Valve Types

We just learned about the Poppet Valve, and we learned about the Ball Valve before that.

There are lots of different Valve Types out there that are made for different reasons.

A Globe Valve has a body that is shaped sort of like a globe, and has a disc that goes up and down to plug the hole and stop the flow of liquid or gas.

(from: wikipedia - globe valve)

A Butterfly Valve has a circle shaped disc in the middle that spins to open or close.


(from: wikipedia - butterfly valve)

A Gate Valve has a gate that goes up and down to open or close the hole.


(from: wikipedia - gate valve)

A Check Valve is a type of valve that stays closed unless the liquid or gas pushes hard enough to open it, and then it will close again using something like a spring.


(from: wikipedia - check valve)

A Control Valve is a valve that is controlled by a computer to tell it to open a little or a lot, so that it can control the amount of liquid or gas that is coming through.


(from: wikipedia - control valve)

Valves can have have a lot more than just two holes or ports also.
Many valves have three or four ports, and some have even more!


(from: wikipedia - four way valve)

There are a lot more types of valves out there. Pretty much any way you can think of to open or close a pipe, someone has made a valve for it.

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: V-2 Rocket

Falcon Heavy

We just learned about the Falcon rocket.

Another SpaceX rocket is the Falcon Heavy.

This rocket is a lot more powerful than just one Falcon rocket, and it is being made to hopefully some day take people into outer space, to the Moon or even to Mars!

It is made from three "Falcon 9" rockets strapped together.
The one in the middle is the core main rocket, and the two on the outside are booster rockets.

This rocket can carry a lot of weight, about 141,000 pounds into outer space!
On the first of the Falcon Heavy rocket launch, the owner Elon Musk sent his car into space, a shiny red Tesla Roadster, and they also put a fake person inside in a space suit, and nicknamed him "Starman".

When the space craft makes it up into space, the Falcon 9 rockets actually fall off the main spacecraft and fall back to earth.
They don't crash into the ocean though, they actually use guidance systems to come back down to the ground and land safely on a launch pad so they can be used again!





(from: wikipedia - falcon heavy)



Falcon Heavy boosters landing - SciNews


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Rockets

Falcon

We just learned about the Space Shuttle.

Another famous rocket is the Falcon made by SpaceX in 2008.

In 2002 the SpaceX company was started by Elon Musk as a way to try and build rockets to go to outer space and even someday Mars!

The big difference with SpaceX is that it was a business that was in charge, instead of a people that worked for the government like USA or Russia.

These rockets were two stage, and made to use liquid rocket fuel.
Elon Musk said that the name of the Falcon rocket came from the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars!



(from: wikipedia - falcon 1)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Speleoseismite

Space Shuttle

We just learned about the Ariane rocket.

Another famous rocket is the Space Shuttle, made in the USA in 1981.

This was a kind of airplane made for doing work in outer space, and then bringing people home.
The space shuttle had two big rockets to help it launch called "Solid Rocket Boosters" or SRBs.
These are the tall skinny white rockets on either side of the shuttle.

These SRBs used solid rocket propellant, together weighed about 2.6 million pounds, were about 150 feet long, and 12 feet wide.
When the shuttle was launched, these rockets helped bring it to 28 miles up into the sky, at a speed of over 3,000 miles per hour.
They used gimbaled thrust like we learned about, to tilt the engine nozzle and steer the rocket, and they used gyroscopes to make sure they were going the right way.
After these rockets ran out of fuel, they would let go of the shuttle and fall to earth with a parachute.
When they made it down to earth, they were found and fixed up and reused over and over again.

The Space Shuttle main engine, called the SSME uses liquid fuel, and has three rocket engines with nozzles at the bottom of the space shuttle.
These engine nozzles also used gimbaled thrust, just like the SRBs.
It holds its fuel in a giant fuel tank called the Space Shuttle external tank (ET).
The ETs weighed over 70,000 pounds, was over 150 feet long, and 27 feet wide.

During launch, the SSME would burn the fuel in the fuel tank for about eight minutes, and then it would drop off the ET which would fall into the ocean and never be reused.

