Aeropace
This is the point in an orbit closest to Earth
Perigee
These four forces act on an aircraft in steady, level flight
Lift, Weight, Thrust, and Drag
The beeping sound from this satellite kicked off the Space Race
Sputnik
The Earth rotates how many times in a year?
365.25
This planet’s day is longer than its year
Venus
Minimum energy path needed to transfer a spacecraft between two circular orbits
Hohmann Transfer
The “black box” flight recorder is this color
Orange
This space telescope, launched in 2021, uses a massive segmented mirror coated in gold to study the early universe
James Webb Space Telescope
Small pieces of sediment are carried away during this process
Erosion
This moon of Jupiter is the largest in the solar system
Ganymede
This type of nozzle is used in supersonic engines to accelerate flow beyond Mach 1
Convergent-divergent nozzle
The Wright Flyer’s first flight in 1903 lasted this long (duration)
12 seconds
This Mars rover became the first to be accompanied by a flying helicopter
Perseverance
The mass of lemonade before and after freezing does what?
It stays the same
These white lines left by aircraft in the sky are caused by water vapor condensing
Contrails
This type of orbit has the same period as the body it orbits
Geosynchronous (or geostationary) orbit
This aircraft still holds the official airspeed record for a manned jet plane, set in 1976
SR-71 Blackbird
This system on a spacecraft measures acceleration and rotation, allowing it to navigate without GPS
Inertial measurement unit (IMU)
What are the four main layers of Earth
Crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core
This astronaut said “Houston, we have a problem” during Apollo 13
Jim Lovell
This law states that the power radiated by a blackbody is proportional to the fourth power of its absolute temperature
Stefan–Boltzmann Law
This Ohio-born aviator was the first person to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic in 1927
Charles Lindbergh
Spacecraft use this type of control to orient themselves without using propellant, relying on spinning masses
Reaction wheels (or momentum wheels)
This gas makes up most of the air we breathe and what percentage is it
Nitrogen - 78%
In 2008, NASA beamed this Beatles song into space toward the North Star
“Across the Universe”
The rocket equation, which relates velocity change to exhaust velocity and mass ratio, was derived by this scientist
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
This type of airplane can take off and land straight up and down without a runway
VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) aircraft
This rocket engine, used on the Saturn V, remains the most powerful single-chamber liquid-fueled engine ever built
Rocketdyne F-1 engine
What is the difference between a comet and an asteroid
A comet is made of ice and dust, while an asteroid is made of rock and metal
This “parking spot” in space is where the James Webb Space Telescope orbits
L2 (the Sun–Earth Lagrange Point 2)