Apparently, the logic of building a rocket is not that difficult.
When we design a rocket, one of the first questions we ask is what do we want the rocket to do? In other words, what mission will the rocket perform? Identifying what mission a rocket will perform helps us understand what characteristics a rocket must have (these are called “mission requirements”). For example, if a rocket’s mission is to carry humans into space, then it will require cabin space for the astronauts, pressurization equipment, and multiple redundancies to ensure safety. Identifying these mission requirements helps us understands the multiple design tradeoffs we need to consider to get to a final design. To get to a final design, a rocket designer must tradeoff three things – size, weight, and power. Going back to our example, the astronaut cabin, pressurization system, and redundant components will add weight to the rocket and will require more power to keep running. More weight and power means we need a larger structure, and probably have to design a rocket with bigger engines that produce more thrust. Let’s explore these different design tradeoffs and considerations. Seriously, I'm actually reading this. Let’s first start with the rocket’s payload. For any type of payload, be it a satellite or astronauts, we must also include additional supporting equipment that acts like an umbilical cord attaching the payload to the main rocket. Nice example. Makes this rocket building thingy sounds like being pregnant. This includes equipment such as certain instruments, gadgets, or recorders that generate and store data to monitor the health and status of the payload throughout the rocket’s flight. All this equipment requires some amount of power, thus establishing the need for an electrical power supply to provide power to the payload. I seriously think the writer really wishes people to understand how a rocket is being built. He's explaining it real slowly. But I'm not sure whether those people can understand it still. If this is a rocket used for war, we may want to have a warhead of high explosives but let us assume, for the time being, that the payload is for peaceful purposes. Ah... a true scientist - building for the betterment of human beings. No Dr Evil. Once the payload is selected, the designer then has to think about the structure that must hold the payload, including the weight of the structure, the size and weight of the rocket engine, and the need for aerodynamic or engine control systems (to control the flight path of the rocket). Are you actually telling me it's this easy to build a rocket? Seriously? The designer also has to consider designing a cooling system to prevent the payload from heating and to ensure the power supply doesn’t overheat the rest of the rocket components. You know, I know some people who need a cooling system stuffed up their asses. Think of your home computer – a fan turns on inside the central processing unit (CPU) to prevent the circuit boards from overheating. A cooling system also adds weight and must be considered in the overall rocket design. Obviously! Making estimates for the weight and sizes of these sub-systems is an important first step because they then give you an idea about how long, wide and tall the rocket system will be. Ok, tell me something I don't already know. We now have a design problem that needs to be solved in an iterative fashion. In other words, let’s say we take our first stab at a design. We aim for designing a lightweight structure with lighter and smaller engines. Because our structure is lightweight, it cannot support the weight of the payload and the smaller engine won’t generate the needed thrust to reach our desired altitude or velocity. Got this, got this! That's why I now ride my bicycle because it doesn't need an engine. So, no such weight! Oh? A bicycle is not a rocket. Right... When this happens, we’ll need to go back to each of the subsystems. We may want to decrease the payload’s weight, or increase the weight of the structure and increase the size of the engine to provide increased structural support and more thrust, respectively.
So, I can say - building a rocket is not rocket science?
When we design a rocket, one of the first questions we ask is what do we want the rocket to do? In other words, what mission will the rocket perform? Identifying what mission a rocket will perform helps us understand what characteristics a rocket must have (these are called “mission requirements”). For example, if a rocket’s mission is to carry humans into space, then it will require cabin space for the astronauts, pressurization equipment, and multiple redundancies to ensure safety. Identifying these mission requirements helps us understands the multiple design tradeoffs we need to consider to get to a final design. To get to a final design, a rocket designer must tradeoff three things – size, weight, and power. Going back to our example, the astronaut cabin, pressurization system, and redundant components will add weight to the rocket and will require more power to keep running. More weight and power means we need a larger structure, and probably have to design a rocket with bigger engines that produce more thrust. Let’s explore these different design tradeoffs and considerations. Seriously, I'm actually reading this. Let’s first start with the rocket’s payload. For any type of payload, be it a satellite or astronauts, we must also include additional supporting equipment that acts like an umbilical cord attaching the payload to the main rocket. Nice example. Makes this rocket building thingy sounds like being pregnant. This includes equipment such as certain instruments, gadgets, or recorders that generate and store data to monitor the health and status of the payload throughout the rocket’s flight. All this equipment requires some amount of power, thus establishing the need for an electrical power supply to provide power to the payload. I seriously think the writer really wishes people to understand how a rocket is being built. He's explaining it real slowly. But I'm not sure whether those people can understand it still. If this is a rocket used for war, we may want to have a warhead of high explosives but let us assume, for the time being, that the payload is for peaceful purposes. Ah... a true scientist - building for the betterment of human beings. No Dr Evil. Once the payload is selected, the designer then has to think about the structure that must hold the payload, including the weight of the structure, the size and weight of the rocket engine, and the need for aerodynamic or engine control systems (to control the flight path of the rocket). Are you actually telling me it's this easy to build a rocket? Seriously? The designer also has to consider designing a cooling system to prevent the payload from heating and to ensure the power supply doesn’t overheat the rest of the rocket components. You know, I know some people who need a cooling system stuffed up their asses. Think of your home computer – a fan turns on inside the central processing unit (CPU) to prevent the circuit boards from overheating. A cooling system also adds weight and must be considered in the overall rocket design. Obviously! Making estimates for the weight and sizes of these sub-systems is an important first step because they then give you an idea about how long, wide and tall the rocket system will be. Ok, tell me something I don't already know. We now have a design problem that needs to be solved in an iterative fashion. In other words, let’s say we take our first stab at a design. We aim for designing a lightweight structure with lighter and smaller engines. Because our structure is lightweight, it cannot support the weight of the payload and the smaller engine won’t generate the needed thrust to reach our desired altitude or velocity. Got this, got this! That's why I now ride my bicycle because it doesn't need an engine. So, no such weight! Oh? A bicycle is not a rocket. Right... When this happens, we’ll need to go back to each of the subsystems. We may want to decrease the payload’s weight, or increase the weight of the structure and increase the size of the engine to provide increased structural support and more thrust, respectively.
So, I can say - building a rocket is not rocket science?
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