what are research rocket

How rockets work: A complete guide

Rockets of all kinds are still our only way of reaching space — but how exactly do they work?

Rockets are our species' best way of escaping the atmosphere of Earth and reaching space. But the process behind getting these machines to work is far from simple. Here's what you need to know about getting a rocket into space. 

How rockets lift off

Writers and inventors have dreamt of exploring the universe beyond Earth for centuries, but the real challenges of traveling into space only became clear in the 19th century. Experimental balloon flights showed that Earth's atmosphere thins out rapidly at high altitudes, and so even before powered flight became a reality, engineers knew that devices that create a forward or upward force by pushing against a surrounding medium like air — such as wings and propellers — would be of no use in space. 

Another problem was that combustion engines — machines such as steam or gasoline engines that generate power by burning fuel in the oxygen from Earth's atmosphere — would also fail in airless space.

Fortunately, a device that solved the problem of generating force without a surrounding medium had already been invented — the rocket. Initially used as weapons of war or in fireworks, rockets generate a force in one direction, called thrust, by the principle of action and reaction: exhaust fumes released by explosive chemicals are pushed out of the back of the rocket at high speed, and as a result the rocket is pushed in the other direction, regardless of any surrounding medium, NASA explains in this primer (pdf). 

The key to using rockets in space is to carry a chemical called an oxidant that can perform the same role as oxygen in Earth's air and enable the fuel to combust.

The first person to seriously study the rocket's potential for space travel, Russian schoolteacher and amateur scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky , first published his conclusions in 1903. He correctly identified the launch as one of the biggest challenges — the moment where the rocket has to carry all the fuel and oxidant it needs to reach space — as its weight is at a maximum and a huge amount of thrust is needed just to get it moving.

As the rocket gets underway it sheds mass through its exhaust, so its weight is reduced and the same amount of thrust will have a greater effect in terms of accelerating the rest of the rocket. Tsiolkovsky came up with various rocket designs and concluded that the most efficient setup was a vertically launched vehicle with several 'stages' — each a self-contained rocket that could carry the stages above it for a certain distance before exhausting its fuel, detaching and falling away. This principle, still widely used today , reduces the amount of dead weight that needs to be carried all the way into space. 

Tsiolkovsky devised a complex equation that revealed the necessary thrust force needed for any given rocket maneuver, and the "specific impulse" — how much thrust is generated per unit of fuel — needed for a rocket to reach space. He realized that the explosive rocket propellants of his time were far too inefficient to power a space rocket, and argued that liquid fuels and oxidants, such as liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, would ultimately be needed to reach orbit and beyond. Although he did not live to see his work recognized, Tsiolkovsky's principles still underpin modern rocketry.

Taking flight

Rockets must delicately balance and control powerful forces in order to make it through Earth's atmosphere into space.

A rocket generates thrust using a controlled explosion as the fuel and oxidant undergo a violent chemical reaction. Expanding gases from the explosion are pushed out of the back of the rocket through a nozzle. The nozzle is a specially shaped exhaust that channels the hot, high-pressure gas created by combustion into a stream that escapes from the back of the nozzle at hypersonic speeds, more than five times the speed of sound. 

Isaac Newton's third law of motion states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, so the "action" force that drives the exhaust out of the rocket nozzle must be balanced by an equal and opposite force pushing the rocket forward. Specifically, this force acts on the upper wall of the combustion chamber, but because the rocket motor is integral to each rocket stage, we can think of it acting on the rocket as a whole.

Although the forces acting in both directions are equal, their visible effects are different because of another of Newton's laws, which explains how objects with greater mass need more force to accelerate them by a given amount. So while the action force rapidly accelerates a small mass of exhaust gas to hypersonic speeds each second, the equal reaction force produces a far smaller acceleration in the opposite direction on the far greater mass of the rocket.

As the rocket gains speed, keeping the direction of motion closely aligned with the direction of thrust is critical. Gradual adjustments are needed to steer the rocket towards an orbital trajectory, but a severe misalignment can send the rocket whirling out of control. Most rockets, including the Falcon and Titan series and the Saturn V moon rocket , steer using gimballed engines, mounted so that the entire rocket motor can pivot and vary the direction of its thrust from moment to moment. Other steering options include using external vanes to deflect the exhaust gases as they escape the rocket engine — most effective with solid-fueled rockets that lack a complex motor — and auxiliary engines, such as small thruster rockets mounted on the sides of the rocket stage.

How a rocket's motors work

Modern rocket motors have come a long way from fireworks, the first in rocket history . Relatively simple solid rockets, most often used as boosters to provide extra thrust at launch, still rely on the same basic principle of igniting a tube containing a combustible mix of fuel and oxidant. Once ignited, a solid rocket will continue to burn until its fuel is exhausted, but the rate at which fuel is burnt — and therefore the amount of thrust — can be controlled by changing the amount of surface exposed to ignition during different times in the rocket's flight. 

This can be done by packing the fuel/oxidant mix with a hollow gap down the center, running along the length of the rocket. Depending on the profile of this gap, which may be circular or star-shape, for instance, the amount of exposed surface will change during the flight.

This article is brought to you by  All About Space .

All About Space  magazine takes you on an awe-inspiring journey through our solar system and beyond, from the amazing technology and spacecraft that enables humanity to venture into orbit, to the complexities of space science.

The more widespread liquid-fueled rockets are far more complex. Typically, they involve a pair of propellant tanks — one each for the fuel and the oxidant — connected to a combustion chamber through a complex maze of pipes. High-speed turbopumps driven by their own independent motor systems are used to deliver liquid propellant into the chamber through an injection system. The rate of supply can be throttled up or down depending on requirement, and fuel can be injected as a simple jet or a fine spray. 

Inside the combustion chamber an ignition mechanism is used to begin combustion — this may be a jet of high-temperature gas, an electric spark or a pyrotechnic explosion. Rapid ignition is critical — if too much fuel/oxidant mixture is allowed to build up in the combustion chamber than a delayed ignition can generate enough pressure to blow the rocket apart, a catastrophic event that rocket engineers laconically refer to as a "hard start" or "rapid unscheduled disassembly" (RUD).

The detailed design of a liquid rocket stage can vary a lot depending on its fuel and other requirements. Some of the most efficient propellants are liquefied gases such as liquid hydrogen , which is only stable at very low temperatures — around minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 253 degrees Celsius). Once loaded aboard the rocket, these cryogenic propellants must be stored in heavily insulated tanks. Some rockets avoid the need for an ignition mechanism using hypergolic propellants that ignite spontaneously on contact with each other. 

Interplanetary travel

Rockets are the key to exploring our solar system , but how do they go from orbit to deep space?

The first stage of any spaceflight involves launch from Earth's surface into a relatively low orbit around 124 miles (200 km) up, above the vast majority of the atmosphere. Here gravity is almost as strong as it is on the surface, but friction from Earth's upper atmosphere is very low, so if the uppermost stage of the rocket is moving fast enough it can maintain a stable, circular or elliptical trajectory where the pull of gravity and the vehicle's natural tendency to fly off in a straight line cancel each other out.

Many spacecraft and satellites travel no further than this low Earth orbit (LEO), but those destined to leave Earth entirely and explore the wider solar system need a further boost in speed to reach escape velocity — the speed at which they can never be pulled back by our planet's gravity. 

The escape velocity at Earth's surface — 6.9 miles per second (11.2 km/s) — is about 50% faster than the typical speeds of objects in LEO. It gets lower at a greater distance from Earth, and probes bound for interplanetary space are often first injected into elongated or elliptical orbits by a carefully timed burst of thrust from an upper-stage rocket, which may remain attached to the spacecraft for the rest of its interplanetary flight. In such an orbit the spacecrafts' distance from Earth can range from hundreds to thousands of miles, and its velocity will also vary, reaching a maximum when the spacecraft is closest to Earth — a point called perigee — and slowing down further out. 

Surprisingly, however, the critical rocket burn used to escape into interplanetary space is usually made when the spacecraft is near perigee. This is due to the so-called Oberth effect , an unexpected property of rocket equations that means a rocket is more efficient when it is moving at higher velocity. 

One way to understand this is that burning a spacecraft's fuel allows the engine to utilize not only its chemical energy, but also its kinetic energy, which is greater at higher speeds. On balance, the additional rocket thrust needed to reach escape velocity from a low altitude at higher speed is less than that needed to escape from a high altitude when moving at a lower speed.

Spaceflight engineers and mission planners often refer to the " Delta-v " required to accomplish a specific flight maneuver, such as a change in orbit. Strictly speaking, the term Delta-v means change in velocity, but engineers use it specifically as a measure of the amount of impulse, or thrust force over time, needed to accomplish a maneuver. Broadly speaking, missions are planned around a "Delta-v budget" — how much thrust they can generate for how long using the spacecraft's onboard fuel supplies. 

Sending a spacecraft from one planet to another with minimum Delta-v requirements involves injecting it into an elliptical orbit around the sun, called a Hohmann transfer orbit . The spacecraft travels along a segment of the elliptical path that resembles a spiral track between the orbits of the two planets, and requires no further thrust along its journey. On arrival at its target object it may use gravity alone to enter its final orbit, or it may require a burst of rocket thrust in the opposite direction — usually accomplished by simply turning the spacecraft around in space and firing the motor — before it can achieve a stable orbit.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Get the Space.com Newsletter

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

After studying astronomy at University College London and Science Communication at Imperial College, Giles set out on an Exciting Adventure with Illustrated Publishing. He's since written a string of beautiful and successful books on astronomy, science and other cool subjects, and is also a regular contributor to magazines. When he's not doing the day job, you’ll find him fanboying about Doctor Who or lost in some obscure corner of history…

SpaceX launches Starlink satellites on company's 40th mission of 2024 (video)

NASA still investigating Orion heat shield issues from Artemis 1 moon mission

Rocket Lab gearing up to refly Electron booster for 1st time

Most Popular

• 2 'Transformers One' 1st trailer unveils Optimus Prime and Megatron's shared history (video)
• 3 China rolls out rocket for next astronaut mission to Tiangong space station (photos)
• 4 SpaceX launches Starlink satellites on company's 40th mission of 2024 (video)
• 5 Sorry, little green men: Alien life might actually be purple

NOTIFICATIONS

Investigating rockets – introduction.

