The second stage of a Minuteman III rocket

A multistage (or multi-stage) rocket is a rocket that uses two or more stages, each of which contains its own engines and propellant. A stacked stage is mounted on top of another stage; a parallel stage is attached next to another stage. The result is effectively two or more rockets stacked on top of or attached next to each other. Taken together these are sometimes called a launch vehicle. Two stage rockets are quite common, but rockets with as many as five separate stages have been successfully launched. This image was downloaded from http://www. ... This image was downloaded from http://www. ... The LGM-30 Minuteman is a United States nuclear missile, a land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) (the other type is the LG-118A Peacekeeper, which is to be phased out by 2005). ... This article is about vehicles powered by rocket engines. ... A cold (un-ignited) rocket engine test at NASA A rocket engine is a reaction engine that can be used for spacecraft propulsion as well as terrestrial uses, such as missiles. ... Rocket propellants undergo exothermic chemical reactions which produce hot gas which is used by a rocket for propulsive purposes. ... A Saturn V launch vehicle sends Apollo 15 on its way to the moon. ...

By jettisoning stages when they run out of propellant, the mass of the remaining rocket is decreased. This staging allows the thrust of the remaining stages to more easily accelerate the rocket to its final speed and height.

In stacked staging schemes, the first stage is at the bottom and is usually the largest, the second stage is above it and is usually the next largest. Subsequent upper stages are above those. In parallel staging schemes solid or liquid rocket boosters are used to assist with lift-off. These are sometimes referred to as 'stage 0'. In the typical case, the first stage and booster engines fire to propel the entire rocket upwards. When the boosters run out of fuel, they are detached from the rest of the rocket (usually with some kind of small explosive charge) and fall away. The first stage then burns to completion and falls off. This leaves a smaller rocket, with the second stage on the bottom, which then fires. This process is repeated until the final stage's motor burns to completion. NASA Image of the final solid rocket booster (right) being mated to a Delta II rocket (blue). ... A Liquid Rocket Booster (LRB) is similar to a solid rocket booster (SRB) attached to the side of a rocket to give it extra lift at takeoff. ... This article is concerned solely with chemical explosives. ...

The Space shuttle has two large boosters and is not Single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO). NASAs Space Shuttle, officially called Space Transportation System (STS), is the United States governments current manned launch vehicle. ... A single-stage to orbit (or SSTO) launcher describes an as-yet theoretical class of spacecraft designed to place a load into orbit as a self-contained vehicle without the use of multiple stages. ...

A two-stage Delta III with nine solid rocket boosters attached. (Photo courtesy Boeing)

This image was downloaded from http://www. ... This image was downloaded from http://www. ... Through the 90s, satellite masses were growing steadily. ...

Advantages

The main reason for multi-stage rockets and boosters is that once the fuel is burnt, the space and structure which contained it and the motors themselves are useless and only add weight to the vehicle which slows down its future acceleration. By dropping the stages which are no longer useful, the rocket lightens itself. The thrust of the future stages is able to provide more acceleration than if the earlier stages were still attached, or than a single, large rocket would be capable of. When a stage drops off, the rest of the rocket is still travelling near to the speed that the whole assembly reached at burn-out time. This means that it needs less total fuel to reach a given velocity and/or altitude. For other uses, see Fuel (disambiguation). ...

A further advantage is that each stage can use a different type of rocket motor, with each stage/motor tuned for the conditions in which it will operate. Thus the lower stage motors are designed for use at atmospheric pressure, while the upper stages can use motors suited to near vacuum conditions. Lower stages tend to require more structure than upper as they need to bear their own weight plus that of the stages above them, optimizing the structure of each stage decreases the weight of the total vehicle and provides further advantage.

Disadvantages

Cutaway drawings showing three multi-stage rockets (Image courtesy NASA)

An artist's conception of the separation of the S1-B stage of a Saturn IB rocket (Image courtesy NASA)

The second stage being lowered into the first stage of a Saturn V rocket (Photo courtesy NASA)

A diagram of the second stage and how it fits into the complete rocket (Image courtesy NASA)

On the downside, staging requires the vehicle to lift motors which are not being used until later, as well as making the entire rocket more complex and harder to build. Nevertheless the savings are so great that every rocket currently used to deliver a payload into orbit uses staging. This image was downloaded from http://mix. ... This image was downloaded from http://mix. ... This image was downloaded from http://artgallery. ... This image was downloaded from http://artgallery. ... The Saturn IB was an uprated version of the Saturn I, which featured a much more powerful second stage, the S-IVB. Unlike the earlier Saturn I, the IB had enough throw weight to launch the Apollo Command/Service Module or Lunar Module into Earth orbit, which made it invaluable... Download high resolution version (702x720, 608 KB)This image was downloaded from http://mix. ... Download high resolution version (702x720, 608 KB)This image was downloaded from http://mix. ... For the moon designated Saturn V, see Rhea. ... This image was downloaded from http://mix. ... This image was downloaded from http://mix. ... Two bodies with a slight difference in mass orbiting around a common barycenter. ...

