What propulsion system did Mr Spoon use to propel his rocket to button moon?
406516
Mr Spoon's rocket was made out of an old Heinz Baked Bean can, the propulsion was provided by another by-product of Baked Beans - the launchpad being the smelliest place in the whole of Junk Planet.\nThe popular thought that Mr Spoon's rocket was powered by using the Spoon's children as oars is unsubstantiated.\n\nHave a good day, and don't bite the biscuit
669843
david scott did this on the moon.  the two objects were an aluminum hammer and a falcon feather.\n\nDuring the final minutes of the third extravehicular activity, a short demonstration experiment was conducted. A heavy object (a 1.32-kg aluminum geological hammer) and a light object (a 0.03-kg falcon feather) were released simultaneously from approximately the same height (approximately 1.6 m) and were allowed to fall to the surface. Within the accuracy of the simultaneous release, the objects were observed to undergo the same acceleration and strike the lunar surface simultaneously, which was a result predicted by well-established theory, but a result nonetheless reassuring considering both the number of viewers that witnessed the experiment and the fact that the homeward journey was based critically on the validity of the particular theory being tested.\n\nwatch this:\nhttp://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/image/featherdrop_sound.mov
739302
Probablly the most novel one that I've heard of is in the "lensman" series by EE doc smith, and it involves inertialessness. He had a device that would somehow remove the inertia of the object it was hooked to, thus making it unneccesary to accelerate. I thought this was cool; it had some really interesting ramifications. Good series, too!
36456
Thrust does not require air to "push off" of.  The propulsion is all based on Newton's laws: specifically, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.  If I push you with three lbs of force, I will also push myself back with three pounds of force.  From this, we can ultimately derive a conservation of momentum, which says that for me to issue a force onto an object and impart it with momentum, the force acting on me in the opposite direction will impart the same momentum.  Momentum is defined as the velocity times the mass.  So if a masive object exerts a force on a smaller object, the smaller object will go faster and the larger will go slower, but in the absense of other forces, they will have the same momentum.  When you fire a gun, the tiny bullet gets tremendous speed, while the much larger gun gets the same force but a much lower speed (what you would call "kick" in the gun.)\n\nthe same prinicple is at work in a space shuttle.  The products of combustion in the engine will be propelled backward at an enormous speed.  Though the shuttle is far larger, the force exerted forward on it is equal to the force exerted backward on the exhaust stream.  As the engine continues to fire, this force build up and up until the speed of the shuttle--unobstructed by wind resistence--can become enormous.
450016
Hi\nYou can just use a simple plastic water,drink or juice bottle.\n\nIMPORTANT NOTE:your rocket may not work if you use a screw lid.\n\nTo make rocket:\n1 Tape a straw to the side of the bottle:make sure that one end of the straw is within 1-2cm of the top of your bottle\n\nTo make launch pad:\n1 Insert skewer into a round piece of cardboard so that the skewer is standing securely upright.\n\nTo launch rocket:\n1 Insert one of the following fuels:\n   1x crushed alka-selzer tablet and 15ml of water \n   1 teaspoon of baking soda and 40mL of vinegar.\n2 Then put on the lid on as soon as the substance(s) are in the rocket.\n3 Place rocket on launch pad so that the skewer goes through the straw.\n4 watch in amazement as your rocket takes off!
