Rocket-powered aircraft: Difference between revisions

{{distinguish|space planeSpaceplane}}

A '''rocket-powered aircraft''' or '''rocket plane''' is an [[aircraft]] that uses a [[rocket engine]] for [[propulsion]], sometimes in addition to [[airbreathing jet engine]]s. Rocket planes can achieve much higher speeds than similarly sized jet aircraft, but typically for at most a few minutes of powered operation, followed by a [[gliding flight]]. Unhindered by the need for [[oxygen]] from the [[atmosphere]], they are suitable for very high-altitude flight. They are also capable of delivering much higher acceleration and shorter takeoffs. Many rocket aircraft may be [[Drop test|drop launched]] from transport planes, as take-off from ground may leave them with insufficient time to reach high altitudes.

[[Rocket]]s have been used simply to assist the main propulsion in the form of [[JATO|jet assisted take off]] ([[JATO]]) also known as rocket -assisted take offtakeoff ([[JATO|RATO]] or [[JATO|RATOG]]). Not all rocket planes are of the conventional takeoff like "normal" aircraft. Some types have been air-launched from another plane, while other types have taken off vertically – nose in the air and tail to the ground ("[[tail-sitter]]s").

Because of the use of heavy propellants and other practical difficulties of operating rockets, the majority of rocket planes have been built for experimental or research use, as [[interceptorInterceptor aircraft|interceptor]] fighters and [[space planeSpaceplane|space aircraft]].

[[Peruvian]] [[polymath]] [[Pedro Paulet]] conceptualized the [[Avión Torpedo]] in 1902 – a [[liquid-propellant rocket]]-powered aircraft that featured a [[Aircraft canopy|canopy]] fixed to a [[delta wing|delta]] [[tiltwing]] – spending decades seeking donors for the aircraft while serving as a diplomat in Europe and Latin America.<ref name=":03">{{Cite news |title=El peruano que se convirtió en el padre de la astronáutica inspirado por Julio Verne y que aparece en los nuevos billetes de 100 soles |language=es |work=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-38197437 |access-date=2022-03-11}}</ref> Paulet's concept of using liquid-propellant was decades ahead of rocket engineers at the time who utilized [[black powder]] as a propellant.<ref name=":03"/> Reports of Paulet's rocket aircraft concept first appeared in 1927 after [[Charles Lindbergh]] was the first to successfully fly an aircraft acrosscrossed the [[Atlantic Ocean]] in an aircraft.{{sfn|Mejía|2017|pp=113}} Paulet publicly criticized Austrian rocket pioneer [[Max Valier]]'s proposal about a rocket-powered aircraft completing the journey faster using black powder, arguing that his liquid-propellant rocket aircraft from thirty years earlier would be a better option.{{sfn|Mejía|2017|pp=113}}

Paulet would go on to visit the German rocket association [[Verein für Raumschiffahrt|Verein für Raumschiffahrt (VfR)]] and on March 15, 1928, Valier applauded Paulet's liquid-propelled rocket design in the VfR publication ''Die Rakete'', saying the engine had "amazing power".{{sfn|Mejía|2017|pp=115-116}} In May 1928, Paulet was present to observe the demonstration of a rocket car of the [[Opel RAK]] program of [[Fritz von Opel]] and Max Valier, and after meeting with the German rocket enthusiasts.{{sfn|Mejía|2017|pp=115-116}} VfR members began to view black powder as a hindrance for rocket propulsion, with Valier himself believing that Paulet's engine was necessary for future rocket development.{{sfn|Mejía|2017|pp=115-116}} Paulet would soon be approached by [[Nazi Germany]] to help develop rocket technology, though he refused to assist and never shared the formula for his propellant.<ref name=":03"/> The Nazi government would then appropriate Paulet's work while a Soviet spy in the VfR, Alexander Boris Scherchevsky, possibly shared plans with the [[Soviet Union]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last= |date=2012-04-05 |title=Un documental reivindicará al peruano Paulet como pionero de la astronáutica |url=https://www.lainformacion.com/tecnologia/un-documental-reivindicara-al-peruano-paulet-como-pionero-de-la-astronautica_QtfLj5fEZHsXhIPh1BEkV3/ |access-date=2022-03-11 |website=[[EFE]] |language=es}}</ref>[[File:Opel RAK1 2.jpg|thumb|250px|Opel RAK.1 - World's first public manned flight of a rocket plane on September 30, 1929.]]

Other German rocket-powered aircraft were pursued as well, including the [[Bachem Ba 349]] "Natter", a vertical takeoff manned rocket interceptor aircraft that flew in prototype form.<ref>Lommel 1998, p. 92.</ref><ref name="Bachem 1952, pp. 89-96">Bachem 1952, pp. 89–96.</ref> Further projects never even reached the prototype stage, such as the [[Zeppelin Rammer]], the ''[[Fliegende Panzerfaust]]'' and the [[Focke-Wulf Volksjäger|Focke-Wulf ''Volksjäger'']].<ref name="Luft">''[http://www.luft46.com/misc/zepfpf.html ''Fliegende Panzerfaust'' – Luft'46]</ref> Having a much larger size than any other rocket-powered endeavor of the conflict, the [[Silbervogel]] antipodal bomber spaceplane was planned by the Germans, however, later calculations showed that design would not have worked, instead being destroyed during reentry.<ref>Parsons, Zach. ''My Tank is Fight.'' London: Citadel, 2006. {{ISBN|978-0-8065-2758-1}}.{{Page needed|date=September 2011}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=September 2011}} The Me 163 Komet is the only type of rocket-powered fighter to see combat in history, and one of only two types of rocket-powered aircraft seeing any combat.

