Rockets were originally invented not to send things into space, but to shoot enemies with.
A short tube was filled with gunpowder, closed at one end and attached to a long stick.
As weapons of destruction, these flaming arrows didnt have much impact, but the psychological scarring was remarkable.
From the 13th to the 16th centuries,many developmentsin rocketry took place across Asia and Europe.
In France, Jean Froissart found that more accurate flights could be achieved by launching rockets through tubes.
In late 16th century, a German fireworks maker Johann Schmidlap invented the two-stage rocket to reach higher altitudes.
Rocketry also reached India via the Mongols in the 13th century.
By the mid-14th century Indians were well into rocket warfare.
It was in India where the next significant development took place.
Back then rockets were made of bamboos and wood and were little more than fireworks.
Remarkably, despite centuries of use, nobody had ever perfected a rocket made out of iron.
A cache of Tipu Sultans rockets found in Nagara village of Karnatakas Shivamogga district in July 2018.
Haider Alis son Tipu Sultan continued to expand the use of rocket weapons.
The rockets and musketry from upwards of 20,000 of the enemy were incessant.
No hail could be thicker.
The retreat from Seringapatam was lambasted by the British media.
Tipu Sultans rockets thoroughly impressed the British triggering a vigorous rocket building program back in Britain.
Only a handful of specimens of the Mysore rocketsurvive today.
An intact Mysore Rocket at a Bangalore museum.