126845
Space craft [usually] rely on rockets in space.  Rockets burn some fuel with some Oxidizer to produce lots of hot expanding gasses which are pushed out of the nozzle of the rocket.  When these gasses are pushed out the back of the rocket, they cause a change in momentum which accelerates the rocket forward.\n\nNewton’s 3rd law states, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.\nSo if the action is that the rocket exhaust is pushed out the back of the space craft, then the equal and opposite reaction would be for the space craft to be pushed forward.\n\nThe law of conservation of momentum tells us that momentum is always conserved.  If a spacecraft is moving with some initial velocity (could be zero) that space craft has some momentum associated with it.  At any point in time later on, the momentum of all the parts to that space craft needs to equal up to that original value.  So if part of the craft (the burning fuel) is pushed out one direction, in order to conserve momentum, the other part of the craft needs to be pushed the other direction [otherwise it is breaking the law].\n\nIt is somewhat of a difficult concept to understand, I hoped I explained it well.\n\nRockets do not just work in space.  Obviously you can still use a rocket down here on Earth and it works for the same reasons it work in space.  The principle of how the rocket works is not just exclusive to rockets.  For example, if you sat on one of those chairs with wheels holding a heavy bag of sand, then you pushed/threw the bag away from you, you and the chair would start to move in the other direction.
78721
NO it doesn't - if you're referring only to space - at zero gravity that is! \n\nThe initial launching rocket boosters are abandoned once you enter space, and the fuel is filled only to the suffice the requirement of the rocket launch - enough to push it into space for the rocket to thereon move autonomously.
230699
well, not quite like Austin Powers, but the system is based on suction. Everything is drawn into the machine where it is kept (just like a mobile home bathroom) and then dumped on the return to Earth.\n\nCheck out the following website for a few more details.
242610
The Saturn 5 was the rocket that carried the Apollo astronauts into space and eventually to the moon.  Some of the Apollo missions just to orbit were carried via the Saturn 1B.  Since the orbital mission did not need the extra fuel to boost it clear the moon, the Saturn 1B worked well for an orbital launcher.
574734
Something very close to it already exists:  Ion drive.  This uses charged xenon particles as its propellant.  The acceleration is very low, but it is much more efficient than chemical rockets.  NASA has already put it to practical use with their Deep Space 1 probe, and will use it again with their Helium 3 probe.\n\nOf course, that's still a mass-reaction drive.  A rather exotic one, but still...\n\nOne way of using light for propulsion is with a "solar sail," which The Planetary Society tried to test with its Cosmos-1 mission.  Unfortunately, the probe was lost in a launch failure.  They want to try again, though; you might want to write to them about your idea.
1179774
I could think of only two things that may (or may not) be that for which you are searching.\n\nThe first is simply a solar system mobile.  A simple string and crossbar mobile that children can put together.  Unfortunately a slight breeze could have them all going retrograde at once! Moons of the various planets are not generally included and the orbits are not elliptical.\n\nThe second is:\n"An orrery is a mechanical device that illustrates the relative positions and motions of the planets and moons in the solar system in heliocentric model. They are typically driven by a large clockwork mechanism with a globe representing the Sun at the center, and with a planet at the end of each of the arms." *\n\nI watched a program on Leonardo DaVinci and a section of this program had this tucked in the 3rd hour.  Coming back to find your question was interesting to say the least.   I hope this is what you need.
1034887
Mass transfer.\n\nThe mechanism is one by Newton, not Einstein, and it is Newton's 3rd law.\n\nThis mechanism is the whole action-reaction thing and applied to the rocket is simply; as the fuel is burned and exhaust expelled the expulsion of the exhaust mass is what propels the rocket in the opposite direction.
581773
land parcels on the moon
124408
The Orbital Maneuvering System of the Space Shuttle uses what is called a hypergolic rocket fuel.  Hypergolic systems work by combining two components that ignite when they come into contact with each other.  In the case of the Shuttles, the two components are hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide.  Nitrogen tetroxide contains the oxygen necessary for the reaction.
