ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the physics of multistage rockets and the principal design features of the Saturn V. It also looks into the future to see how rocketry might develop in the new millennium. Von Braun and his team were dumped at Fort Bliss in Texas to tinker with captured V2s and teach rocketry to interested members of the Army. Eventually in 1950, the Army became convinced that Soviet rocket research was taking place and mobilized Von Braun. There are many different chemical combinations that have been developed for use in rocket motors, all of which have specific advantages and disadvantages. A particularly simple form of rocket motor uses solid propellant. Even with a constant force being applied by the engines, the acceleration of the rocket increases with time as its mass is steadily decreasing. In order to achieve a high speed the mass of propellant burnt must be much greater than the mass of the rocket.