• + Create new collection

Rocket science includes ideas of forces and motion, how rockets work and some of the challenges for those wanting to make rockets go faster and higher.

In the last 60 years, rocket science and technology has certainly reached new heights. Many rockets have been used to explore our atmosphere and to travel further from the Earth to explore the Moon, Venus, Mars and other parts of the Solar System and beyond. Other rockets are used to launch the many satellites that we rely on for weather forecasting and communication. Rockets are also used for fireworks and entertainment.

Rocket science and design challenges

The science of forces and motion began to be properly understood when Sir Isaac Newton wrote a book called Principia over 200 years ago. This contained his three laws of motion and paved the way for people to understand how rockets work. Before this time, a lot of people thought rockets needed air to push against. It turns out they don’t! Rockets work even better in the vacuum of space than they do in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Rocket design is all about finding an optimal balance between thrust, mass and aerodynamics. Any change to one of these will affect the overall motion of the rocket:

• For an object to start moving, there needs to be an unbalanced force. Find out more in the article Lift-off .
• Thrust is the force that pushes a rocket. There are many types of rocket engines that use different propellants . Find out more in the article Rockets and thrust .
• A rocket has mass as rocket body, payload and propellant, but with each extra bit of mass, there is extra weight that requires extra thrust.
• Aerodynamics is the study of how air flows over a rocket. Aerodynamics only affects a rocket while it is in an atmosphere. Find out how a nose cone and fins help a rocket in the article Rocket aerodynamics .
• Rockets are launched to achieve different types of orbits. Find out why in Getting rockets into space .

Meet our rocket scientists and engineers

Our rockets content looks at some of the science and related technology issues that are being solved by three different groups working on rockets and space technology.

Peter Beck is CEO and technical director of Rocket Lab , the company behind New Zealand’s first attempt at commercial space flight in 2009. In achieving this feat, Rocket Lab scientists and engineers needed to solve many challenges.

The recent achievements of Rocket Lab include the building of the first private orbital launch site in New Zealand and the development of the Electron rocket. Kiwis in space is a Connected article that explores the science and technology behind the amazing achievements of Rocket Lab, it is based on an interview with Rocket Lab Avionics Manager Naomi Altman.

Mark Rocket is a space enthusiast and investor. Mark was a director of Rocket Lab during its early years and believes that Rocket Lab is continuing New Zealand’s proud involvement in the space industry. Mark is also the first New Zealander to have purchased a ticket as a space tourist with Virgin Galactic.

It’s always fun to rumble the ground! Peter Beck, Rocket Lab

Avinash Rao works with fellow PhD student Malcolm Snowden at the University of Canterbury building and launching rockets. They are developing technology to automatically control rockets .

Dr Susan Krumdieck is an Associate Professor at Canterbury University who is helping to develop new ceramic materials for the next generation of space vehicles.

Take up the rocket challenge

Investigating rockets provides a mix of thinking and hands-on activities. The introduction to rockets and space is a good way to set the scene – getting students to think about what they already know and what they want to find out.

Activities such as effervescent canister rockets and balloon car challenge give students the chance to develop their science understanding as they solve their own rocket propulsion challenges. Put that knowledge to the test by building and launching water bottle rockets . Calculate and compare the acceleration of a model rocket to the Space Shuttle.

Head back indoors to investigate rocket motion using a spreadsheet and graphs that we've provided – ideal for the science capability 'interpret representations'. The launch simulator challenge allows students to investigate thrust, mass and drag, while changing variables, to make a rocket go as high as possible.

Question bank

The Investigating rockets – question bank provides an initial list of questions about rockets and places where their answers can be found. The questions support an inquiry approach.

For explanations of key concepts, see Investigating rockets - key terms .

Explore the timeline and look at some of the historical aspects of rockets – taking science and technology to new heights.

Pedagogical support

The timeline was one of the resources used in a cross-curricular rockets unit. The video Integrating numeracy and literacy explains how science investigations provided students with a clear purpose to engage in extensive reading and explanatory writing.

Other planning and pedagogical support is found in the Rockets teaching sequence – unit plan .

Nature of science

Understanding science concepts is essential for engineers as they develop new technologies for rockets.

Related collection

Rocket Lab introduced New Zealand to the aerospace world. The space industry has grown enormously since then. Aotearoa New Zealand in space is an introductory article that links the galax y of resources created to highlight and support learning about the country’s growing space industry. The context for learning provides curriculum and pedagogical information when using the resources.

3...2...1...Lift off! is a collection that supports the House of Science 3...2...1... Lift off kit which uses rockets as a context for learning about forces. This collection of resources covers NZC levels 1-4.

Log in to make this collection part of your private collection, just click on the copy icon . You can then add additional content and notes and make other changes.

Useful link

Check out Juno mission latest updates from NASA.

See our newsletters here .

Would you like to take a short survey?

This survey will open in a new tab and you can fill it out after your visit to the site.

How to access and use e-resources

• Remote Access
• Britannica School
• Britannica Academic
• Britannica Image Quest
• Merriam Webster Dictionary
• Discovery Service
• Points of View
• EBSCO eBooks
• Issues Online
• Project Muse

Research Rocket

Guided tour.

• New York Times
• OPAC This link opens in a new window
• A-Z Database list This link opens in a new window
• Other Services

ResearchRocket for Teachers

How To: Use ResearchRocket (for Teachers)"

Go to Periodicals on the library's website

Click on ResearchRocket

Log in using the  remote access  feature

Type in your browser the web address, and add it to your favorites

https://anatolia.libguides.com/researchrocket

How To: Use ResearchRocket (for Students)"

• << Previous: Project Muse
• Next: New York Times >>
• Last Updated: Feb 28, 2024 8:12 AM
• URL: https://anatolia.libguides.com/howtoaccess

Suggested Searches

• Climate Change
• Expedition 64
• Mars perseverance
• SpaceX Crew-2
• International Space Station
• View All Topics A-Z

Humans in Space

Earth & climate, the solar system, the universe, aeronautics, learning resources, news & events.

Join NASA in Celebrating Earth Day 2024 by Sharing a #GlobalSelfie

NASA Selects New Aircraft-Driven Studies of Earth and Climate Change

The Ocean Touches Everything: Celebrate Earth Day with NASA

• Search All NASA Missions
• A to Z List of Missions
• Upcoming Launches and Landings
• Spaceships and Rockets
• Communicating with Missions
• James Webb Space Telescope
• Hubble Space Telescope
• Why Go to Space
• Astronauts Home
• Commercial Space
• Destinations
• Living in Space
• Explore Earth Science
• Earth, Our Planet
• Earth Science in Action
• Earth Multimedia
• Earth Science Researchers
• Pluto & Dwarf Planets
• Asteroids, Comets & Meteors
• The Kuiper Belt
• The Oort Cloud
• Skywatching
• The Search for Life in the Universe
• Black Holes
• The Big Bang
• Dark Energy & Dark Matter
• Earth Science
• Planetary Science
• Astrophysics & Space Science
• The Sun & Heliophysics
• Biological & Physical Sciences
• Lunar Science
• Citizen Science
• Astromaterials
• Aeronautics Research
• Human Space Travel Research
• Science in the Air
• NASA Aircraft
• Flight Innovation
• Supersonic Flight
• Air Traffic Solutions
• Green Aviation Tech
• Drones & You
• Technology Transfer & Spinoffs
• Space Travel Technology
• Technology Living in Space
• Manufacturing and Materials
• Science Instruments
• For Kids and Students
• For Educators
• For Colleges and Universities
• For Professionals
• Science for Everyone
• Requests for Exhibits, Artifacts, or Speakers
• STEM Engagement at NASA
• NASA's Impacts
• Centers and Facilities
• Directorates
• Organizations
• People of NASA
• Internships
• Our History
• Doing Business with NASA
• Get Involved
• Aeronáutica
• Ciencias Terrestres
• Sistema Solar
• All NASA News
• Video Series on NASA+
• Newsletters
• Social Media
• Media Resources
• Upcoming Launches & Landings
• Virtual Events
• Sounds and Ringtones
• Interactives
• STEM Multimedia

Work Underway on Large Cargo Landers for NASA’s Artemis Moon Missions

Mars Science Laboratory: Curiosity Rover

NASA Open Science Initiative Expands OpenET Across Amazon Basin  

NASA Motion Sickness Study Volunteers Needed!

Students Celebrate Rockets, Environment at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center

AI for Earth: How NASA’s Artificial Intelligence and Open Science Efforts Combat Climate Change

Sols 4159-4160: A Fully Loaded First Sol

NASA’s Juno Gives Aerial Views of Mountain, Lava Lake on Io

Hubble Captures a Bright Galactic and Stellar Duo

NASA’s TESS Returns to Science Operations

Astronauts To Patch Up NASA’s NICER Telescope

Hubble Goes Hunting for Small Main Belt Asteroids

NASA’s Near Space Network Enables PACE Climate Mission to ‘Phone Home’

NASA Photographer Honored for Thrilling Inverted In-Flight Image

NASA Langley Team to Study Weather During Eclipse Using Uncrewed Vehicles

ARMD Solicitations

Amendment 10: B.9 Heliophysics Low-Cost Access to Space Final Text and Proposal Due Date.

Tech Today: Taking Earth’s Pulse with NASA Satellites

Earth Day 2024: Posters and Virtual Backgrounds

NASA Names Finalists of the Power to Explore Challenge

Diez maneras en que los estudiantes pueden prepararse para ser astronautas

Astronauta de la NASA Marcos Berríos

Resultados científicos revolucionarios en la estación espacial de 2023

Beginner’s guide to rockets.

Educators, Students

Grade Levels

Grades 5-8, Grades 9-12, Higher Education

Technology, Rocketry

Learn about the basic math and physics principles that govern the design and flight of model rockets. Go to Website

Rockets and rocket launches, explained

Get everything you need to know about the rockets that send satellites and more into orbit and beyond.