151761
To use the gravitational sling, all that NASA is doing is using the well known principles of celestial mechanics and orbits. Both the parabolic and hyperbolic orbits will enable a space vehicle to pass by gravitational body and escape. This requires some computing of course, but it is not that hard to do. One just needs to aim the craft in the right direction at the right speed. \n\nEven more interesting is the use of the chaos method. One can save energy by using chaos theory to send vehicles to distant objects. This is a bit less obvious than the "slingshot" or gravity assist, and is described in the first reference (I met and listened to some lectures by the chaos method's inventor; very interesting). NASA might be starting to use this method now that it has been proven by the Japanese and Europeans. NASA's JPL really hated the method when it first came out and fired the guy who invented it. He now is a tenured professor at Princeton. \n\n2. There are lots of power sources for space vehicles. Some are used currently and some are in the planning stages. Solid and liquid chemical rockets were very common and nuclear power as well. Solar sails and ion propulsion are going to be more prominent in the future, probably. \n\n3. Steering is done just as you would expect; Newton's third law, coupled with mechanism to control the direction of the ejecta. For tracking and control, the spacecraft send signals back and forth to us on earth using very sophisticated error correcting codes that use some very interesting mathematics. \n\n\n4. Well there are incidents where space craft are hit by debris, but obviously it does not happen very frequently or else it would be more of a problem, and accomodations for this would have to be made. Most of the failures of spacecraft are due to something else, I believe.
1010543
Suppose you are taking a space walk near the space shuttle, and your safety line breaks. How would you get back to the shuttle? The thing to do would be to take one of the tools from your tool belt and throw it is hard as you can directly away from the shuttle. Then, with the help of Newton's second and third laws, you will accelerate back towards the shuttle. As you throw the tool, you push against it, causing it to accelerate. At the same time, by Newton's third law, the tool is pushing back against you in the opposite direction, which causes you to accelerate back towards the shuttle, as desired. This is the principle behind jet propulsion: a jet rocket expels fuel rapidly by ``pushing against it''. By the third law the fuel exerts an equal and opposite force against the rocket so the rocket accelerates in the opposite direction that the expelled fuel goes. Another example of the 3rd law is a book lying on a table. If the table were not there the book would fall under the force of gravity between the book and the earth. Why then doesn't the book move off the table, in accordance with the 2nd law? The table is exerting a force on the book that is just enough to cancel the gravitational force on the book. By Newton's third law, the book is also exerting an equal and opposite force on the table, and this is why the table feels the weight of the book. If the book were very heavy, its weight would cause the table to bend, or even break. This is illustrated in the following figure. \n\nThe answer to this question comes from the third law. Imagine the skateboard again. On the ground, the only part air plays in the motions of the rider and the skateboard is to slow them down. Moving through the air causes friction, or as scientists call it, drag. The surrounding air impedes the action-reaction. \n\nAs a result rockets actually work better in space than they do in air. As the exhaust gas leaves the rocket engine it must push away the surrounding air; this uses up some of the energy of the rocket. In space, the exhaust gases can escape freely.
488798
Hi:\n\nNASA mostly use hydrogen and oxygen or tri-nictro-oxide in the liquid stages of their rockets and ammonium Nitric or some other solid state fuel that similar to gun cotton for the solid rocket booster. However in the early day of rocketry; they use any liquid fuel that would combined with liquid oxygen, Such gasoline,100 proof grain alcohol,Kerosene, fuel oil. and gunpowder or gun cotton for solid rockets Today however they mostly use hydrogen and oxygen for the liquid fuel rockets. What type of fuel they put into their rocket depend on how much weight their payload is; and how high they want it to go, and if they are visiting the planets in our solar system this as to be accounted for too.\n\nBack in the 1950,s and 1960's NASA had developed a Nuclear rocket engine under a project name: "Project Pluto" where liquid hydrogen was heated by a nuclear reactor to produce  a rocket thrust to propel a spacecraft in space. It fell out favor with the public due to radiation issues. There is a new type of rocket that uses ion propulsion where a gas such a hydrogen or Xenon gas is ionized and run ed through a series of electrically charge grids and are accelerated to very velocity as they exit the spacecraft And then there is:  The Antimatter and Matter rocket engine this where Matter and Antimatter is allow to mix in certain ratio in a rocket reactor vessel and focused by magnetic field to generate a lot of thrust