Fuel require to reach LEO

by Alessandro Thomas

Submitted : Fall 2018

This paper provides and insight into the world of astronomy and rockets. With space travel and the general thought of it is becoming increasingly popular today. I though why not try to calculate the amount of fuel/ Propellant required to Launch a rocket from the earth’s surface to Orbit. The equations and methods used for this were acquired from professional sources (SpaceX and NASA). The rocket equation contains three variables. Given any two of these, the third becomes cast in stone. Hope, wishing, or tantrums cannot alter this result. Although a momentum balance, these variables can be cast as energies. They are the energy expenditure against gravity (often called delta V or the change in rocket velocity), the energy available in your rocket propellant (often called exhaust velocity or specific impulse), and the propellant mass fraction (how much propellant you need compared to the total rocket mass). 
  With the use of Tsiolkovsky rocket equation the amount of fuel required to launch the falcon heavy (into LEO) will be calculated.

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