After it was coming back from space it used small thrusters called the Reaction Control System or RCS to help steer it down, and then it mostly flew down to earth like a glider.

The space shuttle flew 135 missions into space, from 1981 to 2011.







(from: wikipedia - space shuttle)


Space Shuttle Launch Audio - play LOUD (no music) HD 1080p - indiegun


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Seismite

Ariane

We just learned about the SM-65 Atlas.

Another famous rocket was the Ariane.

In Europe, a few countries worked together to make a rocket that would be used to launch things up into space, like satellites or even for space exploration.

France, Germany and the UK came up with it and its first launch was in 1973.

They were multi-stage rockets, using liquid rocket fuel.
These rockets change a little every few year, but some are still mostly working today, launching satellites and exploration things into outer space.


(from: wikipedia - ariene (rocket family))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Mercalli Intensity Scale

SM-65 Atlas

We just learned about the R-7 Rockets.

Another famous rocket in history is the SM-65 Atlas.

After the Russians had developed missiles that could go from one continent to another, the USA worked to try and do the same so they could have the same kinds of weapons.

The SM-65 Atlas was the first rocket that the US made that was an ICBM, meaning it could fly all the way to another continent.

It was made in 1959, was over 75 feet tall, and weighed over 260,000 pounds.
The rocket fuel was liquid oxygen, held in thin stainless steel tanks that were held in place by the pressure of being full of fuel like a balloon.
It used radio guidance to keep it's path, and vernier rockets to help make small steering changes.

This rocket type was used for many years, and was the one used for the Mercury space program that launched American astronauts into orbit.


(from: wikipedia - sm-65 atlas)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Richter Magnitude Scale

R-7 Rockets

We just learned about the PGM-11 Redstone.

Another type of rocket from history is the R-7 Rocket.
Sometimes it's called the R-7 Semyorka, because the Russian word for seven is "Семёрка" which sounds like Semyorka.

After World War II when the Russians brought German scientists to work for their country making missiles, they learned a lot about making missiles, and made the R-1, R-2, and R-5 missiles.
Then they sent the Germans home and started making their own missiles.

The Russians made a missile called the R-7, and it was the first "ICBM" missile which stands for "Intercontinental Ballistic Missile".
This means it could be launched from one continent like Europe or Asia, and fly all the way in the air to land on another continent like North America.

For the first time in history, someone could launch a missile from over 5,000 miles away to bomb another city.
Because this was such a scary thing, it pushed the scientists in the USA to try and make their own ICBMs to fight back if they were being bombed from across the Atlantic ocean.

The R-7 rocket was not just used for war, it was used for space exploration.
Sputnik was the first satellite to be launched into space to orbit the earth.
In 1957 the Russians used a type of R-7 rocket to launch it up into space.
This also pushed the other countries of the world like the USA to make rockets for space exploration.



(from: wikipedia - r-7 (rocket family))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Seismogram

PGM-11 Redstone

We just learned about the V-2 Rocket.

Another famous rocket from history is the PGM-11 Redstone.

This was an American rocket made from the German scientists who had made the V-2 rocket.

It was part of the American rocket program for a very long time.
This rocket was the first one to carry a nuclear bomb, that was exploded up in the atmosphere in the sky.
It was also part of the rocket program to launch the US Explorer 1 space satellite.

The family of rockets that were made as copies of this later went on to send a person into space!



(from: wikipedia - pgm-11 redstone)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Seismometer

V-2 Rocket

We just learned about the Bell X-1.

Another part of rocket history is the V-2 Rocket.

During World War II when everyone was making rockets for war, the Germans made a rocket called the V-2.
It came from the German words "Vergeltungswaffe 2" meaning "Retribution Weapon 2".

It was the world's first missile that used a guidance system to make sure it hit the target.
The rocket used ethanol and liquid oxygen for its propellant, and launched itself into the air for 65 seconds.
After that it would start falling towards its target, and it used gyroscopes, accelerometers and tail fins to guide its path as it fell toward the target.

