Page 49 - Life beyond the Karman

Soyuz rocket
The Saturn V
The Saturn V, a Heavy Lift Vehicle, was built by NASA to send people to the moon. It remains the most powerful rocket to have successfully flown.
The Saturn V was launched to the moon beyond Earth’s orbit through Apollo 4 and Apollo 6. Both rockets were launched without crews in 1967 and 1968, respectively.
The first Saturn V launched with a crew was Apollo 8. On this mission, astronauts orbited the moon but did not land. On Apollo 10, the Saturn V launched the lunar lander to the moon. In 1969, Apollo 11 was the first mission to land astronauts on the moon.
The Saturn V rocket that was responsible for launching the Skylab space station had only two stages but the Saturn V rockets used for the Apollo missions had three. Each stage burns its engines until it runs out of fuel and separates from the rocket.
The rocket’s initial stage propelled it up to a height of approximately 68 kilometres (42 miles). The second stage then took over, propelling the rocket nearly into orbit. Finally, the third stage positioned the Apollo spacecraft into Earth’s orbit and propelled it towards its destination, the moon.
Soyuz rocket
The Soyuz rocket should not be confused with the Soyuz spacecraft.
The Soyuz rocket is modelled on the Soviet Union’s first rockets, the R-7, which were intercontinental ballistic missiles. Soyuz is one of the oldest rocket lines still in operation; it flew a few dozen test missions in the 1960s and is regarded as a very reliable type of rocket. Soyuz Rockets holds the world record for the most launches of
Space X Starship
any type of rocket. At launch, the Soyuz weighs over 310,000 kilograms.
The Soyuz is a three-stage rocket that has a distinct Soviet/ Russian design and appearance. The first stage consists of four 20-metre-long cone-shaped liquid-fuelled strap-on boosters arranged around the central second stage. The second stage ignites at liftoff and continues to burn after the strap-on boosters detach two minutes into flight. After the second stage separates, the third stage fires and launches the payload into orbit.
Starship
The Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket, both developed by SpaceX, are collectively known as the Starship. They are reusable transportation systems designed to transport both crew and cargo for missions on various planets including Earth, Moon, Mars, and beyond. Starship can carry up to 150 metric tonnes when fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes when expendable, making it the most powerful launch vehicle ever developed.
The vehicle has an integrated payload section and is capable of global travel with various configurations. Starship is developed and manufactured at Starbase, one of the world’s earliest commercial spaceports, created for orbital missions.
The Super Heavy is the first stage or booster of the Starship launch system. Super Heavy is fully reusable and will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere to land back at the launch site, powered by 33 Raptor engines that use sub-cooled liquid methane (CH4) and liquid oxygen (LOX).
The Raptor engine is a reusable methane-oxygen staged- combustion engine that powers the Starship system. It provides twice the thrust of the Falcon 9 Merlin engine.
LIFE BEYOND THE KÁRMÁN LINE - OUTER SPACE
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