Other experimental aircraft included the Soviet [[Bereznyak-Isayev BI-1]] that flew in 1942 while the [[Northrop XP-79]] was originally planned with rocket engines but switched to [[jet engine]]s for its first and only flight in 1945. A rocket -assisted [[North American P-51 Mustang|P-51D Mustang]] was developed by [[North American Aviation]] that could attain {{cvt|515&nbsp;|mph}}.<ref>[http://sabre-pilots.org/classics/v41develop.htm Larry Davis – '''DEVELOPING THE XP-86'''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209155919/http://sabre-pilots.org/classics/v41develop.htm |date=2012-02-09 }}</ref><ref name=rocketmustang>[http://aviationtrivia.blogspot.com/2010/12/rocket-boosted-p-51-mustang.html Santiago – The Rocket-Boosted P-51 Mustang – Tuesday, December 28, 2010]</ref> The engine ran on [[fumaric acid]] and [[aniline]] which was stored in two {{convert|75 gallon|USgal|l|adj=on}} under wing drop tanks.<ref name=rocketmustang/> The plane was tested in flight in April 1945. The rocket engine could run for about a minute.<ref name=rocketmustang/> Similarly, the [[Messerschmitt Me 262]] "Heimatschützer" series used a combination of rocket and jet propulsion to allow for shorter take-offs, faster climb rate, and even greater speeds.<ref>Reddin, Shamus http://www.walterwerke.co.uk/ato/me262i.htm Me.262 Heimatschützer I.

During 1946, the Soviet [[Mikoyan-Gurevich I-270]] was constructed in response to a [[Soviet Air Forces]] requirement issued during the previous year for a [[rocket]]-powered [[interceptor aircraft]] in the [[point-defence]] role.<ref name="Belyakov">{{cite book |last1=Belyakov |first1=R. A. |last2=Marmain |first2=J. |title=MiG : fifty years of secret aircraft design |date=1994 |publisher=Airlife |location=Shrewsbury, UK |isbn=1-85310-488-4 |pages=110–112}}</ref> The design of the I-270 incorporated several pieces of technology that had been developed by Sergei Korolev between 1932 and 1943.<ref>Bille and Lishock 2004, p. 9.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20020505194731/http://www.astronautix.com/engines/rd1.htm 1943]</ref>

During 1947, a key milestone in aviation history was reached by the rocket-powered [[Bell X-1]], which became the first aircraft to break the [[speed of sound]] in level flight, and would be the first of a series of NACA/NASA rocket-powered aircraft.<ref>[http://www.allstar.fiu.edu/AERO/BELLX-1.htm "Bell X-1."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517025025/http://www.allstar.fiu.edu/aero/BELLX-1.htm |date=2008-05-17 }} ''allstar.fiu.edu.'' Retrieved: 26 September 2011.</ref> Amongst these experimental aircraft were the [[North American X-15]] and X-15A2 designs, which were operated for around a decade and eventually attained a maximum speed of [[Mach number|Mach]] 6.7 as well as a peak altitude in excess of 100&nbsp;km, setting new records in the process.<ref name="Fastest">[http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/research/x15/ "North American X-15 High-Speed Research Aircraft."] ''Aerospaceweb.org'', 24 November 2008.</ref>

During 2003, another [[private spaceflight|privately developed]] rocket-powered aircraft performed its first flight. [[SpaceShipOne]] functions both as a rocket-powered aircraft—with [[airfoil|wings]] and [[Flight dynamics|aerodynamic control surfaces]]—as well as a [[spaceplane]]—with [[reaction control system|RCS thrusters]] for control in the vacuum of space. For their work, the SpaceShipOne team were awarded the Space Achievement Award.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalspacesymposium.org/symposium-awards |title=Symposium Awards |access-date=31 January 2012 |url-status=deadusurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203060101/http://www.nationalspacesymposium.org/symposium-awards |archive-date=3 February 2009 }}</ref>

* [[SpaceShipTwoSkylon (spacecraft)]]

* [[LynxXCOR rocketplaneLynx]]

* {{cite book |last=Green, |first=William. ''|title=Rocket Fighter'' (|series=Ballantine's Illustrated History of World War II, Weapons Book No. 20). |location=New York: |publisher=Ballantine Books, Inc., |date=1971. {{ISBN|isbn=0-345-02163-0}}.

* {{cite bookjournal |last1=Mejía |first1=Álvaro |url=https://revistas.ucsp.edu.pe/index.php/persona/article/view/209/230 |title=Pedro Paulet, sabio multidisciplinario |datejournal=Persona & Cultura |publisher=Universidad Católica San Pablo |year=2017 |isbnvolume=14 |editionissue=14 |locationedition= |pages=95–122 |doi=10.36901/persona.v14i14.209 |language=es |access-date=|doi-access=free }}