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About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (June 29, 1958)
Layman's Gruide to Rockets and Missiles by Kevin V. Brown JPr INSTRUMENTS w 00 WARHEAD g Payload of missile is thing that's thrown, quinary iiiiaimca "Be heads. Research missiles throw in- t 1. nll;nP Cnnn strumenis isampie. k.. missiles will throw man into space. . . Here, in simple Terms, are Air-to-air missiles are smallest in missile family. Fired I from one aircraft aqainst another, their role is air defense. I Air-to-ground missiles extend range and accuracy of I Ground-to-air missiles eonv.ntional bombs, can also carry larger warheads. I replace antiaircraft. Ground-to-ground mis siles include guided Cm - II Lit; '1 I 1 K.y-.fta . .j.-w-aJ - ..A 'I a---. ... C.I... F-IOIB with Genie B-50 bomber drops Rascal Nike-Hercules Lacrosse Suddenly, almost bewilderingly, we are living in the age of rockets and missiles. America s giant aircraft industries, which turned out hundreds of thousands of fighters and bombers for World War II and Korea, today are devoting more than half their production to missiles. Other firms are wholly involved in manufacturing components. While old-time airmen claim manned aircraft will never be replaced, the demand for missiles increases steadily, decreases for pilots and planes. The dra matic impact of the earth satellites, launched by rocket-powered multistage missiles, only empha sized the presence of these weapons of the future. Details of these incredibly complex vehicles some missiles may contain as many as 300,000 individual parts are understood only by experts. But there are basic principles which the average person can, and should, understand. Here, in simple terms, is a primer course on rockets and missiles. Where did it all begin? In China, more than 700 years ago. As early as 1232 long before the invention of guns Chinese were firing rockets in warfare. They aren't even new in America. In 1812 at Fort McHenry, "the rockets' red glare" inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star Spangled Banner." Until modern improve ments, however, rockets were too erratic and much less effective than firearms. The first really success ful rocket and the direct ancestor of today's mis sileswas the German V-2, used to bomb London during World War II. What If a rocket? A toy balloon is a simple rocket. When inflated, it has internal pressure that wants to get out. Release the nozzle, and the balloon spurts away. Basically, a rocket is just a highly refined toy balloon: a pressurized chamber with one opening. The pressure, created by burning extremely power ful fuels, acts in all directions. Pressures against the side walls balance each other, but the pressure toward the nozzle is released resulting in an un balanced pressure in the opposite direction. This obeys Newton's third law of motion: a force in one direction (toward the opening) creates an equal force in the opposite direction (toward the front). A common misconception is that a rocket move because its exhaust "pushes" on the outside air. Just the reverse is true: the exhaust merely escapes; it's the "push" on the front wall that drives the rocket forward. If it needed air to push on, a rocket could never operate in outer space where there is no air. However, to define rockets used in moderg mis siles, it would be more accurate to call them rocket engines. They perform the same function as jet en gines. By itself, a rocket is just a Fourth of July toy. How maay kinds of rocket 09)001 ore tkoro? Two, solid- and liquid-fueled. Solid fuel is a mixture of chemicals which, when ignited, can burn by itself. It looks like a block of chalk, and can be stored in the rocket engine, ready to fire at any time. Liquid fuel is more powerful and longer-burning, but also more complicated. Actually, two liquids are needed, a fuel and an oxidizer. The fuel must be mixed with the oxidiier before it can burn, just as gasoline must be mixed with air in a car engine. Liquid-fuel systems are complicated because the fuel and oxidizer need oeparate storage tanks, plus pumps or some other pressure to force them into the rocket chamber for firing. This extra equipment adds extra weight and takes up extra space. Also, unlike solid iuel, liquid fuel can't bo loaded into the missile until just before take-off. Solid fuel, bacaue it's compact and convenient, is widcey used in smtllir missiles. Liquid fuel, be cause it products more power for longer periods, is used in lrger mieailtc, which can accommodate the xtrf, equipment h o a It's the othe kind of enfjne used in modern WINGS AND KUODEKS TAIL FINS FINLESS (SWIVELS ENGINE) A k I HOMING jP&C I J 7 2 - 2 AlrfrooM is body of missile. It in cludes steering mechanism. Some use wings and rudders; some have only tail fins; some swivel engines the same as outboard motorboats. 