- published: 03 Nov 2015
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Jet pack, rocket belt, rocket pack and similar names are used for various types of devices, usually worn on the back, that are propelled by jets of escaping gases (or in some cases liquid water) so as to allow a single user to fly.
The concept emerged from science fiction in the 1920s and became popular in the 1960s as the technology became a reality. The most common use of the jet pack has been in extra-vehicular activities for astronauts. Despite decades of advancement in the technology, the challenges of Earth's atmosphere, Earth's gravity, and the fact that the human body is not designed to fly naturally remain an obstacle to its potential use in the military or as a means of personal transport.
During World War II, Germany conducted late-war experiments by strapping two wearable shortened Schmidt pulse jet tubes of low thrust to the body of a pilot. The working principle was the same as the Argus As 014 pulse jet that powered the Fieseler Fi 103 flying bomb (more popularly known as the V-1 or buzz bomb), though the size was much smaller.[citation needed]