Born on October 5th of 1882, Robert Goddard would become one of the greatest rocket engineers in history. His most famous success is the worlds first liquid fueled rocket, as well as advancing the theory that such a rocket would allow for a vessel to leave the earth. Today he is known as the father of modern rocketry. Despite his skills and genius he was often ridiculed in the press. One such editorial was published in the New York Times in response to Goddard's statement that rockets could carry meteorological equipment into space.
It is not obvious, however, that the instruments would return to the point of departure. . . .for parachutes drift just as balloons do. And the rocket, or what was left of it after the last explosion, would need to be aimed with amazing skill, and in a dead calm, to fall on the spot whence it started. But that is a slight inconvenience. . . .though it might be serious enough from the [standpoint] of the always innocent bystander. . . .a few thousand yards from the firing line.
[A]fter the rocket quits our air and really starts on its longer journey it will neither be accelerated nor maintained by the explosion of the charges it then might have left. To claim that it would be is to deny a fundamental law of dynamics, and only Dr. Einstein and his chosen dozen, so few and fit, are licensed to do that.
What the New York Times did not know is that Goddard had already successfully tested his theories for propulsion in space. Following that Goddard released a statement and became wary of scientists and the media, especially as he began to fully understand what rockets could to in war time. Goddard's successes and failures were, for the most part, hidden from public view, especially as WWII came into being. As the war ended and American soldiers began to question the German's on the development of the V2 rocket they were surprised to learn that their work was based on that of an American. Goddard, who lived just long enough to view a V2, stated that the German's had in fact stolen his design.
Goddard died of throat cancer shortly after making that statement. In 1969, as man walked on the Moon, the New York Times issued a retraction of their earlier statement. The retaction conclueded with this,
Further investigation and experimentation have confirmed the findings of Isaac Newton in the 17th Century and it is now definitely established that a rocket can function in a vacuum as well as in an atmosphere. The Times regrets the error.
49 years after the first Goddard was finally granted approval by the media. The US Government honored Goddard with a stamp and by naming Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt Maryland after him.
-Professor Walter
It is a huge shame for the American gov't and military of that time to be so closed minded to possible military advances of any type that did not conform with past ideas. Just look what they tried to do with Mitchell when he proved that a battleship could be sunk by aircraft bombing.
Posted by: Irv | 07/09/2010 at 02:00 AM