What rockets and missiles have in common is that they both use the reaction force generated by rocket engines to propel themselves.
A rocket engine is a device that mixes fuel and oxidizer to produce a high-temperature and high-pressure gas, which is then accelerated and discharged through a nozzle, creating backward thrust. The thrust of the rocket engine is directly proportional to the speed and mass of the ejected gas, independent of the surrounding air pressure, so the rocket engine can fly inside and outside the atmosphere.
The fuel and oxidizer of the rocket engine can be divided into two kinds: solid and liquid, the advantages of the solid rocket engine are simple structure, high reliability and convenient storage, and the disadvantage is that the thrust is not adjustable, can not be started many times, and the combustion efficiency is lowThe advantages of liquid rocket engines are adjustable thrust, multiple starts, and high combustion efficiency, while the disadvantages are complex structure, low reliability, and difficult storage.
The difference between rockets and missiles is how they are controlled and what they fly for.
Rockets can be divided into uncontrolled rockets and guided rockets, uncontrolled rockets refer to rockets that are no longer controlled after launch, such as sounding rockets, fireworks, etc.;Guided rockets refer to rockets that can be controlled after launch, such as launch vehicles, missiles, etc.
The missile must have a control system, and the control system refers to the system that can control the flight direction, speed, attitude and time of the missile, including the guidance system, attitude control system, flight control system, etc. The guidance system refers to the system that can make the missile fly along a predetermined trajectory and finally hit the target, including the guidance principle, guidance method, guidance device, etc. The guidance principle refers to the basic principles of missile guidance, such as inertial guidance, infrared guidance, radar guidance, etc.;Guidance methods refer to specific methods of missile guidance, such as command guidance, semi-active guidance, active guidance, etc.;Guidance devices refer to specific equipment for missile guidance, such as gyroscopes, infrared detectors, radar antennas, etc.
Attitude control system refers to a system capable of controlling the attitude angle of a missile, including attitude control.
Principle, attitude control mode, attitude control device, etc. The principle of attitude control refers to the basic principles of missile attitude control, such as aerodynamic force, jet force, reaction force, etc.;The attitude control mode refers to the specific method of missile attitude control, such as tail control, nozzle control, reaction wheel control, etc.;Attitude control device refers to the specific equipment for missile attitude control, such as tail, nozzle, reaction wheel, etc.
The flight control system refers to the system that can control the flight speed, altitude, course and time of the missile, including the flight control principle, flight control mode, flight control device, etc. The flight control principle refers to the basic principles of missile flight control, such as speed control, altitude control, course control, etc.;The flight control mode refers to the specific method of missile flight control, such as constant speed flight, constant altitude flight, constant aviation flight, etc.;Flight control device refers to the specific equipment of missile flight control, such as speed sensor, altitude sensor, heading sensor, etc.
The purpose of the flight of a rocket is to transport various loads, such as spacecraft, scientific instruments, personnel, etc., while the purpose of the flight of a missile is to destroy enemy targets, such as military facilities, systems, personnel, etc.
The uses of rockets and missiles can be divided into military and civilian use.
Military use refers to the use of rocket and missile performance to carry out war or deterrence activities, such as the launch of tactical missiles, strategic missiles, anti-missile missiles, anti-satellite missiles, etc. Civilian use refers to the use of rockets and missiles to carry out scientific research or commercial development activities, such as the launch of artificial satellites, manned spacecraft, space stations, space probes, etc.
On the one hand, rockets and missiles for military purposes can provide a technical basis and experience for rockets and missiles for civilian use, for example, the development of carrier rockets is derived from the development of missilesOn the other hand, rockets and missiles for civilian use can provide technical support and strategic advantages for rockets and missiles for military use, for example, the launch of artificial satellites can provide information and data for missile guidance and reconnaissance.