Aerospace Legend - Dr. Robert Goddard

1. Aerospace Legend - Dr. Robert Goddard Civil Air Patrol Colorado Wing Boulder Composite Squadron 1Lt Jim Garrard & 1Lt Gail Jergensen Aerospace Education Officers 07 February 2008

2. Aerospace Education Mandate • As part of our Aerospace Education mandate for the Civil Air Patrol, we are presenting programs about individual leaders in aerospace with a particular focus on the named cadet achievements and awards. • This week we will cover Dr. Robert Goddard, Achievement 7 of Phase II (Leadership) in the Cadet curriculum.

3. Dr. Robert Goddard • Born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1882 • B.S. degree in physics from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1908 • M.A. degree from Clark University in 1910 • Ph.D. at Clark in 1911 • Accepted a research fellowship at Princeton University in 1912 • Died August 10, 1945

4. Dr. Robert Goddard • Goddard first obtained public notice in 1907 in a cloud of smoke from a powder rocket fired in the basement of the physics building in Worcester Polytechnic Institute. School officials took an immediate interest in the work of student Goddard. They, to their credit, did not expel him. He thus began his lifetime of dedicated work.

5. Dr. Robert Goddard • Launched the first liquid-fueled rocket on March 16, 1926 in Auburn, Massachusetts. • His journal entry of the event was notable for its laconic understatement: “The first flight with a rocket using liquid propellants was made yesterday at Aunt Effie's farm.” • Launch site is now a National Historic Landmark, the Goddard Rocket Launching Site. • The rocket (dubbed “Nell”) • Rose 41 feet during a 2.5-second flight that ended in a cabbage field. • Important demonstration that liquid-fueled propellants were possible. • Complete rocket is significantly taller than Goddard, but does not include the pyramidal support structure which he grasps.

6. Dr. Robert Goddard • Rocket Ideas • Gyroscopic control • Jet stream vanes to control steering • Gimbal-steering • Power-driven fuel pumps • Relocated to Roswell, NM • Incorporated many of his ideas and launched a more advanced rocket in 1932 • Vanes in rocket motor for guidance • Gyroscopic control • “Liquid Propellant Rocket Development” paper published in 1936 by the Smithsonian • Many ideas incorporated in German V2 program in WWII by Wernher von Braun

7. Dr. Robert Goddard • Military Applications • 1918, 2 days before Armistice, demonstrated basic idea for “bazooka” with Clarence Hickman which led to WWII bazooka. • Rocket work in 1920’s and 1930’s lead to many advances in rocket propulsion. • Volunteered with U.S. Navy in WWII and worked on JATO (jet assisted takeoff) and liquid propellant rocket motors capable of variable thrust.

8. Dr. Robert Goddard • Lindbergh Connection • Lindberg visited Goddard in November, 1929 after Goddard’s rockets gained increasing attention of newspapers. • Mutual interest developed due to Lindberg’s interest in the future of aviation. • Helped secure financing through the Guggenheim family, not an easy feat given the stock market crash in October • Lifelong friendship developed. Photo taken by Lindbergh - 1935

9. Historic Firsts – Dr. Goddard • First explored mathematically the practicality of using rocket propulsion to reach high altitudes and even the moon (1912); • First proved, by actual static test, that a rocket will work in a vacuum, that it needs no air to push against; • First developed and shot a liquid fuel rocket, March 16, 1926; • First shot a scientific payload (barometer and camera) in a rocket flight (1929, Auburn, Massachusetts); • First used vanes in the rocket motor blast for guidance (1932, New Mexico); • First developed gyro control apparatus for rocket flight (1932, New Mexico); • First received U.S. patent in idea of multi-stage rocket (1914); • First developed pumps suitable for rocket fuels; • First launched successfully a rocket with a motor pivoted on gimbals under the influence of a gyro mechanism (1937).

10. Legacy – Dr. Goddard • Goddard crater, on the Moon • The Goddard Space Flight Center, established in 1959 • Awarded 214 patents for his work, 83 of which came during his lifetime. • Hometown of Worcester established the Goddard School of Science and Technology, an elementary school, in 1992. • The Dr. Robert H. Goddard Collection and the Robert Goddard Exhibition Room are housed in the Archives and Special Collections area of Clark University's Robert H. Goddard Library. Outside the library lies a structure depicting the flight path of Goddard's first liquid fuel rocket. • Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Chemical Engineering department in Goddard Hall • Robert H. Goddard High School (9-12) built in Roswell, NM in 1967. The school's mascot is appropriately titled "Rockets.“ • Robert H. Goddard Middle School, Glendora, CA. Mascot is the Titan IIIC missile. • Goddard Middle School in Littleton, Colorado. Nickname is the Vikings. • Robert Goddard Middle School located in Prince Georges County, Maryland. • Congress authorized the issuance of a gold medal in 1959. • The Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program promotion to Cadet Chief Master Sergeant is named after Goddard.

11. References • http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/about/dr_goddard.html • http://capddr.org/documents/u_020604110731.pdf • http://www.cap.gov/documents/Awards_and_Achievements_corrected_2007.pdf Note: Links or references to individuals or companies does not constitute an endorsement of any information, product or service you may receive from such sources.