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Key Information

Two Stage Rockets (Mercury/Gemini)

Learning Point

  • Two Stage Rockets were the first rockets designed to take humans into space. They launch with a main engine that gets the majority of the way into space, with the second stage taking over after the two stages separate, allowing it and the people on it to reach space, and then safely return.

Project

  • Design your own Two Stage Rocket.
  • Overview
  • Design
Mercury-Atlast Rocket
By NASA/photographer unknown – https://images.nasa.gov/details/KSC-62PC-0011http://dayton.hq.nasa.gov/IMAGES/LARGE/GPN-2000-000686.jpg on the Wayback Machine at the Wayback Machinehttp://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2000-000686.html on the Wayback Machine at the Wayback Machine, Public Domain, Link
Mercury-Redstone Design
By NASA – Project Mercury Diagrams (http://history.nasa.gov/diagrams/mercury.html), Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle Structure.Originally from NASA report NASA-TM-X-53107, “The Mercury-Redstone Project”, pages 4-3 and 4-4. PDF available at http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19670028606_1967028606.pdf., Public Domain, Link

Fun Facts

  • The Mercury-Redstone rocket was designed from a missile, the Redstone ballistic missile.
  • They included an escape launch system, which as part of the early launches was put to the test and proved to be a successful system.

Past Lessons

1 June 5, 2024 (North America)
No Past Lessons

Upcoming Lessons

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