A、The rocket should be inexpensive to construct. B、The rocket is capable of lifting heavy spacecraft into orbit. C、The rocket sh

The great advance in rocket theory 40 years ago showed that liquid-fuel rockets were far superior in every respect to the skyrocket with its weak solid fuel, the only kind of rocket then known. However, during the last decade, large solid-fuel rockets with solid fuels about as powerful as liquid fuels have made their appearance, and it is a favorite layman’s question to inquire which one is "better". The question is meaningless; one might as well as ask whether a gasoline or a diesel engine is "better". It all depends on the purpose. A liquid-fuel rocket is complicated, but has the advantage that it can be controlled beautifully. The burning of the rocket engine can be stopped completely; it can be reignited when desired. A solid-fuel rocket, on the other hand, is rather simple in construction, though hard to build when a really large size is desired. But once you have a solid-fuel rocket, it is ready for action at a very short notice. A liquid-fuel rocket has to be fueled first and can not be held in readiness for very long after it has been fueled. However, once a solid-fuel rocket has been ignited, it will keep burning. It can’t be stopped and reignited whenever desired. Because a solid-fuel rocket can be kept ready for a long time, most military missiles employ solid fuels, but manned space flight needs the fine adjustments that can only be provided by liquid-fuel rocket. It may be added that a liquid-fuel rocket is an expensive device; a large solid-fuel rocket is, by comparison, cheap.