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Whereas
Tsiolkovsky went from a mere idea into a detailed theory, Goddard
went from theory to research and experimentation. Today, Robert
Goddard is considered the father of modern rocketry for his
experiments in the US (mostly in New Mexico, near Roswel). He was
not always so appreciated, though. During his life Goddard funded
his research with the few grants he could manage, often working
alone with little money and less help. The media often ridiculed
his work, and they nicknamed him the "Moon Man". Few
knew of his work, as it was not fully appreciated until after he
died.
He designed, constructed, tested, and operated
several different rockets. He spent his life trying to build
better and more reliable rockets, experimenting with different
designs and fuel mixtures. He knew that someday people would
travel into space, given more advances in rocket technology. He
is probably best known for his paper "A Method for Reaching
Extreme Altitudes", which was a highly technical paper
demonstrating a rocket's potential to reach space. He built and
flew about 50 rockets of 3 main designs. Some major statistics
about these rockets are
The highest rocket reached an altitude of
almost a mile.
Some were over 6.1m (20 feet) tall.
They used liquid propellant.
Goddard built them almost totally by
himself.
Robert Goddard did much to advance Rocket
technology in his life, and he inspired much more work after him.
He discovered and invented many of the key technologies we use
today in space travel. It is a tragedy that he was little
appreciated during his life, and also that he was ridiculed by
people that did not understand his work.
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