Rocket

A rocket is an object which gains thrust by expelling a hot gas out its aft end. There are two major types of rockets, those using liquid fuel and those using solid fuel, though recently hybrid rockets using a solid fuel and liquid oxidizer have come into use. Rockets have been used since ancient times for both military and scientific use and more recently have been used for space travel.

Warfare

The first rockets were developed several thousand years ago for warfare. The British used them as a primitive bombardment weapon; the line "And the rockets' red glare" in [The Star-Spangled Banner] describes their use in the bombardment of Fort McHenry. They fell out of favor due to advances in more accurate artillery, but during World War II, US Navy pilots began using small wing-mounted rockets to attack Japanese positions. During the Cold War, the United States continuously led the Soviet unuon by as much as a decade in missile development; the Socialists' realization that they were outmatched in weapons technology was a major factor in their eventual collapse. Rockets are now used in all types on military applications, from surface-to-air missiles to air-to-air-missiles to submarine-launched ICBMs.