Since the invention of gunpowder in China more than seven centuries ago, humans have sent cylinders soaring into the skies with the help of controlled explosions. These craft and their engines, called rockets, have taken on many roles as fireworks, signal flares, and weapons of war.

But since the 1950s, rockets also have let us send robots, animals, and people into orbit around Earth —and even beyond.

How do rockets work?

As tempting as the logic may be, rockets don't work by “pushing against the air,” since they also function in the vacuum of space. Instead, rockets take advantage of momentum, or how much power a moving object has.

If no outside forces act on a group of objects, the group's combined momentum must stay constant over time. Imagine yourself standing on a skateboard with a basketball in your hands. If you throw the basketball in one direction, you and the skateboard will roll in the opposite direction to conserve momentum. The faster you throw the ball, the faster you roll backward.

Rockets work by expelling hot exhaust that acts in the same way as the basketball. The exhaust's gas molecules don't weigh much individually, but they exit the rocket's nozzle very fast, giving them a lot of momentum. As a result, the rocket moves in the opposite direction of the exhaust with the same total oomph.

Rockets make exhaust by burning fuel in a rocket engine. Unlike airplanes' jet engines, rockets are designed to work in space: They don't have intakes for air, and they bring along their own oxidizers, substances that play the role of oxygen in burning fuel. A rocket's fuel and oxidizer—called propellants—can be either solid or liquid. The space shuttle's side boosters used solid propellants, while many modern rockets use liquid propellants.

FREE BONUS ISSUE

What are the stages of a rocket launch.

Today's large, space-bound rockets consist of at least two stages, sections stacked in a shared cylindrical shell. Each stage has its own engines, which can vary in number. The first stage of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket has nine engines, while the first stage of Northrop Grumman's Antares rocket has two.

A rocket's first stage gets the rocket out of the lower atmosphere, sometimes with the help of extra side boosters. Because the first stage must lift the entire rocket, its cargo (or payload), and any unused fuel, it's the biggest and most powerful section.

The faster a rocket goes, the more air resistance it encounters. But the higher the rocket goes, the thinner the atmosphere gets. Combined, these two factors mean that the stress on a rocket rises and then falls during a launch, peaking at a pressure known as max q. For the SpaceX Falcon 9 and the United Launch Alliance Atlas V , max q occurs at 80 to 90 seconds after liftoff, at altitudes between seven and nine miles .

Once the first stage has done its job, the rocket drops that portion and ignites its second stage. The second stage has a lot less to transport, and it doesn't have to fight through the thick lower atmosphere, so it usually has just one engine. At this point, rockets also let go of their fairings, the pointed cap at the rocket's tip that shields what the rocket is carrying—its payload—during the launch's first phase.

Historically, most of a rocket's discarded parts were left to fall back down to Earth and burn up in the atmosphere. But starting in the 1980s with NASA's space shuttle , engineers designed rocket parts that could be recovered and reused. Private companies including SpaceX and Blue Origin are even building rockets with first stages that return to Earth and land themselves. The more that a rocket's parts can be reused, the cheaper rocket launches can get.

What are the different types of rockets?

Just as automobiles come in many shapes and sizes, rockets vary depending on the jobs they do.

Sounding rockets launch high in the air on ballistic arcs, curving into space for five to 20 minutes before they crash back to Earth. They're most often used for scientific experiments that don't need a lot of time in space. For instance, NASA used a sounding rocket in September 2018 to test parachutes for future Mars missions. ( Where exactly is the edge of the space?The answer is surprisingly complex .)

You May Also Like

NASA smashed an asteroid with a rocket. The debris could hit Mars.

NASA’s most powerful rocket ever prepares for launch

Historic moon lander malfunctions after launch—but NASA isn’t panicked (yet)

Suborbital rockets such as Blue Origin's New Shepard are strong enough to temporarily enter space, either for scientific experiments or space tourism. Orbital-class rockets are powerful enough to launch objects into orbit around Earth. Depending on how big the payload is, they also can send objects beyond Earth, such as scientific probes ( or sports cars ).

Ferrying satellites to orbit or beyond requires serious power. For a satellite to remain in a circular orbit 500 miles above Earth's surface, it must be accelerated to more than 16,600 miles an hour . The Saturn V rocket, the most powerful ever built, lifted more than 300,000 pounds of payload into low-Earth orbit during the Apollo missions.

For now, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy and United Launch Alliance's Delta IV Heavy are the world's most powerful rockets, but even bigger ones are coming. Once NASA's Space Launch System gets past its delays and cost overruns , it will be the most powerful rocket ever built. Meanwhile, SpaceX is building a test version of its Starship, the massive rocket formerly known as the BFR (Big Falcon Rocket). Russia has also announced its goal of launching a “super-heavy lift” rocket in 2028.

As some rocket makers go big, others are going small to service the growing boom in cheap-to-build satellites no bigger than refrigerators . Rocket Labs's Electron rocket can lift just a few hundred pounds into low-Earth orbit, but for the small satellites it's ferrying, that's all the power it needs.

What is a launch pad?

A launch pad is a platform from which a rocket is launched, and they're found at facilities called launch complexes or spaceports. ( Explore a map of the world's active spaceports .)

A typical launch pad consists of a pad and a launch mount, a metal structure that supports the upright rocket before it launches. Umbilical cables from the launch mount provide the rocket with power, cooling liquids, and top-up propellant before launch. The structure also helps shield the rocket from lightning strikes.

Different launch complexes have different ways of putting rockets on launch pads. At NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the space shuttle was assembled vertically and moved to the launch pad on a tank-like vehicle called a crawler. The Russian space program transports its rockets horizontally by train to the launch pad, where they're then lifted upright.

Launch pads also have features that minimize damage from the rocket's launch. When a rocket first ignites, valves lining the launch pad spray hundreds of thousands of gallons of water into the air around the exhaust, which helps lessen the rocket's deafening roar. Trenches beneath the launch pad also direct the rocket's exhaust out and away from the craft, so the flames can't rise back up and engulf the rocket itself.

Where are rockets launched?

There are many launch sites around the world, each with different pros and cons. In general, the closer a launch site is to the Equator, the more efficient it is. That's because the Equator moves faster than Earth's poles as the planet rotates, like the outer edge of a spinning record. Launch sites at higher latitudes more easily place satellites into orbits that pass over the poles.

Between 1957 and 2017, 29 spaceports sent satellites or humans into orbit. Many of the sites are still active, including the only three facilities ever to launch humans into orbit. More spaceports are on the way, both public and private. In 2018, the U.S.-New Zealand firm Rocket Labs launched satellites into orbit from its own private launchpad on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula.

Where can I see a rocket launch?

In the United States, NASA's Kennedy Space Center regularly offers access to visitors . NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia also allows launch viewing from its visitor center. The European Space Agency's spaceport in French Guiana is open to visitors , but the agency encourages travelers to plan ahead. Tourists can visit Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome, the storied home of the Soviet and Russian space programs, but only by booking a tour. The facility remains closely guarded . ( See pictures of the villages near Russia's Plesetsk Cosmodrome, where salvaging discarded rockets is a way of life .)

If you can't visit a spaceport in person, never fear: Many public space agencies and private companies offer online livestreams of their launches .

Related Topics

• SPACE EXPLORATION

Second SpaceX megarocket launch ends with another explosion. What happens next?

U.S. returns to the moon as NASA's Odysseus successfully touches down

Humans are about to explore a metal-rich asteroid for the first time. Here's why.

Why this company sent ancient human fossils into space

Why did India land near the moon’s south pole?

• Perpetual Planet
• Environment
• History & Culture
• Paid Content

History & Culture

• Mind, Body, Wonder
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Your US State Privacy Rights
• Children's Online Privacy Policy
• Interest-Based Ads
• About Nielsen Measurement
• Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
• Nat Geo Home
• Attend a Live Event
• Book a Trip
• Inspire Your Kids
• Shop Nat Geo
• Visit the D.C. Museum
• Learn About Our Impact
• Support Our Mission
• Advertise With Us
• Customer Service
• Renew Subscription
• Manage Your Subscription
• Work at Nat Geo
• Sign Up for Our Newsletters
• Contribute to Protect the Planet

Copyright © 1996-2015 National Geographic Society Copyright © 2015-2024 National Geographic Partners, LLC. All rights reserved

Suggestions or feedback?

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Machine learning
• Social justice
• Black holes
• Classes and programs

Departments

• Aeronautics and Astronautics
• Brain and Cognitive Sciences
• Architecture
• Political Science
• Mechanical Engineering

Centers, Labs, & Programs

• Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL)
• Picower Institute for Learning and Memory
• Lincoln Laboratory
• School of Architecture + Planning
• School of Engineering
• School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
• Sloan School of Management
• School of Science
• MIT Schwarzman College of Computing

Boosting rocket reliability at the material level

Press contact :.

Previous image Next image

The success of the SpaceX Falcon 9 reusable launch vehicle has been one of the most remarkable technological achievements of the last decade. Powered by SpaceX’s Merlin engine, the Falcon 9 booster can be reused over 10 times, with minimal maintenance between flights.

Now there is a new generation of reusable rocket engines and vehicles that promise much larger payloads and greater reuse. Unlike Falcon 9, the 390-foot-tall SpaceX Starship, powered by its new Raptor engines, can land both the booster and the second stage for reuse, thereby further reducing launch costs. Blue Origin has its own next-generation BE-4 engine that will power its 320-foot New Glenn launch vehicle.

“The new class of reusable launch vehicles is likely to transform the space industry by lowering launch costs and improving space accessibility,” says Zack Cordero, the Esther and Harold E. Edgerton Career Development Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT. “This will enable applications such as mega constellations for space-based internet and space-based sensing for things like persistent, real-time CO 2 emissions monitoring.”

Yet, launch failures such as the April 2023 explosion of SpaceX’s Starship prototype suggest that the new designs still have significant reliability issues. In the Starship explosion, about six of the 33 Raptor engines on the boost stage appear to have malfunctioned. In June, Blue Origin’s BE-4 engine exploded during acceptance testing, suggesting the engine suffers from similar challenges.

