Researched
Tsiolkovsky's Rocket Equation
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky derives (1903) how a rocket's speed depends on its exhaust velocity and fuel fraction, and proposes staging and liquid fuels.
Open in the interactive tree →The equation shows why rockets must be mostly fuel and why higher exhaust speed pays off so much. It still defines the limits of every spacecraft design.
Prerequisites
Unlocks
- Hohmann Transfer Orbits1925
- Goddard's Liquid-Fuel Rocket1926
- Liquid-fuel rocket (V-2)1942
- Ion Thruster1998
- Beyond chemical rocketsopenThe rocket equation sets the limit of chemical propulsion