Spaceline: History of Rocketry : Goddard

On November 7, 1918, Robert Goddard demonstrated tube-launched solid propellant rockets. From the article:

"Robert Hutchings Goddard was born on October 5, 1882 in Worcester, Massachusetts. Early in his life, Goddard was inspired by works of science fiction, primarily "War Of The Worlds" by H.G. Wells and "From The Earth To The Moon" by Jules Verne.

In 1902, while a student at South High School in Worcester, Goddard submitted an article entitled "The Navigation Of Space" to "Popular Science News". The article speculated on the possibility of rocketry and space travel.

A second submission to the magazine included speculation on multi-stage spacecraft along the same lines as those envisioned by Tsiolkovsky. Completely independent of Tsiolkovsky, Goddard realized that the reaction principle would provide a foundation for space travel.

But rather than focus entirely on theory, Goddard set out at an early age to become equipped to build and test the hardware he believed was necessary to best demonstrate the reaction principle.

Goddard graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1908, then went on to study at Clark University in Worcester. He received a doctorate of physics at Clark University in 1911 and immediately began teaching physics there.

During his studies at Clark University in 1909, Goddard began to make detailed calculations regarding liquid-fueled rocket engines. Again independent of Tsiolkovsky, he too theorized that a combination of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen would make an ideal propellant.

These theories were refined by Goddard during a year of research and teaching at Princeton University between 1912 and 1913. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Goddard kept detailed records on his research, most of which survive today.

As early as 1914, Goddard received patents for now common rocket components like combustion chambers, exhaust nozzles, propellant feed systems and multi-stage rockets. At about the same period, Goddard began flight tests using gunpowder propelled rockets near Worcester. Some of these rockets reached maximum altitudes of 500 feet.

He requested financial support for rocket tests from the Smithsonian Institution in 1916, and received a $5,000 grant from the organization in January, 1917. High-altitude rocket research was put on hold, however, when the United States entered World War I later that year.

Considered a staunch patriot until his death, Goddard went to work for the Army in 1917 with the goal of designing rockets that would aid in the war effort. The work was conducted in California, and yielded the development of a small, hand-held rocket launcher similar to what was later called the bazooka.

By September, 1918 Goddard had presented the Army Signal Corps with several options for rockets and launchers, the most simple of which could be fired from trenches. The largest version could carry an eight-pound payload a distance of about one mile.

Many of these rockets were successfully demonstrated at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland on November 7, 1918. Goddard presented solid-fueled 5, 7.5 and 50-pound rockets capable of being launched from a 5.5-foot long by 2-inch or 3-inch wide tube.

Although the rockets were available for immediate production, the Army never ordered any since World War I came to a close just a few days after Goddard was able to successfully demonstrate them. Goddard returned to Clark University upon the conclusion of the war."