Robert H. Goddard Research Paper

511 Words2 Pages

Often known as the father of modern rocket propulsion, Robert H. Goddard was an American inventor, engineer, physicist, and professor. He was born in Massachusetts in 1859 and was an only child. Being the child of a farmer, he loved spending time outdoors and observing the sky using a telescope given to him by his father. His love for science was brought about when his father demonstrated how to conduct static electricity on the carpet. However, his fascination for flight was because of balloons and kites and his obsession with space began when he read The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. He even imagined the possibility of creating a device to travel to Mars when he was younger, while climbing a Cherry tree.
Later on in his life, Goddard accepted a part-time job as an instructor at Clark University, which allowed him to further his research on rocketry. He first started experimenting with powder rockets at Clark University but the powder rockets only converted 2% of their fuel to thrust so he then began experimenting with liquid oxygen and liquid fuels. Soon afterward, the cost of his rocket research had become too large to handle with only his part-time position at the university. He began asking potential sponsors for financial aid. …show more content…

This creation leads to the invention of many other rocket weapons used in World War II. Relating to space flight, Robert H. Goddard explored the use of rocket propulsion to reach altitudes as high as the moon in 1912, proved that rockets will work in a vacuum of space and that it doesn’t need air to push against, shot a scientific payload in a rocket flight in 1929, developed a gyro control mechanism for rocket flight in 1932, received U.S. patent for a multi-stage rocket in 1914, developed pumps fit for rocket fuels, and launched a rocket with a motor rotated on gimbals in 1937. (Garner,

More about Robert H. Goddard Research Paper

Open Document