Why does it take so much fuel to launch a rocket?
The vehicle requires an enormous amount of fuel to break through Earth’s gravitational pull. All that fuel adds significant weight to the spacecraft, and when an object is heavier, it takes more thrust to lift it. To create more thrust, you need more fuel.
Does a rocket go straight up?
A gravity turn is commonly used with rocket powered vehicles that launch vertically, like the Space Shuttle. The rocket begins by flying straight up, gaining both vertical speed and altitude. During this portion of the launch, gravity acts directly against the thrust of the rocket, lowering its vertical acceleration.
How long does it take to fuel a rocket?
about 32 minutes
How much fuel is needed for a rocket?
At liftoff, the two Solid Rocket Boosters consume 11,000 pounds of fuel per second. That’s two million times the rate at which fuel is burned by the average family car. The twin Solid Rocket Boosters generate a combined thrust of 5.3 million pounds.
What fuel does NASA use for rockets?
Liquid oxygen (LOX) serves as the oxidizer. The boosters, on the other hand, use aluminum as fuel with ammonium perchlorate as the oxidizer, mixed with a binder that creates one homogenous solid propellant. Hydrogen, the fuel for the main engines, is the lightest element and normally exists as a gas.
How much horsepower does a rocket have?
The three space shuttle main engines generate the maximum equivalent of about 37 million horsepower. The fuel pump alone delivers as much as 71,000 horsepower, the oxygen pump delivers about 23,000. Just as a basis of comparison, the fuel pump alone is probably the equivalent horsepower of 28 locomotives.
What is the most powerful rocket engine ever built?
Saturn V
How many horsepower is a 747 engine?
The Boeing 747 cruising at 530 miles per hour at a weight of 700 000 pounds is seen to require 59 934 horsepower; the corresponding values for the Super Constellation are 330 miles per hour, 112 000 pounds, and 6585 horsepower.
What is the most powerful machine ever built?
Saturn V Moon Rocket