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  • In this simulation, students set rocket parameters1 before launching to see how high the rocket goes and whether they can launch the payload2.

    Rights: The University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato Published 28 April 2020, Updated 28 April 2023 Referencing Hub media

    Your challenge is to make the rocket go as high as possible and launch the payload 400 km above the ground. You can change rocket parameters like mass3, thrust4 and drag5 before launching to see how they affect how high the rocket goes. But be careful the rocket doesn’t explode!

    You can use the buttons at the top right to pause or change the speed of the animation. For each rocket launch, note the settings and maximum height you achieve. You can share your results too.

    Tips:

    • When choosing a value in the slider boxes for mass, thrust or thrust time, click and drag to set an approximate value, then use the up and down arrows on your keyboard to reach your chosen value.
    • Using minimum mass, maximum thrust and a long thrust-time creates a theoretical simulation rather than realistic simulation. This setting gives the rocket enough kinetic energy6 to escape Earth’s gravity7, which enables the rocket to travel for a very, very long time. The simulation will run for hours, which demonstrates how much easier it would be to launch a rocket if the Earth had no atmosphere8.

    This simulation is modelled on Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket, which costs about US$6 million per launch.

    It is part of the Rocket launch challenge activity.

    1. parameters: Limits of measurement.
    2. payload: The carrying capacity of a craft, usually measured in terms of weight.
    3. mass: The amount of matter an object has, measured in kilograms.
    4. thrust: 1. The force that moves an object forward. For example, the thrust of the engines on an aeroplane keeps it moving through the air. 2. A break in the Earth's crust, across which younger rocks are pushed above older rocks.
    5. drag: Sometimes called air resistance or fluid resistance, drag refers to forces that oppose the relative motion of an object through a fluid (a liquid or gas).
    6. kinetic energy: The extra energy of an object that it possesses due to its motion.
    7. gravity: The force attracting something towards the centre of Earth (or other large mass, like a moon or planet) – the reason that things fall to Earth.
    8. atmosphere: 1. The layer of gas around the Earth. 2. (atm) A non-SI unit of pressure equivalent to 101.325 kPa.
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      parameters

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    2. Limits of measurement.

      thrust

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    4. 1. The force that moves an object forward. For example, the thrust of the engines on an aeroplane keeps it moving through the air.

      2. A break in the Earth's crust, across which younger rocks are pushed above older rocks.

      gravity

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    6. The force attracting something towards the centre of Earth (or other large mass, like a moon or planet) – the reason that things fall to Earth.

      payload

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    8. The carrying capacity of a craft, usually measured in terms of weight.

      drag

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    10. Sometimes called air resistance or fluid resistance, drag refers to forces that oppose the relative motion of an object through a fluid (a liquid or gas).

      atmosphere

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    12. 1. The layer of gas around the Earth.

      2. (atm) A non-SI unit of pressure equivalent to 101.325 kPa.

      mass

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    14. The amount of matter an object has, measured in kilograms.

      kinetic energy

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    16. The extra energy of an object that it possesses due to its motion.