First Steps in Rocketry

For Kids

Model Rocketry is a good place for young kids to begin their careers as rocketeers. We have a few tidbits on our kids page.

A few links to get started.

Encyclopedia Astronautica A good first resource on the history of space technology. The numbers are occasionally incorrect, but nothing else has as wide a span.

JPL Tutorial: The Basics of Space Flight. A really great online course that covers just about everything needed to get something into space. The best on the 'net from the experts in the field.

Space Handbook: Astronautics and its Applications This text, in various editions, has been used to educate Congress, military officers and many others. Its very concise and similar to To Rise From Earth by Wayne Lee ISBN: 0816040923 without all the pretty graphics.

An introduction to space flight has one of the most straight forward non-calculus orbital dynamics web pages I have ever seen; it is based on a version of the Space Handbook. Highly recommended!

How Rocket Engines Work It's not magic, it's physics.

The Rocket Equation applies to everything from the smallest model to the biggest Saturn rocket.

The rocket equation has to allow for the forces that act on the rocket during flight.

The Online Physics Textbook has explanations of rockets

The rocket equation can be derived from Newtons Laws.

Exploring In Aerospace Rocketry

During 1966 and 1967 NASA presented a series of programs to the Lewis Aerospace Explorers in Cleveland, Ohio. We are republishing these documents as they were originally published. Some of the information is a bit dated, but the principles are still true.

The first chapter is about the space environment. It was published as NASA TM-X-52388

Chapter Two is about the fundamentals of propulsion, published as NASA-TM-X-52389

The third chapter covers the calculation of vertical flight; it was published as NASA-TM-X-52390

Thermodynamics is covered in the fourth chapter originally published as NASA-TM-X-52391

NASA's Dictionary of Aerospace Terms This was originally written in the 1960s and is a bit dated. They have some nice links to "Ask the Expert" sites.

Ask a Space Scientist at NASA's IMAGE site.

Spacelink at NASA NASA loves education, it is one of their highest priorities. Spacelink is their education portal, with links to everything from coloring books to clip art to cutting edge NASA development.

Rocketry Online The most comprehensive model rocketry site on the net, it also has a few tidbits about amateur rocketry.

Mathematics is a necessity for a lot of things in space flight. The University of Tennesee at Knoxville has some tutorials on calculus if you need a refresher. There are more at Harvey Mudd College.

You might wonder what you will find when you get Out There, there's a lot of interesting stuff to see. Before you leave you might want to learn a little about where you'll be going.

The U. S. Geological Survey has made some maps of Mercury, Venus, Mars, the Moon, and the Galilean satellites of Jupiter. Make sure you have copies with you before you take off.

If you want to know a little more about where you might go take the Planetary Photojournal Tour.

Great Images in NASA has the best of NASA images available.

NASA's Planetary Science

Planet Fact Sheets pages

Please support aRocket by making your Amazon purchases from our links.

Building Scientific Apparatus
by John Moore, Christopher Davis, Michael Coplan, Sandra Greer
Westview Press; 3rd edition July 15, 2002
ISBN: 0813340063

Handbook of Model Rocketry
by G. Harry Stine
John Wiley & Sons; 6th edition (March 1994)
ISBN: 0471593613

Modern High-Power Rocketry: An Illustrated How-To Guide
by Mark B. Canepa
Trafford; (November 2002
ISBN: 1553952081

Experimenting With Model Rockets
by Cary Sneider, Lincoln Bergman, Kay Fairwell
GEMS: Great Explorations in Math and Science; December 1991
ISBN: 0912511206

Model Rocketry
by Stuart Lodge
Traplet Distribution USA Ltd.; October 7, 1996
ISBN: 1900371065

Second Stage: Advanced Model Rocketry
by Michael Banks, Tim Van Milligan
Kalmbach Publishing Company; 2nd edition (May 1998
ISBN: 0890242127

Backyard Ballistics
by William Gurstelle
Chicago Review Press; June 1, 2001
ISBN: 1556523750

Test Tubes and Beakers: Chemistry for Young Experimenters
by Ernest Harrison. Coulson
Doubleday; June 2004
ISBN: 0385023847 This book is not yet released, you may pre-order to reserve your copy.