“People assume that Starship is going to succeed, but that isn’t necessarily true,” says Cordero. “There is a real, underappreciated risk that these new heavy lift launch vehicles will continue to fail unless there are fundamental advances in materials technology.”

The Cordero Lab, based in the MIT Aerospace Materials and Structures Laboratory, has accepted this challenge with a variety of projects that aim to solve the reliability problem at the materials level. Working with partners including NASA, which plans to use Starship for its crewed Artemis missions to the moon, Cordero is leveraging expertise in additive manufacturing (AM), processing science, materials engineering, and structural design. The goal is to reduce the maintenance costs and extend the lifespan for reusable rockets while decreasing the chance of catastrophic failure.

Reusable rocket research is just one of several Cordero Lab projects to address emerging aerospace applications. Cordero is also developing technologies for in-space manufacturing of larger space structures such as solar cells, solar sails, and reflectors, enabled by the greater payloads of heavy-lift reusable rockets. Cordero’s novel manufacturing technique uses plastic deformation to fold metallic feedstock into net-shaped reticulated structures. These structures can then precisely contour a reflector surface using embedded electrostatic actuators.

Bigger reusable rockets = bigger reliability challenges

Unlike traditional, expendable rockets, reusable launch vehicles must integrate components and design elements that allow the vehicles to automatically maneuver for a soft landing. They also require greater thermal protection to withstand extreme aerothermal heating during reentry.

“Propulsion devices need to be designed differently for reusable rockets,” says Cordero. “With reusable liquid propellant rocket engines, you must ensure safe operation over multiple flight cycles and ease off on performance to reduce stress.”

Larger, more powerful reusable rockets make these design additions even more challenging. “SpaceX’s Raptor and Blue Origin’s BE4 engines operate on different power cycles compared to the Merlin engine,” says Cordero. “The new staged combustion power cycles are more amenable to reusability because they lower turbine inlet temperatures to extend the life of turbine hardware. Yet, the new power cycles pose a greater risk of catastrophic failure. Oxygen compatibility and metal fires represent critical challenges.”

Cordero is attempting to strengthen the components that limit the life of a reusable rocket engine, starting with the turbopump that pressurizes the liquid propellant. Other vulnerable components include the thrust chamber in which propellants are burned to create a hot gas, as well as the nozzle through which the gas is exhausted.

Extended wear on turbopumps, chambers, and nozzles does not always end in a catastrophic explosion. Yet, they add to the maintenance and repair costs that are factored into overall launch payload costs.

“There is a wide spectrum of failure behaviors,” says Cordero. “Thrust chambers can start to crack but continue to function. Yet, turbopumps can have more serious issues. There could be a blisk [a type of rotor disc] failure or in the case of oxygen-rich turbopumps, a rub between the rotor and casing. The new engines are also vulnerable to particle impact ignition in which FOD [foreign objects and debris] are accelerated into a surface, igniting the hardware. In a turbopump, these ignition modes can lead to a metal fire and a catastrophic, single-point failure mode that results in the vehicle exploding.”

The growing role of AM in reusable rockets

Additive manufacturing is now widely used in the space industry, including printing parts for launch vehicles with laser power bed fusion printers. “Space is probably the heaviest user of metal AM and is basically dictating technological developments,” says Cordero.

AM is frequently used to print metal propulsion devices such as the small pumps used in gas generator engines. However, it is only selectively used in larger boost stage engines and their turbopumps.

“There is a debate over whether metal 3D printing of large structures is economical,” says Cordero. Yet, improved quality control and qualification protocols have enabled greater use in large, mission critical-flight devices. The next step is developing novel materials that improve reliability.

“We are developing material advances that should enable greater use of AM for larger turbopumps,” says Cordero. “Our technology enables novel designs with improved thermal efficiency or resilience against high temperatures or rapid thermal transients.”

One critical challenge for full-flow staged combustion (Raptor) and oxygen-rich stage combustion (BE-4) engines is the problem of oxidizer compatibility. “In the turbine and downstream hardware, you often see high-temperature, high-pressure oxygen gas, which can drive metal fires and rapid energetic failure modes,” says Cordero.

One solution is to design a pump with larger clearances in the rotating hardware. Yet because this approach degrades performance, Cordero has chosen another path: using metal AM to create more intrinsically oxygen-compatible materials. “Building oxygen-rich turbopumps with metal AM makes it easier to integrate exotic materials that are more compatible with high-pressure, high-temperature oxygen environments,” says Cordero.

Cordero Lab is pursuing this approach with two projects. The first is developing oxygen-compatible ceramic coatings that protect against particle impact ignition. The second is creating ignition-resistant AM materials that can be printed into complex net shapes to avoid friction ignition.

Toughening up coatings with metallic ductile phases

In the coating project, stationary and rotating components in oxygen-rich turbopumps are coated with an inner ceramic coating that prevents heat transfer to the substrate and protects the metal from high pressure oxygen. “The advantage of coatings is that you can apply them to almost any kind of hardware whether printed, cast, or forged,” says Cordero.

The material improves on current ceramic coatings used in conventional gas turbine designs. “Conventional aero coatings tend to delaminate and break apart under the rapid thermal transients that are typical in rockets,” says Cordero. “In an aero engine, the engine starts up in over a minute, then idles a few minutes before taking off. By contrast, a rocket engine goes to full throttle in a split second. The rapid change from very low to very high temperatures generates incredible stresses that cause conventional coatings to pop off.”

To solve this problem Cordero is using toughened ceramic coatings with embedded metallic ductile phases that suppress delamination via crack bridging. “If cracks develop in the ceramic coating, they are bridged and held in place by metallic inclusions that help it to withstand the thermal transients,” says Cordero.

The Cordero Lab has successfully tested the coatings with typical thermal transients seen in rockets. “Now we are exploring how to apply them to real-world flight hardware and optimize their composition and design for higher turbine inlet temperatures,” says Cordero.

The researchers are collaborating with NASA to investigate the particle impact ignition resistance of the coatings using different thicknesses, particle sizes, and operating conditions. “Our research into fundamental principles of ductile phase toughened environmental barrier coatings should allow us to develop new coatings with chemistries and properties specifically tuned to different applications,” says Cordero. One potential application is to “cover acreage aero-surfaces on hypersonic vehicles.”

Printing friction-resistant alloys

Cordero Lab’s research into ignition-resistant alloys is a collaboration with Aerospace Corp., a nonprofit federally funded R&D center. The lab is investigating the mechanisms that drive frictional ignition, another ignition mode that can lead to metal fires.

Frictional ignition, which “is like striking a match when the match is traveling at 300 meters per second,” is often caused by a rub between the rotor and casing, says Cordero. To reduce the risk, Cordero is designing new printable superalloy materials that incorporate oxide nanoparticles for dispersion-strengthening. Dubbed TGT100, the material “can be printed into complex net shapes and offers best-in-class frictional ignition resistance.”

The burn-resistant material will first be used to print casing and stationary hardware. Cordero has launched a startup called Top Grain Technologies that will commercialize the material, as well as the ceramic coatings.

Cordero has recently begun to investigate how turbopumps could be redesigned using his new materials to achieve extremely long lifespans. “Our goal is to build a turbopump that can endure hundreds of hot cycles before replacing or repairing components,” says Cordero.

Solving the reliability issues of reusable rockets will require expertise in cross-disciplinary subjects that are not typically paired. Toward this end, Cordero recently worked with the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Industrial Liaison Program to launch a new one-week crash course in AM for aerospace engineers.

Cordero has also organized a yearly workshop with collaborators from Aerospace Corp. and Lehigh University that explores materials challenges in reusable rocket engines. “We are bringing together experts from academia, industry, and government to discuss the key technical challenges,” says Cordero.

Beyond education, more collaboration is needed between academics and companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin, says Cordero. “The academics have more time to explore these more fundamental challenges,” he says. “The vision is to bring reliability and reusability of reusable rocket engines up to the standards of aero engines, which would transform the industry.”

Share this news article on:

Related links.

• Zachary Cordero
• Aerospace Materials and Structures Laboratory
• Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Related Topics

• Aeronautical and astronautical engineering
• Spaceflight
• 3-D printing
• Additive manufacturing
• Materials science

Related Articles

3 Questions: Looking to Artemis I for a return to the moon

MIT team places 3rd in materials design competition with novel 3D printable metal

MIT study compares the four largest internet meganetworks

Previous item Next item

More MIT News

The many-body dynamics of cold atoms and cross-country running

Read full story →

Heather Paxson named associate dean for faculty of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

Preparing MIT’s campus for cardiac emergencies

To build a better AI helper, start by modeling the irrational behavior of humans

Researching extreme environments

Advancing technology for aquaculture

• More news on MIT News homepage →

Massachusetts Institute of Technology 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, USA

• Map (opens in new window)
• Events (opens in new window)
• People (opens in new window)
• Careers (opens in new window)
• Accessibility
• Social Media Hub
• MIT on Facebook
• MIT on YouTube
• MIT on Instagram

• Best Space Photos
• Best Telescopes for Beginners
• Best Smart Telescopes
• Best Star Projectors
• Best Telescopes for Astrophotography
• Best Telescopes for Viewing Planets

You might be able to see a NASA research rocket launch tonight

Tonight, NASA will be launching a research rocket from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, and people living in eastern parts of the U.S. and Bermuda may be able to see the rocket on its ascent if they look to the skies at the right time.

A Black Brant XII sounding rocket will be launching just after 8 p.m. ET on Sunday night and will release two clouds of barium vapor to track the magnetic field lines around our planet as part of the KiNet-X mission, or KiNETic-scale energy and momentum transport eXperiment. KiNet-X will look at how energy is passed between regions of space, such as in auroras which are created when particles from space interact with magnetic fields of our atmosphere.

How to watch the rocket launch

The launch of the Black Brant XII could be visible across parts of the U.S. and Bermuda, depending on visibility due to weather. NASA has produced an image showing when the rocket might be visible following its launch at 8:03 p.m. ET on Sunday night. It might even be possible to see vapor being released from the rocket, which will happen between 9 and a half minutes and 10 minutes after the launch time.

