They were crude, had no steering mechanism, and often blew up before they even got off the ground. Things started to improve in the early 1800's, however, when William Congreve, an English scientist, added a simple guidance system to his gunpowder fired rockets. It wasn't until the early 1900's that the analytical science of rocketry really came into its own. American scientist Robert Goddard studied how much thrust could be obtained from a variety of different fuels. In 1926, he launched the first liquid-fueled rocket from his aunt's farm in Massachusetts, and the space age began.
All rockets operate on the same basic principles of propulsion.
In this activity, you will construct a rocket that is fueled by a seltzer tablet. You will observe what types of chemical changes happen to give it boost. The Plan Pour a tablespoon of water into a film can. Break up two seltzer tablets and place them into the soda bottle. Swish the contents of the bottle around several times and observe what happens to the balloon.