Rocket Launch Coloring Pages

Rockets work on Newton's third law of motion: for every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction. Burning fuel produces hot gases that shoot downward at tremendous speed, pushing the rocket upward. Rockets need enormous amounts of fuel because most of the weight is actually fuel itself. A space shuttle at launch was about 85 percent fuel by weight.

A rocket is the launch vehicle that provides thrust to escape Earth's gravity and reach space. A spaceship or spacecraft is the vessel that travels through space once the rocket has delivered it there. Think of a rocket as the taxi that gets you to the airport, and the spaceship as the airplane itself.

During launch, rockets accelerate continuously. Within the first minute, they reach speeds of around 1,000 kilometers per hour. To escape Earth's gravity completely and enter orbit, rockets must reach approximately 28,000 kilometers per hour, called orbital velocity. This takes roughly 8 to 10 minutes.

Multi-stage rockets work like shedding a heavy coat. Each stage has its own engines and fuel. Once a stage uses up its fuel, it detaches and falls away, reducing weight. This allows the remaining rocket to accelerate faster using less fuel. The Saturn V moon rocket had three stages stacked on top of each other.

Many nations now have rocket programs. The United States, Russia, China, Japan, and India all regularly launch rockets. Newer spacefaring nations include South Korea and the United Arab Emirates. Additionally, private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin now launch rockets commercially for satellites and astronauts.

Rocket stages that separate typically fall back to Earth and burn up in the atmosphere, or splash into the ocean. Recently, companies like SpaceX have developed reusable rockets that land themselves safely to be used again. The spacecraft payload continues on its mission, whether carrying astronauts, satellites, or scientific instruments into orbit or beyond.