Rockets and Space Programs For years there has been talk about a secret space program. There have been many clues and death bed statements to the effect the program exists at least in the United States. One thing we should realize is every country that is advanced has secrets. Take Russia for example, they have been working on a super rocket. The design of the rocket was accepted at the end of 2019 and work has begun on its construction. If the rocket is successful it will have the capacity to put at least 35 tons into orbit but the goal is to be able to launch 50 tons into orbit. This is still less than the falcon heavy from SpaceX can launch. It is rated at being able to launch 63.8 tons into low earth orbit with a minimum of fifty-seven times in a reusable configuration. The heaviest load ever launched into space was accomplished by the Saturn 5 rocket when it launched 310,000 pounds. This was the weight for the entire rocket and cargo. It is said the Saturn 5 could launch 140 tons of cargo into low earth orbit. What I find a little strange is the fact today’s rockets, even though they are very powerful, do not equal the lifting power of a rocket we launched when we sent people to the moon all those years ago. It is said the reason we don’t use Saturn 5 rocket’s anymore because they cost too much money. In their day they cost $3.6 billion every time we launched one. There is another reason why we don’t use this rocket and that is some of the manufacturing processes to build the rocket whenever recorded. This means we would have to redesign the parts. The United States is not the only one pursuing a space program as I have said. The Russians want to get back to their former glory, after all they were the first to put a man and a satellite into space. I am old enough to remember when Sputnik went up. It scared the heck out of everybody in this country. A lot of people thought the satellite might contain a nuclear weapon and there it was zipping over our heads every once in a while, making beeping sounds which were repeatedly played by many broadcasters. People are easy to scare when something happens which they don’t understand. One thing is for sure, rockets are ancient technology and we are living in a time which has similarities to the steam engine on trains. The steam engine just kept getting more powerful as the years went by it was able to pull more cars on trains and these advancements went on from 1784 to 1944 when steam locomotive number 844 was built which was the last one. Someday we will see the last rocket being constructed and there will be something to take its place which will be more efficient and probably more powerful. So far, we have found a way to exceed rocket travel when in space using ion engines, but we have yet to find a way to blast off from a planet without rockets unless we are hiding antigravity technology. The Chinese have a very ambitious space program and there is talk the Russians may want to partner with them. Whether they would go for this idea or not I wouldn’t know. China had begun a ballistic missile program in the late 1950s, so they are familiar with rockets and as a matter of fact if we go back in history they invented the first rocket and used them in 1235. Of course, these were small rockets used in warfare and powered by gunpowder. The Chinese had a late start with what we call the modern-day space program. It wasn’t until 2003 until they had a successful flight with a person aboard a rocket named the Shenzhou 5. With this flight China became the third nation in history to launch a person into space. The Chinese have a very active lunar exploration program. Their biggest rocket is the Long March 5 and its variations which are the Long March 6, 7 and a solid fuel rocket named Long Watch 11. The payload of a long March 9 Chinese rocket is 154 tons. When this rocket is fully developed it will be extremely powerful. The Chinese already have their own space station and they have not hidden the fact they want to build bases on the moon just as we do. India is another country with an ambitious space program. There most powerful rocket is the GSLV MkIII. It is capable of launching a satellite weighing 8,800 pounds or 4.4 tons. While this rocket is by far the weakest between the United States, Russia, and China, it is still powerful enough to launch a very useful satellite into space. There is no doubt India will be designing far more powerful rockets in the future. We shouldn’t forget the European Union has its own space program. It is run by the European Space Agency or ESA. The Ariane 5 rocket can lift a cargo of 230 tons. It seems the ESA has a different program from us. They seem to be more into selling their services for launches and experiments then they are into programs for certain types of exploration, although they do have some. It is hard to tell if they are thinking about producing an even heavier lifting rocket or they are satisfied for the moment with what they have. The British began their space program in 1952. The United Kingdom established its civil space program in 2010. The British placed a satellite in orbit in April 1962. They used a British rocket. The company named Orbex has established a rocket factory on the Moray coast. The goal is to launch satellites into polar orbit in late 2021 from a spaceport on the northern tip of the United Kingdom. Britain became the first country to give up its space ambitions after its first launch. Today, Britain is looking forward to getting into space in a bigger way. One of the problems is the cost. Britain is not in a position to compete with the more powerful and richer countries. Great Britain is however the world’s seventh biggest economy which is far bigger than Russia’s economy which is rated at 10th. If Britain puts their mind to it and their money, they eventually could become a bigger power in space that even Russia. Japan has its own space agency known as JAXA. It’s biggest rocket seems to carry far less cargo than the big three. One cannot sell the Japanese short however, because I am sure if they decide to start building huge rockets they will succeed.
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