• How to watch the final launch of ULA’s mighty Delta IV Heavy rocket
• Watch this Japanese rocket explode just seconds after launch
• How to watch SpaceX Crew-8 launch to the space station tonight

“A four-stage Black Brant XII rocket will be used for the mission that includes the release of barium vapor that will form two green-violet clouds that may be visible for about 30 seconds,” NASA writes, and it also reassures the public that, “The barium vapor is not harmful to the environment or public health.”

If you live elsewhere in the world, or if the weather is cloudy tonight, you’ll still be able to follow along with the mission by watching it online.

NASA will be streaming the launch on the Wallops website , which will show coverage of the launch beginning at 7:40 p.m. ET tonight, Sunday, May 9.

Editors' Recommendations

• SpaceX all set for a record-breaking rocket launch on Friday
• How to watch three crew members launch to the ISS on Thursday
• SpaceX’s stunning Starship photos show launch rehearsal
• How to watch NASA and SpaceX launch a private lunar lander mission this week
• How to watch NASA launch its newest ocean and atmosphere observation satellite tonight
• How to Watch

UPDATE: The launch has now been moved from Wednesday to Thursday. The article below has been updated to reflect the new schedule.

This coming Thursday, January 18, will see the third launch to the International Space Station by private company Axiom, with a European Space Agency (ESA)-sponsored astronaut joining three other crew members.

This year promises a bunch of launches featuring new rockets from a range of operators. Let's take a look at five notable rocket launches that are sure to make headlines over the coming months: ULA’s Vulcan Centaur

The first of these takes place on Monday, January 8, with United Launch Alliance conducting the maiden launch of its brand-new Vulcan Centaur rocket. The 202-feet-tall (61.6-meter) vehicle will launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a mission to become the first to land a privately built lander on the moon.

Jan. 8 LIVE Broadcast: Vulcan Cert-1

A new Vulcan Centaur rocket operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA) is on the launchpad at the Kennedy Space Center as final preparations are being made for what’s set to be a historic mission.

share this!

April 19, 2024

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

fact-checked

trusted source

Two NASA sounding rockets launch from Alaska during solar flare

Two Black Brant IX sounding rockets launched from Poker Flat Research Range in Fairbanks, Alaska, April 17, 2024, during an M-class solar flare for NASA's sounding rocket solar flare campaign.

The first rocket launched at 2:13 p.m. local Alaska time for the Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager (FOXSI) mission that used X-ray vision to observe the sun during the solar flare event by focusing directly on high-energy X-rays.

The second rocket launched at 2:14 p.m. for the High Resolution Coronal Imager, or Hi-C, mission designed to observe a large, active region in the sun's corona. The rockets reached altitudes up to 168 miles (271 km) and were able to successfully observe the solar flare .

Provided by NASA

Explore further

Feedback to editors

European XFEL elicits secrets from an important nanogel

3 hours ago

Chemists introduce new copper-catalyzed C-H activation strategy

Scientists discover new way to extract cosmological information from galaxy surveys

4 hours ago

Compact quantum light processing: New findings lead to advances in optical quantum computing

Some plant-based steaks and cold cuts are lacking in protein, researchers find

Merging nuclear physics experiments and astronomical observations to advance equation-of-state research

Which countries are more at risk in the global supply chain?

The Italian central Apennines are a source of CO₂, study finds

Dramatic burning of royal remains reveals Maya regime change

5 hours ago

Accelerating the discovery of new materials via the ion-exchange method

Relevant physicsforums posts, solar activity and space weather update thread, our beautiful universe - photos and videos, will we ever communicate with extraterrestial life in a reasonable time frame.

17 hours ago

Orientation of the Earth, Sun and Solar System in the Milky Way

Apr 18, 2024

The linear polarization and brightness of pulsars

Recommendations for international research competitions.

More from Astronomy and Astrophysics

Related Stories

NASA observations find what helps heat roots of 'moss' on sun

Apr 17, 2024

NASA sounding rocket instrument spots signatures of long-sought small solar flares

Oct 13, 2017

Strong solar flare erupts from sun

Jan 3, 2024

Image: The sun in 2019

Jan 20, 2020

Proposed NASA mission would investigate where space weather begins

Nov 14, 2017

Sun releases strong solar flare

Jul 3, 2023

Recommended for you

Study suggests Io's volcanoes have been active for 4.5 billion years

10 hours ago

Cosmic rays streamed through Earth's atmosphere 41,000 years ago: New findings on the Laschamps excursion

9 hours ago

Unraveling water mysteries beyond Earth: Ground-penetrating radar will seek bodies of water on Jupiter

13 hours ago

NASA's Juno gives aerial views of mountain and lava lake on Io

Hubble goes hunting for small main belt asteroids

James Webb Space Telescope data pinpoint possible aurorae on a cold brown dwarf

Let us know if there is a problem with our content.

Use this form if you have come across a typo, inaccuracy or would like to send an edit request for the content on this page. For general inquiries, please use our contact form . For general feedback, use the public comments section below (please adhere to guidelines ).

Please select the most appropriate category to facilitate processing of your request

Thank you for taking time to provide your feedback to the editors.

Your feedback is important to us. However, we do not guarantee individual replies due to the high volume of messages.

E-mail the story

Your email address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the email. Neither your address nor the recipient's address will be used for any other purpose. The information you enter will appear in your e-mail message and is not retained by Phys.org in any form.

Newsletter sign up

Get weekly and/or daily updates delivered to your inbox. You can unsubscribe at any time and we'll never share your details to third parties.

More information Privacy policy

Donate and enjoy an ad-free experience

We keep our content available to everyone. Consider supporting Science X's mission by getting a premium account.

E-mail newsletter

Sweden launches research rocket, accidentally hits Norway

• Medium Text

Coming soon: Get the latest news and expert analysis about the state of the global economy with Reuters Econ World. Sign up here.

Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee and Marie Mannes in Stockholm Editing by Tomasz Janowski

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. New Tab , opens new tab

Russian missiles hit the port of Pivdennyi in Ukraine's southern Odesa region on Friday, destroying grain storage facilities and foodstuffs they contained, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other officials said.

World Chevron

US State Dept 'fully expects' to finalize new AUKUS trade exemptions in next 120 days

The U.S. State Department said on Friday it fully expects to finalize new trade exemptions for the AUKUS defense project with Australia and Britain in the next 120 days, signaling a further delay in the move, but offering the prospect of a positive outcome in the project to counter China.

A huge blast rocked a military base used by Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) to the south of Baghdad late on Friday, army sources told Reuters.

North Korea conducted a cruise missile warhead test and test launch of its new anti-aircraft missile in the West Sea of Korea on Friday, the North's KCNA news agency said on Saturday.

InSight’s Rocket Prepares to Launch

The rocket that launched NASA’s InSight lander to Mars in 2018 is seen at Vandenberg Air Force Base, now called Vandenberg Space Force Base.

1920  x  1080

(jpg) (287.98 KB)

• MyU : For Students, Faculty, and Staff

U of M researchers lead NASA’s first solar flare observation campaign

Understanding solar flares can help us react in real time to avoid power grid and communications disruptions

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (04/18/2024) - For the first time, a team of University of Minnesota Twin Cities researchers launched a sounding rocket to study solar flares in real time. The rocket, named Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager (FOXSI-4), is equipped with an X-ray telescope that gathers precise measurements of this solar phenomenon.

A solar flare is a bright burst of light from the sun that can be seen across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Solar flares and their accompanying plasma ejections can cause geomagnetic storms that can have impacts on power grids and communication satellites on Earth. Understanding how these solar flares happen can help us better react in real time to avoid disruptions.

In NASA’s first solar flare observation campaign, the researchers are studying the earliest signature of solar flares. A major challenge is that researchers only had five minutes to collect the data after the FOXSI-4 rocket was launched from the Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska. This kind of effort had never been tried before during a solar flare.

Sounding rockets typically launch from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, but the solar flare campaign required a more flexible launch schedule than that missile range can allow. In Alaska, FOXSI-4 was ready on the launch pad for two weeks, waiting for the perfect opportunity to capture a solar flare.

Once the sounding rocket was launched, they looked at low energy X-rays from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA)’s GOES Satellite. They were able to study live solar flare data at the launch facility to pick the perfect moment to launch their sounding rocket. 

“Hard X-rays are closely linked to the energy release that powers solar flares. There are a lot of questions that go along with this,” said Lindsay Glesener, a University of Minnesota associate professor in the College of Science and Engineering’s School of Physics and Astronomy and lead on this project. “We know that the energy is stored in the magnetic field of the Sun’s corona prior to the event, but we don’t know how the event is kicked off or the details of what happens to the energy after it is released.” 

The energy release happens very early on in a solar flare, so researchers needed to observe the X-rays as close to the start of the solar flare as possible. The goal of this project is to collect meaningful data in that five-minute time period to expand this research to build solar dedicated spacecraft instruments that would observe the Sun for longer periods of time.

“We are conducting this research now because we are in a period of relatively high solar activity, the solar maximum, which means there are a large number of solar flares happening on the Sun,” Glesener said.

A successful launch of FOXSI-4 was completed on April 17, 2024. The team observed a M1.8 flare. According to NASA, solar flares are classified by their strength. The smallest ones are B-class, followed by C, M, and X, the largest. X-ray data was successfully collected, right after the peak of the solar flare. Watch a video of the sounding rocket launch on the Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska Facebook Page .

FOXSI became the first solar-dedicated instrument to observe hard X-rays with focusing optics in 2012. The three previous successful FOXSI sounding rocket launches were aimed at studying the Sun when there was no activity happening. FOXSI-4 is equipped with new technology including high-resolution hard X-ray mirrors to better isolate the many regions of magnetic energy release during flares.

In addition to Glesener, the launch team included University of Minnesota ​​researcher Thanasi Pantazides, postdoctoral student Kris Cooper, and Ph.D. students Yixian Zhang and Marianne Peterson.

This project is a collaboration between the University of Minnesota, the Space Sciences Laboratory at University of California-Berkeley, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, University of Tokyo IPMU, Nagoya University, Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz (FHNW), National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Johns Hopkins University Applied Physical Laboratory.

