Rocket Essays

Thesis Statement SpaceX rockets are one of the most important technologies of the past 100 years, because they expanded the possibilities of space exploration. Elon Musk made them much cheaper by creating a way for rocket capsules to come back, using less expensive rocket parts, and making the rocket parts that fall off during launch reusable. However, these rockets can be improved by making the remaining parts completely reusable, and making the rockets able to carry humans to different planets

The Rocket Boys is a timeless classic that has been a New York Times bestseller and has been translated into eight different languages. This memoir written by Sonny Hickman illustrates the arduous journey of a group of boys who want to build sophisticated rockets in a coal mining town. These Rocket Boys have large dreams that are fueled by a various pressures and ambitions. The fame and monetary gains by building award winning rockets that would allow them to go to college, the opportunity to work

be made and utilized. One of the new technologies was the new F-1 rocket engines, developed by Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne, that were needed for the Saturn V rocket. For example, "Despite the similarities in functions, there was such a quantum jump in size that some things simply could not be scaled up from the earlier smaller engines" (Davies). The fact that the Saturn V engines were only bigger versions of previously built rockets is acceptable because it made the giant engines easier to build.

German scientist are given the credit for the creation of the modern day rocket however, the first concept and application of rockets can be traced back to China centuries ago. It was not until World War II however, when rockets and reaching for space truly started to take off. China entered the Space Age along with the Soviets and the United States shortly after the war was over. Modern day Chinese rocketry started with Qian Xuesen. Qian Xuesen was a scientist, and one of the founding fathers

"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." In Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam, many characters work with Sonny to help him achieve great things. The support from others in Coalwood is the main reason Sonny is successful. The townsfolk help him learn about rockets, make rockets, and launch rockets. First, the people of Coalwood help Sonny learn about Rockets. One of the people who helps Sonny the most throughout the novel is Miss Riley. Sonny mentions

Homer H. Hickam Jr.’s 1998 Rocket Boys: A Memoir is a partially fictionalized account of how a small town boy from a coal mining family becomes a rocket scientist. The intriguing story follows young Homer Jr., nicknamed “Sonny,” on his quest for knowledge and aspiration of working alongside the legendary Dr. Wernher von Braun at NASA. This is a well written account of the ongoing struggle of rural Appalachia and the difficulties of breaking away from the past that is worth reading. Overall,

n Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam, Homer had to learn that the only way to build a better rocket was to learn more about it. At one point in the book, He had to decide what kind of explosives to use. He started with a very weak explosive but slowly experimented with stronger explosives. He knew that he had to get a new explosive when his current one would no longer gain altitude. Homer knew the importance of learning and so did his teacher that is why she said, “All I’ve done is give you a book, you

Stephen Hoffman Mrs. Schroder English IV Honors August 25th, 2017 Rocket Boys Essay Rocket Boys is a story about a small group of boys living in Coalwood, a small mining town, who fulfill their dreams of building rockets. Homer, the main character, has to deal with many obstacles, such as his family, the lack of wealth and parts, and he had to learn so much about rockets. The theme of Rocket Boys is overcoming obstacles in order to succeed. First, Homer had to deal with his father’s disapproval

We’ll if you read the book October Sky or Rocket Boys you may have realized that Homer Sr. definitely has different point of view on life. As you probably know Homer Sr. wants his son to be a mining engineer while Homer Jr. wants be like Werner Von Bron and build rockets. Now because Homer Jr. has a curiosity about rockets he decides to gather a few pals and and they decide to launch a few of their very own rockets. The first time Homer Jr. launches off a rocket with a few of his friends it launches

Rocket Boys, by Homer H. Hickam, Jr., is a memoir based on Hickam’s upbringing in Coalwood, West Virginia. Coalwood is a small town centered around one thing: Its coal mining industry. Homer’s dad was the superintendent of the mine and is constantly answering to the workers, who eventually form a union and hold a strike for better pay. Perhaps the second most important thing to Coalwood citizens was high school football. Jim, Homer’s brother, is the center of attention as he is a member of the Coalwood

