CONTENTS 1
Introduction 1
Rockets versus Aircraft 2
First Principles of Rocket Propulsion 4
Why It Works 6
Propellent Storage Tanks 8
Types of Propellent 10
The Propellent Pumps 12
Valves and Injectors 14
Combustion Chambers and Igniters 16
Cooling the Combustion Chamber 18
How a Rocket Motor Works 20
Different Kinds of Rockets 22
More Rockets 24
Ground Stations 26
Payload 28
The Force of Gravity 30
Escaping from the Earth 32
Principle of the Step-Rocket 34
Problems of the Step-Rocket 36
Into Orbit around the Earth 38
Movement in Space 40
Tracking Satellites 42
Messages from Space 44
The End of the Beginning 46
Vocabulary 48