Read more about the project on the  FOXSI Sounding Rocket research page .

Rhonda Zurn, College of Science and Engineering,  [email protected]

University Public Relations,  [email protected]

Read more stories:

Find more news and feature stories on the  CSE news page .

Related news releases

• High resolution imagery gives new insight into emperor penguin population
• New study is first step in predicting carbon emissions in agriculture
• University of Minnesota selected as NSF Convergence Accelerator Phase 1 awardee for chemical water sensing
• Expert Alert: Iceland earthquakes may be warning of impending volcanic eruption
• Two U of M-affiliated projects named as finalists in NSF Regional Innovation Engine Competition
• Future undergraduate students
• Future transfer students
• Future graduate students
• Future international students
• Diversity and Inclusion Opportunities
• Learn abroad
• Living Learning Communities
• Mentor programs
• Programs for women
• Student groups
• Visit, Apply & Next Steps
• Information for current students
• Departments and majors overview
• Departments
• Undergraduate majors
• Graduate programs
• Integrated Degree Programs
• Additional degree-granting programs
• Online learning
• Academic Advising overview
• Academic Advising FAQ
• Academic Advising Blog
• Appointments and drop-ins
• Academic support
• Commencement
• Four-year plans
• Honors advising
• Policies, procedures, and forms
• Career Services overview
• Resumes and cover letters
• Jobs and internships
• Interviews and job offers
• CSE Career Fair
• Major and career exploration
• Graduate school
• Collegiate Life overview
• Scholarships
• Diversity & Inclusivity Alliance
• Anderson Student Innovation Labs
• Information for alumni
• Get engaged with CSE
• Upcoming events
• CSE Alumni Society Board
• Alumni volunteer interest form
• Golden Medallion Society Reunion
• 50-Year Reunion
• Alumni honors and awards
• Outstanding Achievement
• Alumni Service
• Distinguished Leadership
• Honorary Doctorate Degrees
• Nobel Laureates
• Alumni resources
• Alumni career resources
• Alumni news outlets
• CSE branded clothing
• International alumni resources
• Inventing Tomorrow magazine
• Update your info
• CSE giving overview
• Why give to CSE?
• College priorities
• Give online now
• External relations
• Giving priorities
• Donor stories
• Impact of giving
• Ways to give to CSE
• Matching gifts
• CSE directories
• Invest in your company and the future
• Recruit our students
• Connect with researchers
• K-12 initiatives
• Diversity initiatives
• Research news
• Give to CSE
• CSE priorities
• Corporate relations
• Information for faculty and staff
• Administrative offices overview
• Office of the Dean
• Academic affairs
• Finance and Operations
• Communications
• Human resources
• Undergraduate programs and student services
• CSE Committees
• CSE policies overview
• Academic policies
• Faculty hiring and tenure policies
• Finance policies and information
• Graduate education policies
• Human resources policies
• Research policies
• Research overview
• Research centers and facilities
• Research proposal submission process
• Research safety
• Award-winning CSE faculty
• National academies
• University awards
• Honorary professorships
• Collegiate awards
• Other CSE honors and awards
• Staff awards
• Performance Management Process
• Work. With Flexibility in CSE
• K-12 outreach overview
• Summer camps
• Outreach events
• Enrichment programs
• Field trips and tours
• CSE K-12 Virtual Classroom Resources
• Educator development
• Sponsor an event

Search form

Geophysical institute.

• LIDAR Research Laboratory
• University of Alaska Fairbanks
• Wallops Flight Facility
• Goddard Space Flight Center
• Follow us on Facebook!
• Follow us on Twitter!
• Follow us on Instagram!
• Follow us on YouTube!
• Weather @ Poker
• NOAA Space Weather
• More Space Weather
• Aurora Forecast
• Real Time Optical Data
• Launch Zones (PDF)
• Poker Flat Launch Database
• Launch Archive
• Recovery Program
• HERDER Project
• Emergency Response Checklist (PDF)

"Rockets Over Alaska" Amazon eBook

Welcome to Poker Flat

FREE SUMMER WALKING TOURS ARE BACK ! Please see our Facebook page for dates and information.

Welcome to Poker Flat Research Range – the largest land-based rocket research range in the world and the only high-latitude rocket range in the United States.

Poker Flat Research Range is perfectly located in Interior Alaska. From this site, rockets can launch and fly over the sparsely populated tundra hundreds of miles north of the range with special permission from federal, state and tribal landowners. Additionally, the range is situated beneath the auroral oval – a ring across the circumpolar north where auroras typically occur – providing ample opportunities to continue scientists’ examination of the aurora. Most sounding rocket launches occur between January and March and scientists come from around the world to use the facility for their research projects. Subscribe to launch updates: Text PFRRLAUNCHES to 33222. Follow current activities on Facebook and watch live broadcasts dring the launch window on YouTube @ PokerFlatRR

General Information

Poker Flat Research Range is the world's only scientific rocket launching facility owned by a university. Poker Flat is operated by the University of Alaska's Geophysical Institute under contract to NASA 's Wallops Flight Facility , which is part of the Goddard Space Flight Center . In addition to launching sounding rockets, Poker Flat is home to many scientific instruments designed to study the arctic atmosphere and ionosphere.

Physical Address

Poker Flat Research Range 30 Mile Steese Hwy Fairbanks, AK 99712

Poker Flat Research Range Geophysical Institute 2156 Koyukuk Drive P.O. Box 757320 Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320

Phone Numbers

Our hours are from 8am to 5pm, Monday through Friday, Alaska time. Office: (907) 455-2110 Fax: (907) 455-2120

The following staff are located at Poker Flat and may be reached at (907) 455-2110.

Kathe Rich Range Manager [email protected] 907-455-2103

Bob Valdez Assistant Range Manager [email protected] 907-455-2111

Charlotte Conley Admin Assistant [email protected] 907-455-2110

Tony Tyree Facilities Maintenance Lead [email protected] 907-455-2105

Dave Hill Senior Telecommunications Specialist [email protected] 907-455-2104

Gary Taube Facilities Maintenance [email protected] 907-455-2150

Dr. Don Hampton Chief Scientist - Optical Science Manager [email protected] 907-455-2256

Dr. Rich Collins Poker Flat Research Range [email protected] 907-455-2204

Peter Elstner Recovery Operations Specialist [email protected] 907-347-8589

Contractors

Kevin Abnett, Contractor Optics & Communications Engineer [email protected] 907-455-2251

Latest News

• Three Rockets Launched within Hours Explore Auroras over Alaska
• One Down, 3 to Go … Sounding Rocket Flies in Alaska to Study Auroras
• Cold War Inspired First Launch from Poker Flat
• New Curriculum Connects Aurora, Inupiat Culture
• Cold War inspired the first launch from Poker Flat

Poker Flat Research Range 30 Mile Steese Hwy Fairbanks, AK 99712 office: (907) 455-2110 fax: (907) 455-2120 [email protected]

UAF Address

Poker Flat Research Range Geophysical Institute 2156 Koyukuk Dr. P.O. Box 757320 University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320

Contact and Site Map

[Contact Us](/contact) [Site Map](/sitemap) Copyright © 2014

The  University of Alaska Fairbanks  is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer, educational institution and provider and prohibits illegal discrimination against any individual: Learn more about UA's  notice of nondiscrimination .

Follow us on

(e.g. [email protected])

Remember me

Forgot Password?

• SECRETARY OF DEFENSE LLOYD J. AUSTIN III
• Combatant Commands
• Holiday Greetings Map
• Taking Care of Our People
• Focus on the Indo-Pacific
• Support for Ukraine
• Value of Service
• Face of Defense
• Science and Technology
• Publications
• Storytellers
• Tell Your Story
• Media Awards
• Hometown Heroes

Hometown News

• Create Request
• Media Press Kit

• DVIDS DIRECT

Media Requests

About dvids.

• Privacy & Security
• Copyright Information
• Accessibility Information
• Customer Service

AFRL researchers pave the way to lighter, faster additively manufactured rocket engines

Courtesy Photo | Edgar Felix, Lead Investigator, front and Isaiah Jaramillo, Mechanical Specialist,... ... read more read more

Courtesy Photo | Edgar Felix, Lead Investigator, front and Isaiah Jaramillo, Mechanical Specialist, work on the first-ever, single-block rocket-engine thrust chamber additively manufactured using a process called laser powder directed energy deposition, or DED. DED is an additive manufacturing process in which the device injects metal powder into focused beams of high-power laser in highly controlled atmospheric conditions (U.S. Air Force photo)   see less | View Image Page

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, OH, UNITED STATES

Story by joy a alich  , air force research laboratory.

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFRL) – The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, Rocket Propulsion Division, recently designed, printed, built and hot fired a first-ever, single-block rocket-engine thrust chamber additively manufactured using a process called laser powder directed energy deposition, or DED. “AFRL’s investments in early advanced manufacturing techniques enable us to exploit corners of the design space for rocket engines and enable faster design turnover cycles from a concept in a whiteboard to test & evaluation in the field,” said Dr. Javier Urzay, chief Combustion Devices Branch. DED is an additive manufacturing process in which the device injects metal powder into focused beams of high-power laser in highly controlled atmospheric conditions. “It provides the largest build box volume for thruster hardware to date, capable of printing seven-foot-tall parts. This build box volume is much larger than that obtainable with techniques like the laser powder bed fusion, or LPBF, process. In addition, DED enables an order of magnitude less investment in powder and less material waste. Engineers can also realize alloy blending and transitions in real time for multi-alloy builds to exploit the strength, weight and performance gains of next-generation superalloys,” said Urzay “These unique capabilities allow us to tackle complex engine designs requiring fewer iterations and leveraging shape optimization, lightweight materials, advanced metal alloys and composites, and rapid manufacturing," Urzay said. The AFRL Rocket Propulsion Division, a component of the Aerospace Systems Directorate, is working alongside the U.S. space industry to embed these advanced additive manufacturing processes into robust digital engineering environments. Additive manufacturing works closely with the transition from traditional ways of manufacturing rocket engine hardware to automated manufacturing processes fed by digital environments involving artificial intelligence, machine learning, digital twins, 3D volumetric scanners and computer aided design, or CAD. The multifaceted nature of the digital environment is necessary to manage the printers that produce lightweight thrust chambers, manifolds, injectors, pressure vessels, valves and turbomachinery blades with 3D shapes and internal features that are not easily achievable using traditional methods. “While additive manufacturing offers many opportunities for accelerated production at lower costs, several challenges remain in the way of making this technology widely adopted by the rocket-propulsion industry and government laboratories,” said Edgar Felix, aerospace engineer at the Combustion Devices Branch. AFRL is addressing the unique challenges of producing materials that can withstand the harsh environments in which rocket engines must perform. AFRL experts combine decades of rocket combustion chamber experience with insights into the challenges and opportunities of these new manufacturing techniques and maintain close collaborations with several external organizations that bring unique skills to the table. “This latest breakthrough in additive manufacturing for rocket engines in our branch is one in a series that has been made possible only by forging long-lasting relationships across multiple industrial partners and government organizations, including the AFRL Materials and Manufacturing Directorate and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center,” Urzay said. “Their work is extremely valuable for the nation, and together we are an unstoppable team.” The AFRL Rocket Propulsion Division continues to work on novel techniques for additive manufacturing with the goal of surging capacity in both liquid rocket engines and solid rocket motors.