It was also the first man made object to go into outer space on June 20, 1944.

After the war, Great Britain, the USA, the Russians all used these rockets to help learn how to make rockets to launch into space.




(from: wikipedia - v-2 rocket)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Seismic Wave

Bell X-1

We just learned about the World War II Rocket Weapons.

Another famous part of rocket history was the Bell X-1.

The Bell X-1 was actually a rocket powered airplane, that was built to go faster than the speed of sound, over 700 miles per hour!
It was made to be shaped kind of like a bullet, and with wings going straight out, not tilted back like most airplanes.

In 1947, pilot Chuck Yeager flew the X-1 to 700 miles per hour and broke the sound barrier.
The plane was carried up into the sky from another bigger plane called the B-29, and dropped so that it didn't have to launch itself.

The rocket engine on the back of the X-1 was the XLR11, the first liquid propellant rocket engine made in the US to be used in an aircraft.

It used ethyl alcohol and liquid oxygen as propellants, and had four combustion chambers.



(from: wikipedia - bell x-1)



Chuck Yeager Breaks the Sound Barrier -- X-1 -- 1947 - Motherboard


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Induced Seismicity

World War II Rocket Weapons

We just learned about the The Rocket into Planetary Space - Hermann Oberth.

Another part of rocket history are the World War II Rockets.

The science of making rockets has always been spread out between people who use them for fun to make big explosions,
people who try to make them for travel like flying into outer space,
and people who try to make them for war blow up and hurt people.

During World War II, there were many different types of rockets made for war.

Some were made for anti-aircraft, meaning they shot from the ground to try and blow up airplanes.
Others were made to launch from the ground and then land at another city and blow it up.
Still others were used to shoot from one aircraft to another.

The Germans and Russians were the ones that made the most rockets like the German Nebelwerfer or V-2, and the Russians RS-132 and Katyusha.

The Allied forces like the US or England made some ground to air rockets that they would attach to tanks or pull along like a wagon.

During this time the science of making rockets was all about war and who could blow up the other person.
It helped make the world of rockets better, but it also was very dangerous for the world as they killed over 10,000 people.
Even making these rockets was dangerous, and 20,000 people died in explosions when they were trying to make the rockets.


(from: wikipedia - bachem ba 349)

(from: wikipedia - nebelwerfer)

(from: wikipedia - katyusha rocket launcher)

(from: wikipedia - rs-82 (rocket family))

(from: wikipedia - t34 calliope)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Volcano Tectonic Earthquakes

The Rocket into Planetary Space - Hermann Oberth

We just learned about the Le Prieur Rocket.

Another part of rocket history is the book The Rocket into Planetary Space by Hermann Oberth.

Oberth lived in Germany, and after reading the science fiction books by Jules Verne he loved thinking about rockets.
He became a scientist and wrote a book about launching rockets into space called "Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen" which means "The Rocket into Planetary Space".

Later on he wrote another book called "Wege zur Raumschiffahrt" which means "Ways to Spaceflight".

In 1929 there was a movie called "Frau im Mond" which means "Woman in the Moon", and the director of the movie asked Oberth to make a fake rocket to use in the movie.

When it was made, the movie had the most real looking rocket ever made on film, with a multiple stage rocket, liquid fuel and other real parts of rocket science.

Oberth later went on to work for NASA to help make rockets for space flight.


(from: wikipedia - hermann oberth)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Earthquake Swarm

Le Prieur Rocket

We just learned about the De Laval Nozzle.

Another part of rocket history is the La Prieur Rocket.

During World War I, a French scientist came up with the idea to shoot rockets from an airplane.
He made some rockets that were a lot like the old Fire Arrows, just a tube filled with gunpowder strapped to a stick.
Usually they would only go straight for a little over 100 yards.

People were worried that this would start the airplane on fire, so he tested it by strapping an airplane to a car and driving around, and shooting the arrows from the airplane on top of the car.
It worked, so they started putting them on airplanes in 1916.

