Nasa and SpaceX - Crew Dragon Demo-2 Mission

Yesterday, May 30 2020, Nasa and SpaceX launched Crew Dragon Demo 2 Mission to the ISS. I know this is not a blog about space exploration, but I decided to talk a little about this fact because one of the most important things that powers this two areas is the same - Rockets! The fuel is not the same, but the principle of this milenar technology that started about a thousand years ago is.

The ambitions of conquest the space are not from 50/60 years ago. Early in 1914, Robert Goddard created the world's first liquid fueled rocket (oxygen + gasoline) and made a lot of studies and experiments about high altitude rockets.

Some years later, during the WWII, Wernher von Braun created the A4 Rocket, mostly known as the V2 Rocket, a powerful missile that reached a range of 320km and a velocity of about 5700km/h. After the war, von Braun went to the U.S. and started developing ballistic missiles and finally was joined NASA, contributting to the creation of the Saturn V rocket that carried man to the Moon. As a curiosity, the first picture of Earth we have from Space was taken onboard a V2 Rocket in 24 october 1946!

Many years passed until our days and many things have evolved in the context of Space Exploration, some travels to the moon, the ISS, the Space Shuttle spacecraft and hundreads of satellites deployed to our skies but yesterday we made history again with the liftoff of the first private company made rocket (SpaceX Falcon-9) successfully carrying humans to the Space aboard the Crew Dragon!

Picture from the SpaceX's Twitter account.

Even though it's a very ancient technology, Rockets are still powering the humanity to reach it's highest dreams!

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Heavy smoke in Copacabana Fireworks Show

Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is famous for it's huge and beautiful fireworks show every year. But last New Years Eve (2024 - 2025), many viewers were disappointed with the show because of a heavy smoke cloud that overshadowed the beauty of the spectacle right after the first 2 minutes. But what was the reason of so much smoke? We all know that almost any kind of firework cause lots of smoke. Many people think the problem was caused by the quality of the products, but the main reason for that was probably the high humidity rate. In Rio de Janeiro, the highest humidity rates occur between december and april. According to INMET (National Institute of Meteorology), the humidity at the moment of the show was around 89% , so this, along with an unfavorable wind, was the main reason for the problem. Below is a picture of the beautiful start of the show: But unfortunately some minutes later: Anyway, with lots of smoke or not, for us that love fireworks it's a...

Japanese vs Chinese Fireworks: A Tale of Two Traditions

The fireworks industries of Japan and China represent two distinct approaches to pyrotechnics, shaped by centuries of cultural heritage, technological innovation, and market dynamics. Historical Origins China is widely recognized as the birthplace of fireworks, with a history dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). In contrast, Japan adopted fireworks later, primarily during the Edo period (1603-1867), developing a unique aesthetic and technological approach. Manufacturing Approaches Chinese Fireworks Industry Dominates global production, accounting for approximately 90% of world fireworks manufacturing Characterized by large-scale, low-cost production Massive industrial clusters in provinces like Hunan and Guangdong Strong export-oriented manufacturing model Focuses on volume and economic efficiency Japanese Fireworks Industry Emphasizes precision, artistic quality, and aesthetic design Smaller-scale production with high-value specialty prod...

Double Voice Cracker

These days I watched a video of a strange fireworks device I have never seen and discovered it's name is " Double Voice Cracker ". Today I will tell you what I have learned about it. Also known as Heaven and Earth or Bing Bong , Double Voice Crackers are a chinese type of firecracker that essentially produces 2 bangs, one in the ground an another in the air. It is like a mortar and shell self contained in a single tube divided in the middle by a clay (or other hard material) plug with a timing fuse. Below is a diagram of a Double Voice Cracker from the book " The Best of AFN II ": Before igniting the fuse, the device must be placed over a hard and flat surface with the lifting charge facing the ground. When the fuse is ignited, the lifting charge explodes and kicks the tube into the air, while igniting the time fuse and finally the report charge explodes in the air. The report charge could be flash powder or any other effect. For more safety ...

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