LEAVE A COMMENT

Public domain  .

This work, AFRL researchers pave the way to lighter, faster additively manufactured rocket engines , by Joy A Alich , identified by DVIDS , must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright .

CONNECTED MEDIA

MORE LIKE THIS

Controlled vocabulary keywords.

No keywords found.

•   Register/Login to Download

DVIDS Control Center

• 404-282-1450
• [email protected]

Web Support

• [email protected]
• 1-888-743-4662
• Links Disclaimer
• No FEAR Act
• Small Business Act
• Open Government
• Strategic Plan
• Inspector General
• Sexual Assault Prevention
• DVI Records Schedule
• DVI Executive Summary
• Section 3103

Rowan Glenn Takes Flight with Undergraduate Research

• by Molly Medin
• April 19, 2024

For Rowan Glenn, applying for the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, or AIAA, Jefferson Goblet Student Paper Award, wasn't top of mind while researching aviation with Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Christina Harvey , who leads the Biologically Informed Research and Design, or BIRD , lab at the University of California, Davis.

So, it was a bit of a surprise when Glenn, a fourth-year mechanical engineering major, found out they had won the prestigious award for aerospace design and structures, typically presented to a Ph.D. student.

"It was a hectic month leading up to our research paper. I got so focused on the presentation about our research that I forgot that I had submitted for the award at all," they said. "I got through the presentation, and then a day later, Christina told me I won an award. I was like, 'I forgot I was doing that.'"

Between preparing to graduate and conducting award-winning research, plus their other obligations as a lead in UC Davis' liquid rocketry club and a machine shop tech at the Diane Bryant Engineering Student Design Center , or ESDC, Glenn is one busy undergraduate, going all in on everything they can.

For their research, Glenn collaborated with Lucas Dahlke, a fellow mechanical engineering major, and Andy Engilis, the curator at the UC Davis Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, to collect data on the wingspan of birds to learn about aviation.

Glenn's team used an infrared and visual light scanner to create 3D models of 18 prepared bird wings, provided by Engilis, across several species. Glenn then adapted these models with a slicing algorithm for 3D printing, which slices a model into layers that the 3D printer prints, to measure the morphology of birdwings by extracting information about the shape of the wings' airfoils, or parts of the wing that create lift.

From there, Glenn compared the aerodynamic characteristics of the airfoils from gliding birds to the airfoils of flapping birds to determine if there were any differences between them. The research showed a statistically insignificant difference in the aerodynamic efficiency of the different airfoils, concluding that further research is needed. 

Glenn will continue this research in collaboration with the University of North Carolina using their larger database of wing scans.

Glenn wasn't initially interested in bird flight research, but kept an open mind when they joined Harvey's lab. That willingness to try anything, coupled with their engineering skills and drive to excel, led to their research being recognized. 

When speaking about undergraduate research and not letting fear limit their opportunities, Glenn said, "You're not going to feel qualified because you're an undergrad. But that doesn't mean you can't do it. It just means you just got to start."

Rocket Science, Literally

Glenn continues to apply that same openness and drive in all aspects of their student life. As the engine lead in the Aggie Propulsion and Rocketry Lab , or APRL, the first liquid rocketry team at UC Davis, Glenn is currently designing their first rocket engine with the club. They will travel to the Mojave Desert to perform a hot fire test on their engine, a huge milestone in the engine's development.  

Another environment Glenn excels in is manufacturing at the ESDC. Glenn works part-time as a machine shop tech, getting more hands-on engineering experience and developing manufacturing knowledge. They maintain and service machines in the shop, train students to use shop equipment and manufacturing techniques and implement new organizational systems for the shop to improve the workflow and functionality of the shop.

Glenn is continually pushing to learn something new and apply maximum effort in all of their roles. They have learned that fear shouldn't stop them from trying out something new, which Glenn believes is a key part of the college experience and finding success.

"The thing I try to remind myself of is, it's not that I'm not finding it hard because I'm not competent enough," said Glenn. "I'm finding this difficult or confusing because the work is difficult and confusing. It's complicated engineering stuff. This work is hard. This is literally rocket science. That's why I'm finding it difficult, not because I'm not good enough to do this."

In their lead role at APRL, they make it a point to teach younger students about their lessons learned in intimidating research labs about fighting imposter syndrome and confidence.

Glenn plans to continue research as an undergraduate student, keep trying new things, and apply to grad school in a few years after graduating and starting work. In winning the Jefferson Goblet Student Paper Award, Glenn found a bit of outside validation that their plan, or lack thereof, is working. 

"I like to joke with my friends that I'm an award-winning aerospace engineer now. I think it has solidified for me that just starting something and seeing what happens is a valid way to get work done." 

Primary Category

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

The sudden rise of AuDHD: what is behind the rocketing rates of this life-changing diagnosis?

Just over a decade ago, autism and ADHD were thought to be mutually exclusive. But in recent years, all that has changed

H e had beaten more than 19,000 applicants for a place at medical school, yet Khurram Sadiq was now bunking off his hospital shifts. The 19-year-old felt inexplicably anxious around strangers on the wards and was hiding from his own patients. During lectures he couldn’t focus on what he was being taught. He deemed himself “a goof, a dunce” in contrast to his peers. Sadiq couldn’t motivate himself to revise for his exams and instead found himself panic reading textbooks in the final days. He passed his undergraduate pre-medical exams by the skin of his teeth. That was 30 years ago. In the decades since, Dr Sadiq has qualified as a consultant psychiatrist, been diagnosed with both autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), specialised in autism and ADHD psychiatry and met hundreds of patients with struggles similar to his. He is now trying to spread what was once an unbelievable message: that both autism and ADHD can coexist in the same person simultaneously. Just over a decade ago, the two conditions were considered to be mutually exclusive, with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, often referred to as “psychiatry’s bible”, stating that the diagnosis of one precluded the existence of the other. This wasn’t revised until 2013. “It led to a fork in the road,” says Dr Jessica Eccles, spokesperson for the Royal College of Psychiatrists. “Not only for clinical practice, but also for research and public understanding of these conditions.” Now some specialists believe that the coexistence of both conditions is not just possible, but frequent. One study by researchers at Duke University found that up to half of people diagnosed as autistic also exhibit ADHD symptoms, and that characteristics of autism are present in two-thirds of people with ADHD. “My clinical experience suggests it’s more than three-quarters in both directions,” adds Dr Eccles. Online, the idea that autism and ADHD can coexist is so widely accepted that it has spawned its own label – “AuDHD” – and a groundswell of people who say they recognise its oxymoronic nature, perpetual internal war and rollercoaster of needs. There are tens of thousands of people in AuDHD self-help forums, and millions more watching AuDHD videos. Some of those videos come from Samantha Stein, a British YouTuber. “The fact that you can have both [autism and ADHD] at the same time is kind of paradoxical in nature,” she admits. “You think: ‘How can you be extremely rigid and need routines and structure, but also be completely incapable of maintaining a routine and structure?’” The 38-year-old started making videos on autism after her diagnosis in 2019, then began covering AuDHD after learning that she also had ADHD. “I realised that autistic adults – especially those who are diagnosed late in life – more often than not seem to have ADHD as well,” says Stein. Her first video on the subject, “ 5 signs you have ADHD and autism ”, has now been viewed more than 2m times.

Some critics like to describe ADHD – and more recently autism – as a “fashionable” diagnosis, a misinformed excuse for life’s struggles. It’s almost inevitable that the new AuDHD label will cause a similar backlash. To see just how misguided this is, we must first understand both autism and ADHD. Both are lifelong neurodevelopmental conditions that affect how people think, perceive the world and interact with others, according to Embracing Complexity , an umbrella group of organisations that research neurodiversity.

Autism and ADHD affect people on a spectrum of severity, both are legally recognised as disabilities, and neither are mental illnesses to be “cured”, although the knock-on effects can lead to mental illness . People who experience ways of thinking that diverge from those experienced by the majority of people are described as “ neurodivergent ”. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is caused by multiple genetic factors that aren’t yet fully understood . Contrary to misconception, autism doesn’t equate to impaired intelligence, and only around half of people with autism also have a co-occurring intellectual disability. According to the National Autistic Society, autism is characterised by social challenges, repetitive behaviours, over- or under-sensitivity to surroundings and highly focused interests. Autism is experienced in a multitude of ways. To empathise with the autistic trait of oversensitivity, for example, imagine that all your senses are amplified . The hum of your fridge is louder, the overhead lights are brighter, your itchy jumper is pricklier. It’s distracting while you’re trying to work, it’s draining to pretend it isn’t bothering you and you become increasingly stressed as a result. “For me, eating in a canteen is like eating in a nightclub for a neurotypical person,” says Jill Corbyn, who is autistic and the director of support organisation Neurodiverse Connection . “It’s unpleasantly loud, it’s going to distract you from your food, it’s anxiety-inducing.” Additionally, some autistic people may find social situations exhausting or overwhelming, or feel incompetent when they’re unable to decipher the subtleties of interpersonal communication, 60% of which is non-verbal . Charli Clement, 23, explains that while a non-autistic person may rehearse parts of a conversation before a date or a job interview, her autism leads her to “script significantly” before even ordering a drink at a bar.