3 system tells missile which way to steer. Radar types use re flected echoes; homing types, im pulses from target; inertial types use gyros; celestial types track the stars. 4 too, loo is power that throws missile. Ramjet and turbojet engines are "air-breathers," can't operate out side atmosphere. Solid-rocket and liquid-rocket engines go anywhere. tic things every citizen should know about the fantastic developments of the space age. 1 and ballistic missiles. Tent explains basic difference. Short-range types are front-line Army artillery weapons. 15W Intermediate- and intercontinental-range types replace long-range bombers, can carry thermonuclear warheads. Multi-stage missiles, including the satellite-launchers, stack two, three, or more missiles on top of one another. - vwnv- .' T i'. -a 5 I (I 1 !)-" ;.'-4 - aU . i I 4 Matador take-off Jupiter IRBM Snark, 5,000-mile guided missile Atlas ICBM Jupiter-C Vanguard missiles and airplanes. It also works on Newton's principle of action and reaction, with one basic dif ference. A rocket engine is self-contained; it carries both fuel and oxidizer and operates independently of the outside atmosphere. A jet engine carries only fuel, getting its oxidizer (oxygen from the air) in flight Instead of one opening, it needs two; its gets air through the front opening, but blows its exhaust out the rear opening the same as a rocket The thing to remember, then, is that a jet engine is an "air breather" and can't operate outside the earth's atmosphere, while a rocket engine can. How May klod of et eootaes are Mere? Two ramjet and turbojet A ramjet engine is aptly called a "flying stove pipe." It's practically a hollow tube with no moving parts. The air enters the front end, is mixed with fuel and burned, and the hot gases are blown out the rear end. Its advantage is simplicity; its dis advantage is that it can't draw the air in, but must be flown fast enough through the air so that the air is literally "rammed" into the front end. A ramjet engine, then, needs auxiliary power such as booster rockets for take-off. Once in flight, however, it's capable of supersonic speeds. A turbojet engine has moving parts. One of them, the compressor, draws air in the front end and forces it into the combustion chamber. Another, the turbine, is mounted on the same shaft as the com- Staff writer Kevin V. Breton was a fighter pilot during World War and ha since been a member of the Air Force Reserve. To gather material for this special Family Weekly article, he recently visited civilian and military establishments throughout the country and interviewed expert in the Pentagon, and at the missile testing center at Cape Canaveral, Fla. This resulting article is an attempt to bridge the ever-widening gap between our fast-growing arsenal of missiles and what the average citizen knows about them. pressor and is spun by the exhaust gases. Thus, as the exhaust rushes toward the rear opening, it spins the turbine, which spins the compressor, which draws in more air. So the whole cycle is continuous until the fuel supply is cut off. Ramjet engines, because of the take-off problem, are confined to use in a few missiles. Turbojet en gines, because they can be started on the ground, are widely used in both missiles and airplanes. What Is a nltille? It's something that's thrown. In modern terms, however, a missile is something that can throw itself and change its course in flight. Depending on its size, it's anything from an "intelligent" bullet to a pilotless airplane. It consists of four things: the thing that's thrown (the payload), the power that throws it (the engine), the thing that aims it (the guidance system), and the body that holds the whole thing together (the airframe). How oiaoy kiods of alrfraoios aro tkoro? As many as there are kinds of missiles. Each mis sile is built for a different purpose with different equipment end each needs its own body design, the same as airplanes or automobiles. An important part of the airframe is the control system, or steering mechanism. Some airframes have wings and rudders, i ! " i Family Weekly. June 29, 195 26 Family Weekly. J""' 29. 195