The rockets were launched when the airplane pilot pressed an electronic ignition switch in the plane, and then the rockets would shoot off one by one.

They were mostly used to shoot down balloons that the enemy was using to spy on them.


(from: wikipedia - le prieur rocket)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Tsunami Earthquake

De Laval Nozzle

We just learned about the Nell Rocket by Robert Goddard.

Another part of rocket science is the de Laval Nozzle.

When Robert Goddard was working on his rockets, he decided to use a type of nozzle that would have a pinch in the middle.
The smaller part of the nozzle puts pressure on the burning fuel, and it comes out at a supersonic speed, burning faster than the speed of sound.

The De Laval Nozzle was actually invented by a German engineer who came up with it for steam engines.



(from: wikipedia - de laval nozzle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Supershear Earthquake

Nell Rocket - Robert Goddard

We just learned about the L'Astronautique by Robert Esnault-Pelterie.

Another famous rocket was Nell made by Robert Goddard.

Goddard was a famous inventor who read about rockets in the books by Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, and came up with the very first rocket that used liquid fuel.
He named it "Nell" and launched it in 1926.
His team launched 34 rockets, going over a mile and a half in the sky, and over 500 miles per hour.

The work he did with rockets helped get people interested in space travel and rockets.




(from: wikipedia - robert h. goddard)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Submarine Earthquake

L'Astronautique - Robert Esnault-Pelterie

We just learned about the Tsiolkovsky rocket equation.

Another part of rocket history is the book L'Astronautique by Robert Esnault-Pelterie.

Robert was a French scientist who was studying airplanes.
He made his own "REP" airplanes not long after the Wright Brothers in America made their first flight.

A while later he got very interested in space travel using rockets, and wrote some books and papers about using atomic power for jets.

He later worked with other scientists in France to try and make rockets using liquid rocket fuel, and worked so hard that one time after an explosion he lost three fingers from his right hand!

The vectored thrust that we learned about, where the nozzle is moved to steer a rocket was first invented by him.

(from: wikipedia - robert esnault-pelterie)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Slow Earthquake

Tsiolkovsky rocket equation

We just learned about the Jules Verne - From the Earth to the Moon.

Another part of rocket science history is the Tsiolkovsky rocket equation.

Because of the wonderful stories from people like Jules Verne, a man in Russia named Konstantin Tsiolkovsky came up with a bunch of scientific math equations and graphs that people could use to launch rockets.

His math paper was called the Exploration of Cosmic Space by Means of Reaction Devices, and it was one of the first serious papers where people were talking about space travel.

The equation he came up with was called the Tsiolkovsky rocket equation.


(from: wikipedia - tsiolkovsky rocket equation)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Remotely Triggered Earthquakes

Jules Verne - From the Earth to the Moon

We just learned about the HMS Erebus Rockets.

Another part of rocket science history is the book Jules Verne - From the Earth to the Moon.

In the late 1800s the famous science fiction writers Jules Verne and H. G. Wells wrote books about things that might happen in the future like rockets or space travel.

Because of some of these books, many other people came up with scientific inventions that helped make better science for how to shoot rockets.


(from: wikipedia - de la tierra a la luna)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Megathrust

HMS Erebus Rockets

We just learned about the Congreve Rockets.

Another part of rocket history is the HMS Erebus Rockets.

In 1814 during the war of 1812 fought against the British, a ship called the HMS Erebus had a bunch of Congreve Rockets put into it, and they were shooting them at other British ships.

While this was happening a man named Francis Scott Key was watching, and thought it was so amazing he wrote the Star Spangled Banner, talking about the "Rockets Red Glare".


(from: wikipedia - hms erebus (1807))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Intraplate Earthquake

Congreve Rockets

We just learned about the Mysorean Rockets.

Another rocket from history was the Congreve Rockets.

During a war between India and Great Britain, the British studied the rockets being used by the Indian military, and worked to make their own rockets to use for battle.

William Congreve came up with a rocket that was used for a long time for battles that used gunpowder to launch and explode when they landed.



(from: wikipedia - congreve rocket)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Interplate Earthquake