“I try to make sure I’m not doing something that will be perceived as ‘wrong’, so focusing on what the person is saying and what I should be replying is overwhelming,” she says.

Compounding the experience is the feeling many autistic people have that it isn’t “normal” to feel this way and that they must camouflage their discomfort to fit in with the pack. This “masking”, as it’s known, is exhausting, invalidating and can lead to burnout . ADHD is also not fully understood. There’s evidence that the condition, involving an imbalance of neurotransmitters – including dopamine, in the brain – has both genetic and environmental causes. These chemical messengers are responsible for motivation, movement, planning, reward, memory, focus, alertness, impulse control and threat response, among others. People with untreated ADHD, whose reward pathways are therefore more dysregulated, can subsequently experience disordered moods, sleep, eating habits and dysfunction in almost every area of life. Some people with ADHD are like pinballs of external chaos – of lost keys, missed appointments and cluttered homes. Others may appear inattentive, distracted by balls of chaotic thoughts into which they frequently retreat from the world to untangle. ADHD affects people to different degrees. But many say their lives are marred by their brain’s misguided attempts to correct its chemical imbalances . They impulsively dopamine-spike with food, sex, drugs, booze, the internet, people, hobbies and novelty of all shades. “I am a slave to my own brain and it’s tiring,” writes one anonymous person on an ADHD Reddit support group. Another asks: “Do you also feel like a slave to your desires?” She gives the examples of “chasing girls, gambling, chasing men, eating, hobby-hopping, extreme budgeting, falling in love [with] the wrong person, spending extravagantly”.

What frequently underpins the external and internal chaos, according to experts and many ADHDers alike, is a pervasive sense of deep shame and the quiet realisation that their potential in life is not being met .

When autism meets ADHD, it’s a curious form of alchemy, according to those who have both. Sometimes the conditions are in conflict; at other times they’re symbiotic. There is no such thing as a perfect 50/50 split, explains Sadiq, and the brain is often “seesawing” between both conditions. This makes the presentation of AuDHD a distinctive condition in its own right, “completely different from pure ADHD or pure ASD”, he adds.

In his Ted Talk, “When Order and Anarchy Live Together”, Sadiq describes the dualities of the condition: “Silence v noise; structure v chaos; repetition v novelty; caution v risk-taking …” Mattia Maurée, a non-binary composer and host of the AuDHD Flourishing podcast, discovered the AuDHD concept after following separate pieces of advice about autism and ADHD that “just weren’t working for me”. “It was like: ‘No, my life is still really, really hard,’” they tell me from Philadelphia. AuDHD is uniquely “cyclical”, says Maurée, with big bursts of energy followed by a crash. “AuDHDers can also be incredibly creative and innovative, maybe because of that brain hyper-connectivity.” Creativity is cited as the most positive AuDHD attribute by everyone I speak to, along with the subtle pairings of traits that “complement each other in a really nice way”, as Stein puts it. “ADHD gives me a love of novelty and a very creative side. And then autism allows me to focus on a topic that I’m really interested in. All of that allows me to be very self-directed.”

The paradoxes of AuDHD can camouflage each other or – on the surface at least – cancel each other out, which is why some AuDHDers experience missed or incorrect diagnoses. In February, Sadiq saw a patient who had been referred to his NHS clinic for an ADHD diagnosis. He realised 15 minutes into the consultation that the patient was autistic. “If I had no lived experience of autism and ADHD I would have missed it completely,” he says. “I would have diagnosed either social anxiety or a personality disorder.” In spite of his expertise, Sadiq is not formally qualified to make an autism diagnosis, and instead he had to refer the patient on to the autism service within the NHS trust. He believes that psychiatrists specialising in autism should also be trained in ADHD and vice versa, because otherwise “they’re going to be missing a lot”.

It’s not just the medical profession that needs more coordination. Charities such as ADHD UK and the National Autistic Society also work independently from one another. Legislation such as the government-backed The Buckland Review of Autism Employment, which recently called for employers to boost support for autistic people , scrutinises autism provisions but not ADHD ones. ADHD UK is one of many advocacy groups calling for the Autism Act , which legally compels the government to support autistic people, to be widened in scope to include other forms of neurodiversity. Once a correct dual diagnosis is obtained, there are still complications. ADHD can be successfully managed with medication and behavioural coaching, but some autistic people react badly to this medication. Research indicates that stimulants are overall less tolerable for AuDHDers than they are for people with ADHD, according to the global research platform Embrace Autism, with one report finding that side-effects doubled in those with both conditions.

Another quirk of AuDHD treatment is that in some cases, it’s only after “quietening” someone’s ADHD symptoms that their autism traits come to the fore. This is often when people realise their autistic side for the first time, and it could explain why rates of self-reported autism closely follow those of ADHD. The medical professionals I interviewed for this article were emphatic that ADHD medication cannot cause autism. Instead, Dr Eccles says: “It has just changed the balance of symptoms. The balance of masking has changed.” The prevalence of autism was widely believed to be 1% until last year, when a first of its kind study published in the Lancet found the true rate to be more than double that, with at least 1.2 million autistic people in the UK. The prevalence of ADHD in UK adults is around 4% , according to ADHD UK, and assessment waiting lists for both conditions are increasing year on year, with waits of a decade in some parts of the country for ADHD assessment. When naysayers argue that we are in the midst of an overdiagnosis epidemic, charities often point them to the statistics on suicide, and the fact that the ripple effects of ADHD and autism often lead to mental ill-health. Autistic adults without a learning disability are far more likely to die by suicide. In 2022, researchers from Cambridge and Nottingham University, analysing coroners’ inquest records, concluded that a significant number of people who had died by suicide were likely autistic but undiagnosed. Adults with ADHD, meanwhile, are  five times more likely to attempt suicide than their neurotypical peers. Yet AuDHDers have been found to be at even greater risk of suicide than either those with only autism or ADHD, according to an academic study of more than 50,000 people.

For people like Clement, criticism about over-labelling is the least of her concerns. As a teenager she spent time in a psychiatric unit before the nature of her AuDHD was fully realised. “I’d already given myself labels,” she says. “I already thought that I was weird and broken. So having a label that actually made sense and encompassed my experience was so liberating.”

She now works part-time advising psychiatric hospitals on how to ensure their sensory environments are adequate for neurodiverse people.

Other AuDHDers give colourful analogies to describe the epiphany of diagnosis. Before the discovery, I’m told, it’s as if you are trying to fit in and be a horse rather than celebrating the fact that you’re a zebra. It’s like being trapped in a maze in the dark, then suddenly the lights are on and now there’s a way to navigate out.

Stein describes her life as “fundamentally walking parallel to, but never quite included in society”. Her diagnosis, however, “allowed me to look at my life through the lens of far more compassion – as a pretty good autistic person rather than a broken neurotypical person”.

“I think in some ways [AuDHD] can be a very beautiful thing,” she says.

“You just need the right support to be able to access those parts of you. And you need the label to know what the hell is going on in your brain.”

• Health & wellbeing
• Neurodiversity
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Most viewed

Rocket Parts

The systems of rockets.

The study of rockets is an excellent way for students to learn the basics of forces and the response of an object to external forces. In flight, a rocket is subjected to the forces of weight, thrust, and aerodynamics. On this slide, we have removed the outer “skin” so that we can see the parts that make a rocket. There are many parts that make up a rocket. For design and analysis, engineers group parts which have the same function into systems . There are four major systems in a full-scale rocket: the structural system, the payload system, the guidance system, and the propulsion system.

Structural System

The  structural system , or frame, is similar to the fuselage of an airplane. The frame is made from very strong but lightweight materials, like titanium or aluminum, and usually employs long “stringers” which run from the top to the bottom which are connected to “hoops” which run around the circumference. The “skin” is then attached to the stringers and hoops to form the basic shape of the rocket. The skin may be coated with a thermal protection system to keep out the heat of air friction during flight and to keep in the cold temperatures needed for certain fuels and oxidizers. Fins are attached to some rockets at the bottom of the frame to provide stability during the flight.

Payload System

The  payload system of a rocket depends on the rocket’s mission. The earliest payloads on rockets were fireworks for celebrating holidays. The payload of the German V2, shown in the figure, was several thousand pounds of explosives. Following World War II, many countries developed guided ballistic missiles armed with nuclear warheads for payloads. The same rockets were modified to launch satellites with a wide range of missions; communications, weather monitoring, spying, planetary exploration, and observatories, like the Hubble Space Telescope. Special rockets were developed to launch people into Earth orbit and onto the surface of the Moon.

Guidance System

The  guidance system of a rocket may include very sophisticated sensors, on-board computers, radars, and communication equipment to maneuver the rocket in flight. Many different methods have been developed to control rockets in flight. The V2 guidance system included small vanes in the exhaust of the nozzle to deflect the thrust from the engine. Modern rockets typically rotate the nozzle to maneuver the rocket. The guidance system must also provide some level of stability so that the rocket does not tumble in flight.

Propulsion System

As you can see on the figure, most of a full-scale rocket is the propulsion system . There are two main classes of propulsion systems, liquid rocket engines and solid rocket engines. The V2 used a liquid rocket engine consisting of fuel and oxidizer (propellant) tanks, pumps, a combustion chamber with nozzle, and the associated plumbing. The Space Shuttle, Delta II, and Titan III all use solid rocket strap-ons.

The various rocket parts described above have been grouped by  function  into structure, payload, guidance, and propulsion systems. There are other possible groupings. For the purpose of weight determination and flight performance, engineers often group the payload, structure, propulsion structure (nozzle, pumps, tanks, etc.), and guidance into a single  empty weight parameter. The remaining propellant weight then becomes the only factor that changes with time when determining rocket performance.

Thanks for contacting us! We will get in touch with you shortly.