Why do space rockets take a curved path?

There is something interesting about the path the rocket follows as it moves into space. Instead of moving in a straight line, it takes a curved path. This is not a mistake, and we will see the same thing in every image or video to launch a space rocket.

This may seem illogical to some, where rockets are supposed to go into space, and it would make sense to take a straight path up rather than follow a sloping path because it would reach space faster in that way.

The short answer is that these missiles want to reach orbit around the Earth using as little fuel as possible.

Vertical Takeoff:
The rocket takes its first course vertically at high speed. As it rises, it loses a great deal of fuel due to air resistance. As it will need to ensure sufficient momentum when most of its fuel runs out, it first takes off vertically so as to ensure the passage of the thick part of the atmosphere. The shortest possible distance.

Many people assume that the rockets take off vertically to escape the Earth's gravity and reach space quickly, and although this is not entirely wrong it does not paint the picture clear.

First, it must be understood that space is not far from the Earth. If a hundred kilometers from the ground, you are officially considered "in space" and the US Air Force is considered an "astronaut" if it is flying over eighty kilometers.

So it's not simply that the rocket wants to reach "space," where it can actually reach space using much less fuel, but what most of the missiles want to do is to enter Earth orbit.

The main aim of most missiles is to reach Earth orbit and stay there. In the Earth's orbit, the gravity of the planet is high enough to prevent the missile from drifting into outer space, and it is also low enough that the rocket does not have to burn a large amount of fuel to prevent itself from landing again.

The italic path
To enter orbit, the rocket begins to take a sloping path gradually and then increases its tendency to reach an oval orbit around the Earth. However, achieving a sound orbital path is not easy and comes at the expense of large amounts of fuel that are depleted to achieve a huge horizontal velocity (up to 29,000 kilometers per hour). This technique is called improving the missile's trajectory until it reaches the desired path. "Or" zero gravity curve ".

The technique has two main benefits: first, the missile maintains a very low level or even a zero angle of pressure during the initial stages of climb, which means that it tests less pneumatic pressure.

The second is that the missile benefits from the Earth's gravity instead of its own fuel to change direction. The fuel provided by the rocket is therefore used to accelerate its path horizontally in order to achieve high speed and easier access to orbit.

In short, the rocket must take a guided course shortly after launch if it wants to enter Earth orbit. If it does not, and continues to climb vertically, it will eventually become a point where its fuel runs out, and most likely it will fall back to Earth like a rock.

Source:
https://www.scienceabc.com/nature/universe/why-do-rockets-follow-a-curved-trajectory-while-going-into-space.html