10 Biggest Rockets Ever Built

A Rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft, or a vehicle which obtains thrust by the reaction of the rocket to the ejection of fast moving fluid exhaust from a rocket engine. These rockets either contain solid rocket fuel or liquid fuel which chemically combines together to give enormous thrust to escape the gravity of Earth travelling nearly 11km/sec. Rockets are not only used for military purpose but also for science, communication and even used for man to land on the Moon.

Here are the 10 Biggest Rockets Ever Built by man.

SATURN V

Saturn V worlds largest rocket and most powerful rocket ever built in the history of mankind. This was the rocket which made it possible for man to step on the Moon. Saturn V was 363 feet nearly as tall as a 40 story building. The first maiden flight took place on December 6 1967 and on July 16 1969, Apollo 11 lifted off carrying the first astronauts to land on the Moon.

N-1

N1 was yet another powerful and largest rocket developed by the soviets to launch man to the Moon. But due to poor development and technology all rockets were destroyed during their test flights thus bringing the soviet moon mission to end. N1 was little shorter than Saturn V reaching 344.5 feet. During lift off, 30 engines were required to lift the enormous rocket, but they failed due to poor design. Total four were launched and all of them failed.

ARES-1

Ares-1 is another US designed rocket which is currently under development. After the retirement of shuttle, Ares will transport man to space and even to Moon again. Ares-1 is 310 feet long and powered by one solid rocket engine during lift off.

DELTA IV

Delta IV is a U.S made rocket designed for the military and commercial use. Delta IV rockets are available in five versions: Medium, Medium+ (4,2), Medium+ (5,2), Medium+ (5,4), and Heavy, which are tailored to suit specific payload size and weight ranges.This rocket has height of 206 feet and can deliver a load of 18,900 – 56,800 lb. The first rocket was launched on 11th March 2003.

ATLAS V

Atlas V is a U.S made rocket designed to deliver heavy pay load to the Earth’s orbit. This rocket has height of 195 feet and has a total lift off mass of 333,298 kg (734,800 lbm).

ARIANE 5

Ariane 5 is European built rocket developed by EADS under the authority of the European Space Agency (ESA). Ariane 5′s first test flight (Ariane 5 Flight 501) on 4 June 1996 failed, with the rocket self-destructing 37 seconds after launch because of a malfunction in the control software, which was arguably one of the most expensive computer bugs in history. This rocket has a height of 193 ft and can carry a load of 21,000 kg to the orbit.

SPACE SHUTTLE

Now here comes the ultimate machine, the Space Shuttle. Made in USA, Space Shuttle is currently being used to deliver medium size cargo into orbit and operated by sevenman crew. Space Shuttle is first launch into the orbit using the solid rocket booster and shuttles own engine fueled by the external fuel tank. In orbit all the external power sources are jettisoned and during entry the space shuttle acts like a plane. Space Shuttle has a height of 184 ft.

H-IIB ROCKET

This is a Japanese built rocket under the supervision of JAXA. The H-IIB is a liquid-fuelled rockets providing an expendable launch system for the main purpose of launching the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) towards the International Space Station (ISS). The H-IIB, was launched for the first time in September 2009 and is able to carry a payload of up to 8 tons to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO). It has height of 56m slightly shorter than the space shuttle.

FALCON 9

The Falcon 9 is a reusable two-stage-to-orbit, liquid oxygen (LOX) and rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1) powered launch vehicle manufactured by SpaceX. This rocket in under development and will be launch at the end of 2009. This rocket has height of 178 ft .

PROTON

The Proton rocket is an expendable rocket used for both commercial and military. The first Proton was launched in 1965 and the launch system is still in use as of 2009, which makes it one of the most successful heavy boosters in the history of spaceflight. This rocket also delivered the first module of ISS known as Zarya. It has height of 53m.

 

 Comparison Diagram

 

ALL IMAGE CREDIT: WIKIPEDIA

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