#1
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It IS Rocket Science
These questions came out of the Spring 2012 USC Trojan Family Magazine. Just thought I'd share and let you all have something to think about (or spend some time googling....)
1. According to an old Mandarin civil service exam question, this 13th-century battle was the first recorded use of a rocket in combat. 2. The English word "rocket" derives from this humble Italian word for "spool", perhaps because of its shape. The first rockets used in European warfare were fired in 1369, in Italy. 3. Named after its British inventor, this rocket could travel up to 9,000 feet. Deployed against the United States in the War of 1812, it was the subject of Francis Scott Key's immortal lines: "And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air.... ." 4. The first guided rocket authorized by the United States to carry a nuclear warhead, this surface-to-surface missile traveled up to 75 nautical miles. 5. This German rocket scientist designed the world's first long-range ballistic missile - used to deadly effect in London and Antwerp, Belgium, during World War II. Powered by alcohol and liquid oxygen, it could travel 200 miles. Later, working for NASA, he built the superbooster that propelled the Apollo spacecraft to the moon. 6. This 15th-century Italian inventor is credited with designing a surface-running rocket-powered torpedo that set fire to enemy ships. 7. In a popular 1865 novel, this science fiction author described a moon launch using a giant cannon. Some of the details uncannily anticipated the Apollo missions of a century later: a three man crew, a launch site in Florida and an accurate description of the feeling of weightlessness. 8. This New Zealand-born rocket scientist, a NASA luminary and pioneer in space exploration, is one of the few nonpolititians to have appeared on the cover of Time twice. 9. This American scientist built and flew the world's first liquid propellant rocket in 1929. Though it only climbed to 12.5 meters, it was the forerunner of the Saturn V moon rocket. 10. Considered by many to be the father of practical astronautics, he was the lead Soviet rocket engineer and spacecraft designer in the space race. 11. The world's first intercontinental ballistic missile, this Soviet-made rocket was responsible for putting into orbit Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite.
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Don NAR 53455 "Carpe Diem" |
#2
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Those are good questions! Number 8 is the only one I can't answer off the top of my head, but I'm sure I know his name and his face--I just can't connect them with the personal information given in the question.
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Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see: http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511 All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com. NAR #54895 SR |
#3
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Quote:
William Pickering, perhaps? Worked for JPL and pretty much got our first satellites and planet exploration going (Pioneer 3-4, Mariner 2-10, Rangers 7-9, Surveyor and Viking). I designed a book on him a couple of years ago. It was written by Douglas Mudgway. http://books.google.com/books/about...id=hwr2Xux085cC
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Retro-grouch |
#4
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I think I know 3 of them off the top of my head...
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#5
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Quote:
Off the top of my head 1. 2. 3. Congreve 4. Honest John? 5. Werner Von Braun 6. 7. H.G. Wells 8. 9. Robert Goddard 10. Sergei Korolev 11. R-7 Semyorka |
#6
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The Honest John was a spin stablized rocket, so it can't be it. I believe the Corporal missile is the correct answer for that one.
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I love sanding. |
#7
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Yep, good old MGM-5. First battlefield missile to be able to carry a little bit of hotness downrange.
Also rochetto. And 7 is Jules Verne. H.G. used Cavorite. Verne predicted the location of the launch site as being Florida simply because his research told him that an equatorial launch would provide the greatest angular momentum to the missile. I had to look up the Mongols for 1; but then I thought it was a naval battle.
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Gravity is a harsh mistress SAM 002 NAR 91005 "The complexity of living is eminently favored to the simplicity of not." |
#8
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Yes, I think he's the one--Pickering and James Van Allen (along with von Braun) were space celebrities, especially in those very early days before Project Mercury really got going. Thank you for posting the listing for the new book!
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Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see: http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511 All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com. NAR #54895 SR Last edited by blackshire : 04-01-2012 at 09:55 PM. Reason: This ol' hoss done forgot somethin'. |
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