After reading the memoir, Rocket Boys, written by Homer H. Hickam. Jr, one can easily see how the setting of the town, Coalwood, was a prominent character throughout the course of the book. Sonny would not be the man he was today if the action of the story was set in another town or area. “...nearly everything that i knew in Coalwood is gone... Yet I believe for those of us who keep it in our hearts, Coalwood still lives” (Hickam 367) Although the actual town of Coalwood has fallen in abandonment

Robert Goddard was a renowned physicist and aerospace engineer that ushered the way into the Space Age with the invention and the successful creation of the liquid-fueled rocket. Robert Hutchings Goddard was born on October 5, 1882 in Worcester, Massachusetts. Goddard’s love for science sparked at a young age with the electrification of many American cities in the 1880s. As a young child, Goddard performed several experiments of his own, like trying to make himself jump higher with a battery, and

things through perseverance. Sonny was an average boy in a mining town, but he started building rockets and learned a valuable life lesson. Through perseverance, you can accomplish your dreams. This theme is shown in the memoir October Sky, and is seen in topics such as, Sonny’s pursuit of education, his rockets, and his relationship with his father. A vital part of Sonny’s life during the days of the Rocket Boys was education. "I trudged up the stairs. At the top of the steps in the hall there was

Welcome campers back to The Science of Superpowers Camp! Before getting started, holster your lasso of truth, park your invisible jet and see what the group knows about Wonder Woman. What superpowers does she have? Who is her alter ego? Add to the conversation by either reading directly from the Background Information or by ad-libbing in your own words. Then, challenge campers to think of any superheroes or villains who use aircraft to get around. Wonder Woman’s Invisible Jet is a key tool in her

Braun was a German Rocket scientist in the early and mid 1900’s. He had many achievements in the rocket community. His main achievement was his development of the Saturn V booster rocket that helped land the first men on the Moon in July 1969. He shaped and impacted the modern day rockets. Wernher Von braun set the standards for the modern day rockets, but what discoveries and impacts did he have that made rockets to what we know it as today? Before he became a genius is the rocket industry he had

Hutchings Goddard (1882-1945) is considered the father of modern rocket propulsion. A physicist of great insight, Goddard also had a unique genius for invention. It is in memory of this brilliant scientist that NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, was established on May 1, 1959. By 1926, Goddard had constructed and successfully tested the first rocket using liquid fuel. Indeed, the flight of Goddard’s rocket on March 16, 1926, at Auburn, Massachusetts, was as significant to

The invention of the rocket was one of if not the greatest contribution to the science of space and space travel. Using either a liquid or gas fuel system, a rocket travels hundreds of miles at thousands of miles per hour in order to achieve its task. Whether used for weapons of war or peace, all of the rockets that were built and are still built today mostly originated from the ideas of Wernher Von Braun. Whernher Von Braun was a German aerospace engineer who would go on to be one of the greatest

build rockets when he sees Sputnik, at age 14. Throughout the book, Sonny has to overcome many obstacles to achieve his dream of sending rockets into space. The reason he was able to overcome these obstacles was due to his determination to work, willingness to learn, and his faith in his friends. Because of these three things, Sonny and the other Rocket Boys were able to go to college, escape Coalwood, and get jobs in which they could pursue their dreams. Sonny did not start off building rockets with

interest in being a doctor or building a rocket. To make those things happen all of the characters had to make hard decisions to get to the place they are or were today. The first events in the books were about what inspired the characters to build a rocket or become a doctor. In October Sky Sonny, the main character, realized that he wanted to build a rocket. His dream came about when Sputnik flew across the sky this event inspired him to build a rocket with his friends (Hickam 41). He made a

Jack Parsons (1914–1952) was an American rocket engineer and rocket propulsion researcher, chemist, and Thelemite occultist. Associated with the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Parsons was one of the principal founders of both the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the Aerojet Engineering Corporation. He invented the first rocket engine using a castable composite rocket propellant, and helped develop both liquid-fuel and solid-fuel rockets. Inspired by science fiction literature, he