Making a rocket is a fun, safe, and inexpensive way to discover the basics of rocket science, as we can explore the laws of motion and the forces a rocket experiences in flight.
Isaac Newton first described these laws of motion in 1687. The very same laws are still used today and helped send humans to the moon and into space.
These laws include:
- Inertia – An object will remain at rest unless affected by another force.
- Momentum – An object will move at a constant velocity unless affected by another force.
- F = ma – The sum of the forces (F) on an object is equal to the mass (m) of that object multiplied by the acceleration (a) of the object.
- Exchange of force – When one object exerts a force on a second object, the second object simultaneously exerts a force equal in magnitude in the opposite direction. Classically described as “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”
Some forces (F) a rocket will experience in flight are:
- the thrust of the engine or push from an external force
- weight due to gravity
- aerodynamic forces such as lift and drag
