An equation describing the relationship between a rocket's change in velocity, its exhaust velocity, and the ratio of its initial to final mass, grounded in conservation of momentum for a body that expels mass to accelerate. It is the foundational relation for determining how much propellant a mission requires for a given delta-v, and it explains the practical difficulty of reaching high velocities with chemical propulsion.
Facts
Concept Domain Formulated YearUsually credited to Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, who published it in 1903, though William Moore outlined it as early as 1810 and Robert Goddard and Hermann Oberth obtained the same result independently in 1912 and 1920. Proposed ByIndependently derived and published by Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky in 1903; the equation was earlier outlined by William Moore in 1810 and 1813, and independently rederived by Robert Goddard in 1912 and Hermann Oberth in 1920. 1 Connections
Associated With
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
The equation is named for Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, who derived it in 1903.
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Esnault-Pelterie derived the same rocket equation independently of Tsiolkovsky and Goddard; recorded against the concept entity carrying Tsiolkovsky's name, the atlas's only entity for this equation.
Sources
1. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia FoundationTsiolkovsky rocket equation, History section
The equation is named after Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky who independently derived it and published it in his 1903 work.
- Associated With: Delta-v
- Associated With: Orbital Mechanics
View the Source Wikipedia: Tsiolkovsky rocket equation
Wikimedia FoundationTsiolkovsky rocket equation, lead paragraph section
The classical rocket equation, Tsiolkovsky rocket equation, or ideal rocket equation
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Wikipedia - lead section infobox IPA (respelled to ASCII)
Tsiolkovsky
In Group: Rocket Performance and Propulsion, Lead sentence
The classical rocket equation, Tsiolkovsky rocket equation, or ideal rocket equation is a mathematical equation that describes the motion of vehicles that follow the basic principle of a rocket: a device that can apply acceleration to itself using thrust by expelling part of its mass with high velocity and can thereby move due to the conservation of momentum.
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