of the large Rocket. When the Rocket attains its greatest height, it communicates fire to the cross one at top ”

“ From the 24-pounder to the 9-pounder Rocket, inclusive, a description of case shot Rocket is formed of each nature, armed with a quantity of musket or carbine balls, put into the top of the cylinder of the Rocket, and from thence discharged by a quantity of powder contained in a chamber, by which the velocity of these balls, when in flight, is increased beyond that of the Rocket’s motion, an effect which cannot be given in the spherical case, where the bursting powder only liberates the balls. ”

“ The fact that they were really built for something need not unduly depress us for a moment, or drag down our soaring fancies. There is something about these vertical lines that suggests a sort of rush upwards, as of great cataracts topsy-turvy. I have spoken of fireworks, but here I should rather speak of rockets. There is only something underneath the mind murmuring that nothing remains at last of a flaming rocket except a falling stick. ”

“ You may observe that the head is made to terminate in a point, which greatly facilitates its passage through the air. The whole is affixed to a straight stick, which, like the rudder of a ship, makes it turn to that side towards which it is inclined, and consequently causes the rocket to ascend in a straight line.”
“But, papa,” observed Louisa, “all the rockets have not straight rods; see, there is one, with a crooked stick.” ”

“ To fire sky rockets, under water, you must have stands made as usual, only the rails must be placed flat, instead of edge ways, and have holes in them for the rocket sticks to go through; for if they were hung upon hooks, the motion of the water, would throw them off; the stands being made, if the pond is deep enough, sink them at the sides, so deep, that when the rockets are in, their heads, may just appear above the surface of the water; to the mouth of each rocket, fix a leader, which put through the hole with the stick ”

“ Four are mounted on each side of an aeroplane. At the head of each rocket is a large dart, resembling a salmon-gaff. The tails of the rockets are wound into spiral springs, which are held in sockets. All eight rockets are fired at once. They are ignited as they leave their sockets, and travel with lightning speed.
Swinging lazily above the field was a captive balloon. At one end of Le Bourget was a line of waiting aeroplanes. "This is the second. They have already brought down one balloon," remarked the man at my elbow. The hum of a motor caused me to look up. ”

“ The mouths of the rockets being rubbed with wet meal powder, lay them in the grooves, head to tail, and tie them fast; from the tail of the first rocket, carry a leader to the mouth of the second, and from the second to the third, and so on to as many as there are on the swivel, making every leader very secure, but in fixing these pipes take care, that the quick-match does not enter the bores of the rockets ”

“ Rockets consist of strong paper cylinders, which being filled with the proper composition rammed hard, and fire being applied to their apertures they are caused to ascend into the air, or in any required directions; they have generally a head fixed to them [83] containing corn powder, sparks, and many other decorations, which, when the body of the Rocket is consumed, take fire, burst in the air, and produce a most beautiful appearance; these are called Sky-rockets. ”

“ I. "Even in a vacuum, where an ordinary propeller could not act, the bullet may become a prime mover, and co-operate with the gun. A rocket can burn without an atmosphere, and the recoil of the rushing fumes will impel the car onwards."
G. "Do you think a rocket would have sufficient power to be of any service?"
I. "Ten or twelve large rockets, capable of exerting a united back pressure of one and a half tons during five or six minutes on a car of that weight at the earth's surface, would give it in free space a velocity of two miles a second, which, of course, would not be lost by friction." ”

“ When sky-rockets are fixed one on the top of another, they are called towering rockets, on account of the great [341] height to which they ascend. They are made in the following manner: Fix on a pound rocket, a head without a collar; then take a four-ounce rocket, which may be headed or bounced, and rub the mouth of it with priming paste, or meal-powder and spirits of wine. ”

“ The rocket apparatus consists of the rocket, the rocket line, the whip, the hawser, and sling life–buoy. The rocket has a line, a light one, fastened to it, which is shot over a wreck. Then the rest of the apparatus is used. We use the gun or mortar instead of the rocket. England’s rocket stations [243] are under the control of the Board of Trade. The men of the coastguard manage the rockets. For every life saved, the Board of Trade pays a sum of money. It gives medals also to those who may have shown unusual courage. ”

“ When the rocket is fired, and arrived to its proper height, it will give fire to the case at top, which will cause both rocket and stick, to spin very fast, in their return, and represent a worm of fire, descending to the ground. ”

“ An immense rocket, placed at a distance of about forty yards, is directed towards the pile by means of a fixed rope guiding it thereto. Sometimes the rocket is placed on a huge cart, and pushed in the direction of the pile. ”

“ We have already seen how vessels can be propelled by sail, oar, paddle, or screw. We have now to consider a mode of progress which requires none of these things, but which works by means of Direct Action.
Such, for example, is the progress of a Rocket through the air.
The heated gases rush out with tremendous violence, and, by their pressure, urge the heavy rocket into the air with the rush, roar, and bang so familiar to all who have witnessed a good display of fireworks.{463}
A rocket in the act of ascent is shown in the uppermost figure of the accompanying illustration. ”

“ It is just as the resistance of the air to the downward stroke of the bird’s wings raises the bird. It is also just as, in jumping up off the ground, the resistance of the ground to your feet makes you go up. You press with your feet on the ground, and so the rocket presses with its gas on the air; and so long as gas keeps coming out of its tail to press on the air, the rocket keeps going up. When the gas is exhausted the rocket comes down.
You have sometimes seen whirling wheels in fire-works. ”

“ We take a common rocket case, of one inch exterior diameter, and charge it solid with the ordinary rocket composition. Some use one spoonful of earth, and three spoonfuls of the composition for fire lances, piercing the case, and attaching a quick match. ”

“ The large rocket must have only half a diameter of charge rammed above the piercer, for if filled to the usual height, it would turn before the small one takes fire, and entirely destroy the intended effect; when one rocket is headed with another, there will be no occasion for any blowing powder; for the force with which it lets off, will be sufficient to disingage it from the head of the first fired rocket. The sticks for these sort of rockets, must be a little longer than for those headed with stars, rains, &c. ”

“ Burger wrung his hands nervously. "Only a half hour until take-off time, Mr. Whiteford. I think we've thought of everything. You realize that your position on the rocket, actually, is only the safety factor of the rocket itself. And, of course, an observer is preferable. First hand accounts of human reactions on board the rocket will be invaluable. You've been drilled for two weeks in your duties on board, the listing of meter readings in the log book, a careful diary of your own physiological reactions, etc. ”

“ Gloria put in. “Why don't you get one of these Australian rocket-planes and fix it up. It's big enough to hold all your foolishness, and if this thing is half as powerful as it looks, you ought to be able to harness it some way for a power-plant. Then you can plaster your rocket all over with armor. ”

“ The silver and black ascent stage, containing the astronauts’ pressurized compartment and the clusters of rockets that control the spacecraft, fits on top of the shiny gold descent stage that actually touches down on the Moon. The descent stage contains a main, centrally located rocket engine. This segment of the craft remains on the Moon as the crew lifts off in the ascent stage to rejoin the command module. ”

“ A rocket stick may be made for any sized rocket, although not expressed in the table, by assuming the data there given, taking care to find the centre of gravity. For the sticks for war-rockets, see Congreve Rocket. ”

“ If the first Earth line, colored red, was passed, the fuel under test could power a rocket to leave Earth, carrying men with it. If the yellow line—the first Moon line—was reached, the rocket could theoretically land men on the Moon. ”