AmericanAmericanBack to Mission Control
| Back to History Page | Back to Pre-War Rocketry
Back: German | Forward: British
Although there was good progress in America, it achieved less than projects in Russia and Germany. One difficulty American pocket pioneers had to deal with was the fact that Goddard was not involved much with other projects besides his own. His seclusive nature was mostly due to public ridicule, which was unusually strong in the U.S.. He was not even present when many rocketry experimenters met in Newark, New Jersey to found the American Interplanetary Society on the twenty-first of March, 1934.
In the early years of rocketry, the American Interplanetary Society was the most important rocketry society in America. When they founded at, they elected David Lesser be the society's 1st president. Their newsletter, "The Bulletin", probably changed its name over the years more than any other paper. In 1941, it changed its name into the American Rockets Society. Just like Goddard's behavior, this was also mainly caused by intense public ridicule.
After a visit to the German VfR's rocket field, and an article on the Mirak series of rockets was published, American rocket experimenters were inspired to build a series of rockets of their own. The first rockets built, although just versions of the German Repulsors, were so modified that they were rockets of their own type. For rocket No. 1, a static test on November 12, 1932 showed some problems with the design. Although the static test was successful, the design in to be modified because of two things: the liquid oxygen was far too difficult to load and the fuel tank for the gasoline was too large. From the thrust that the rocket produced and the duration of the test, however, it was calculated that the rocket would have reached an altitude of six miles.
Rockets No. 1 was overhauled after its test, and became rockets No. 2. Its fuel tanks were put closer together, the nose cone was streamlined, and the cooling system was improved. Unfortunately, Rocket No. 2 was destroyed on its first test. The liquid oxygen tank burst before it could get a notable altitude. This was caused because the rocket motor's exhaust heated up the tank, creating large amounts of excessive pressure.
After Rocket No.2's test, there were three designs almost simultaneously created. These were rocket No. 3, rocket No. 4, and rocket No. 5 (Where to they come up with these names? They're so clever!). Rocket No. 5 was never built because its design was so radical. Rocket No. 3 was 5.5 feet tall and eight inches wide, and its fuel consisted of one quart of gasoline and for quarts of liquid oxygen. The rockets itself weighed 20 pounds, and with 60 pounds of thrust, it accelerated with a force of 2 g's. Because of motor inadequacies, the experimenters decided never to flight test rocket No. 3.
Rocket No. 4 was taller and thinner than rocket earlier ones. It used significantly less fuel, only one point of gas and one quart of liquid oxygen. On its first static test, the engine burned out. However, the experimenters did not give up. They replaced the motor and made several modifications to the design. After these modifications, they flight tested the rocket. Although the rocket crashed because the parachutes did not deploy, it gained an altitude of 382 feet, a range of 1,338 feet, and a speed of over six hundred miles per hour.
Besides the American Interplanetary Society, there were many other societies and private experimenters active in rocketry. It was a private experimenter, James H. Wyld who invented the first fully regenitivly cooled rocket engine. This system used its own fuel to cool the reaction chamber, while at the same time the heat from the reaction chamber preheated the fuel, thus improving combustion.
Another private experiment involved two small rocket planes carrying cargoes of mail. In 1936 the two planes launched, but both crashed shortly after with horrible results. Another private experimenter was a midshipman at the United States Naval Academy. His name was Robert C. Truax, and he developed several small liquid propellant rockets. His work led to a wartime Navy sponsored rocket research program at Annapolis. His first engine took him over eight months to build, and after getting permission (with some trouble), he tested it. When it ran, it achieved, although satisfactory, poor combustion. This led to several redesigns, each eventually yielding better results.
Mission
Control
Site Map
Bibliography