Centuries before satellites and space programs, an Indian ruler changed the way the world fought wars. His name was Tipu Sultan and his weapon was the world's first iron-cased rocket.

In the spring of 1792, during the Third Anglo-Mysore War, the night skies over Srirangapatna lit up with streaks of flame. From behind the fortress walls, Tipu Sultan's troops launched iron-cased rockets - a revolutionary weapon first developed by his father, Hyder Ali, in the 1760s. Each rocket, packed with gunpowder and mounted on bamboo poles for stability, could soar over 2 kilometres, terrifying British troops with their speed and unpredictability. These "Mysorean rockets," later captured after Tipu's defeat in 1799, inspired Colonel William Congreve in Britain to develop his own versions, marking the b

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