Editing Rocket (section)

{{Short description|Vehicle propelled by a reaction gas engine}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
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{{Use British English|date=February 2019}}
[[File:Soyuz TMA-9 launch.jpg|alt=|thumb|upright|A [[Soyuz-FG]] rocket launches from "[[Gagarin's Start]]" (Site 1/5), [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]] ]]
A '''rocket''' (from {{langx|it|rocchetto||'bobbin/spool'}}, and so named for its shape)<noinclude>{{#tag:ref|English ''rocket'', first attested in 1566 (OED), adopted from the Italian term, given due to the similarity in shape to the bobbin or spool used to hold the thread from a spinning wheel. The modern Italian term is ''[[:wikt:razzo|razzo]]''.|group=nb}}</noinclude><ref name="Bernhard">{{cite book|first1=Jim|last1=Bernhard|title=Porcupine, Picayune, & Post: How Newspapers Get Their Names|url=https://archive.org/details/porcupinepicayun00bern_0|url-access=registration|publisher=University of Missouri Press|year=2007|isbn=978-0-8262-6601-9|access-date=28 May 2016|page=[https://archive.org/details/porcupinepicayun00bern_0/page/126 126]}}</ref> is a [[vehicle]] that uses [[jet propulsion]] to [[Acceleration|accelerate]] without using any surrounding [[Atmosphere of Earth|air]]. A [[rocket engine]] produces thrust by [[Reaction (physics)|reaction]] to exhaust expelled at high speed.<ref name="RPE7">{{cite book|first1=George P.|last1=Sutton|first2=Oscar|last2=Biblarz|title=Rocket Propulsion Elements|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LQbDOxg3XZcC|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|date=2001|isbn=978-0-471-32642-7|access-date=28 May 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140112033956/http://books.google.com/books?id=LQbDOxg3XZcC|archive-date=12 January 2014}}</ref> Rocket engines work entirely from [[rocket propellant|propellant]] carried within the vehicle; therefore a rocket can fly in the [[vacuum]] of space. Rockets work more efficiently in a vacuum and incur a loss of thrust due to the opposing pressure of the atmosphere.

[[Multistage rocket]]s are capable of attaining [[escape velocity]] from Earth and therefore can achieve unlimited maximum altitude. Compared with [[Airbreathing jet engine|airbreathing engines]], rockets are lightweight and powerful and capable of generating large [[acceleration]]s. To control their flight, rockets rely on [[momentum]], [[airfoils]], [[Reaction control system|auxiliary reaction engines]], [[gimballed thrust]], [[Reaction wheel|momentum wheels]], [[Thrust vectoring|deflection of the exhaust stream]], propellant flow, [[Spin-stabilisation|spin]], or [[gravity]].

Rockets for military and recreational uses date back to at least 13th-century [[China]].<ref name="NASAEARLY">{{cite web |url=http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/rocketry/tl1.html |title=Rockets in Ancient Times (100 B.C. to 17th Century) |access-date=2009-06-28 |publisher=NASA |work=A Timeline of Rocket History |author=MSFC History Office |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090709042712/http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/rocketry/tl1.html |archive-date=2009-07-09 }}</ref> Significant scientific, interplanetary and industrial use did not occur until the 20th century, when rocketry was the enabling technology for the [[Space Age]], including [[Apollo 11|setting foot on the Moon]]. Rockets are now used for [[fireworks]], [[missile]]s and other [[weapon]]ry, [[ejection seat]]s, [[launch vehicle]]s for [[artificial satellite]]s, [[human spaceflight]], and [[space exploration]].

[[Chemical rocket]]s are the most common type of high power rocket, typically creating a high speed exhaust by the [[combustion]] of [[rocket propellant|fuel]] with an [[oxidizer]]. The stored propellant can be a simple pressurized gas or a single [[liquid fuel]] that disassociates in the presence of a catalyst ([[monopropellant rocket|monopropellant]]), two liquids that spontaneously react on contact ([[hypergolic propellant]]s), two liquids that must be ignited to react (like kerosene (RP1) and liquid oxygen, used in most [[liquid-propellant rocket]]s), a solid combination of fuel with oxidizer ([[Solid-fuel rocket|solid fuel]]), or solid fuel with liquid or gaseous oxidizer ([[Hybrid rocket|hybrid propellant system]]). Chemical rockets store a large amount of energy in an easily released form, and can be very dangerous. However, careful design, testing, construction and use minimizes risks.{{Citation needed|date=January 2022}}