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STEAM Education & Research

MSU St. Andrews

Family Astronomy Night, Wednesday, July 7, 2021 at 7 PM EST – VIRTUAL EVENT

Image of Apollo 4 Launch

Please check back soon for a recording of this presentation!

A Brief History of Rockets

What do the Apollo missions, the Hubble Space Telescope, the International Space Station, every planetary mission, and most of the world’s nuclear deterrent forces have in common?  They all depend on rockets!  But what, exactly, is a rocket?  How does it differ from supersonic or hypersonic travel?  Who invented the rocket?  Are there different kinds of rockets?  Why do some have multiple “stages”?  How were rockets first used?  When was the first manned rocket, or the first mission to other planets?  Speaking of planets—what are the planets and constellations doing in our skies in July?  Did you see Midland’s partial solar eclipse last month?  Join us via Zoom to learn more!