In more recent times the usefulness of the technique has come into question due to developments in technology. In the case of the Space Shuttle the costs of space launches appear to be mostly composed of the operational costs of the people involved, as opposed to fuel or equipment. Reducing these costs appears to be the best way to lower the overall launch costs. New technology that is mainly in the theoretical and developmental stages is being looked at to lower the costs of launch vehicles. More information can be found on single stage to orbit designs that do not have separate stages. A single-stage-to-orbit (or SSTO) would be a vehicle that could achieve an orbital trajectory without dropping off any hardware, yet expending only propellants and fluids. ...

Development

From an illustration and description in the 14th century Chinese Huolongjing of Jiao Yu is the oldest known multistage rocket; this was the 'fire-dragon issuing from the water' (huo long chu shui), used mostly by the Chinese navy.^[1] It was a two-stage rocket that had carrier or booster rockets that would eventually burn out, yet before they did they automatically ignited a number of smaller rocket arrows that were shot out of the front end of the missile, which was shaped like a dragon's head with an open mouth.^[1] This multi-stage rocket may be considered the ancestor to the modern exocet.^[1] The historian Joseph Needham points out that the written material and depicted illustration of this rocket come from the oldest stratum of the Huolongjing, which can be dated roughly 1300-1350 AD (from the book's part 1, chapter 3, page 23).^[1] Ming Dynasty musketeers in drill formation. ... Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) era matchlock firearms featuring serpentine levers. ... A booster in space-related applications is usually a solid rocket booster: a solid fuel rocket of which two or more are attached to the main rocket to provide the main thrust in the initial phase of the rockets flight. ... The Exocet is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, and airplanes. ... Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham (December 9, 1900 – March 24, 1995) was a British biochemist and pre-eminent authority on the history of Chinese science. ...

The earliest experiments with multistage rockets in Europe were made by Austrian Conrad Haas, the arsenal master of the town of Sibiu, Transylvania (now in Romania) in 1551. Conrad Haas (1509–1576) was an Austrian military engineer and is believed to be the first person to describe a multi-stage rocket in writing. ... County Status County capital Mayor Klaus Johannis, from the Democratic Forum of Germans of Romania, since 2000 Area 121. ... This article is about the region in Romania. ... Year 1551 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ...

This concept was developed independently by at least four individuals:

• the Polish Kazimierz Siemienowicz
• the Russian Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
• the American Robert Goddard
• the ethnically German, Transylvanian-born Hermann Oberth.

20th century artistic vision of Kazimierz Siemenowicz Kazimierz Siemienowicz (Belarusian: Казімер Семяновіч, Kazimir Siemianovič, Lithuanian: Kazimieras Simonavičius) (born c. ... Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky (Константин Эдуардович Циолковский, Konstanty Ciołkowski) (September 5, 1857 new style – September 19, 1935) was a Russian and Soviet rocket scientist and pioneer of cosmonautics who spent most of his life in a log house on the outskirts of the Russian town of Kaluga. ... Robert Goddard Robert Hutchings Goddard (October 5, 1882 – August 10, 1945) was one of the pioneers of modern rocketry. ... This article is about the region in Romania. ... Oberth (in front) with fellow ABMA employees. ...

Alternatives to rockets

Main article: Spacecraft propulsion

A remote camera captures a close-up view of a Space Shuttle Main Engine during a test firing at the John C. Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, Mississippi Spacecraft propulsion is any method used to change the velocity of spacecraft and artificial satellites. ...

See also

• Bumper Project
• Conrad Haas
• Reusable launch system
• Single-stage to orbit

The Bumper Project was an experimental United States rocket progam running from 1947 to 1950 with 8 launches. ... Conrad Haas (1509–1576) was an Austrian military engineer and is believed to be the first person to describe a multi-stage rocket in writing. ... A reusable launch system (or RLV: reusable launch vehicle) is a launch vehicle which is capable of launching into space more than once. ... A single-stage to orbit (or SSTO) vehicle could reach orbital velocity without using multiple stages. ...

References