{"id":168623,"date":"2016-03-15T12:34:00","date_gmt":"2016-03-15T16:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?migration=converted-node-381041"},"modified":"2023-07-25T14:48:17","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T18:48:17","slug":"nasa-celebrating-90-years-robert-goddards-rocket-and-the-launch-of-spaceflight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/general\/nasa-celebrating-90-years-robert-goddards-rocket-and-the-launch-of-spaceflight\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA Celebrating 90 Years: Robert Goddard\u2019s Rocket and the Launch of Spaceflight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Ninety years ago, on March 16, 1926, a rocket lifted off \u2013 not with a bang, but with a subtle, quiet flame \u2013 and forever changed the scope of scientific exploration. This event ties directly to the birth of NASA more than 30 years later.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-none \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/recreated-goddard-launch-1976.gif\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1041\" height=\"806\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/recreated-goddard-launch-1976.gif?w=1041\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"A recreation of the first liquid-fueled rocket launch\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" loading=\"eager\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Less than a century ago, astronomers relied entirely on ground-based observations to further scientific study. Today, descendants of that first liquid-fueled rocket provide eyes on cosmic phenomena, unravel mysteries of the early universe, and even take a closer look at what makes our own planet tick.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-none \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/goddard_03161926.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1572\" height=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/goddard_03161926.jpg?w=1572\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"Robert Goddard next to his rocket\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/goddard_03161926.jpg 3297w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/goddard_03161926.jpg?resize=230,300 230w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/goddard_03161926.jpg?resize=768,1001 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/goddard_03161926.jpg?resize=786,1024 786w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/goddard_03161926.jpg?resize=1179,1536 1179w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/goddard_03161926.jpg?resize=1572,2048 1572w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/goddard_03161926.jpg?resize=307,400 307w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/goddard_03161926.jpg?resize=460,600 460w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/goddard_03161926.jpg?resize=691,900 691w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/goddard_03161926.jpg?resize=921,1200 921w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/goddard_03161926.jpg?resize=1535,2000 1535w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1572px) 100vw, 1572px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>None of this would be possible without the experiments of Massachusetts physics professor Robert Goddard, best known for inventing the liquid-fueled rocket. The namesake of NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, he dreamed as early as 1909 of creating an interplanetary vehicle. While he couldn\u2019t achieve that in his lifetime, his inventions in the first half of the 20th century became the engineering foundation for the rockets that first took humans to the moon in the 1960s and for today\u2019s rockets, which look further into space than ever before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prior to Goddard\u2019s experimentation, rockets had not changed much in several centuries. Chinese engineers invented them as war machines in the 13th century, using solid gunpowder as fuel. But Goddard realized that liquid propellants offered a number of advantages over solid-fueled rockets. He began to test rockets fueled by liquid gasoline and liquid oxygen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new design posed a number of challenges. For instance, he had to find a way to mix the fuel with oxygen. Otherwise it wouldn\u2019t burn fast enough to produce the necessary thrust to lift the weight of the rocket. He also had to find a mechanical solution to pressurize the fuel chamber so it would continually feed fuel to the engine. Each solution he found brought with it a new challenge to solve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After nearly 17 years of work, Goddard successfully launched his creation on March 16, 1926.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt looked almost magical as it rose, without any appreciably greater noise or flame, as if it said, \u2018I\u2019ve been here long enough; I think I\u2019ll be going somewhere else, if you don\u2019t mind,’\u201d Goddard wrote in his journal the next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most rockets today use liquid fuels because they provide more thrust per unit of fuel and they allow engineers to time how long the rocket will remain lit more precisely. For example, the Atlas V, on which many NASA missions launch \u2013 such as the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission, which launched in 2015 \u2013 and the Ariane V, on which NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope will launch in 2018, both use liquid fuels in one or more of their stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the course of his career, as well as posthumously, Goddard was awarded more than 200 patents for his inventions, many of which pertained to rocketry. These also included the invention of multistage rockets, which contain multiple fuel tanks and engine segments that can be jettisoned as they are emptied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Goddard\u2019s work didn\u2019t stop there. He continued to improve upon his rocket concepts until his death in 1945. The U.S. failed to recognize the full potential of his work until after his death \u2013 in fact, some of his ideas about reaching outer space were ridiculed during his lifetime. But the first liquid-fueled rocket flight was as significant to space exploration as the Wright brothers\u2019 first flight was to air travel, and 90 years later, his patents are still integral to spaceflight technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more about Robert Goddard, visit:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers\/goddard\/about\/history\/dr_goddard.html\">https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers\/goddard\/about\/history\/dr_goddard.html<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more about NASA Goddard, visit:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/goddard\">www.nasa.gov\/goddard<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ninety years ago, on March 16, 1926, a rocket lifted off \u2013 not with a bang, but with a subtle, quiet flame \u2013 and forever changed the scope of scientific exploration. This event ties directly to the birth of NASA more than 30 years later. Less than a century ago, astronomers relied entirely on ground-based […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":174910,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nasa_hds_core_meta_l10n":"en-US","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_editor":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_contacts":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_topic":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_linked_locations":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_related_articles":[],"hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_id":"","hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_type":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_x":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_y":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_gallery_images":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"news-tags":[],"internal-terms":[],"coauthors":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"NASA Celebrating 90 Years: Robert Goddard\u2019s Rocket and the Launch of Spaceflight","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/general\/nasa-celebrating-90-years-robert-goddards-rocket-and-the-launch-of-spaceflight\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/general\/nasa-celebrating-90-years-robert-goddards-rocket-and-the-launch-of-spaceflight\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/recreated-goddard-launch-1976.gif?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/recreated-goddard-launch-1976.gif"},"articleSection":"General","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"NASA"}],"creator":["NASA"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"NASA","logo":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/themes\/nasa\/assets\/images\/nasa-logo.svg"},"keywords":["General"],"dateCreated":"2016-03-15T16:34:00Z","datePublished":"2016-03-15T16:34:00Z","dateModified":"2023-07-25T18:48:17Z"},"rendered":"<meta name=\"parsely-title\" content=\"NASA Celebrating 90 Years: Robert Goddard\u2019s Rocket and the Launch of Spaceflight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-link\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/general\/nasa-celebrating-90-years-robert-goddards-rocket-and-the-launch-of-spaceflight\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-type\" content=\"post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-image-url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/recreated-goddard-launch-1976.gif?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-pub-date\" content=\"2016-03-15T16:34:00Z\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-section\" content=\"General\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-tags\" content=\"General\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-author\" content=\"NASA\" \/>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/nasa.gov\/p.js"},"read_time":4,"time_ago":"8 years","featured_image":{"id":174910,"file":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/recreated-goddard-launch-1976.gif","title":"recreated-goddard-launch-1976","alt":"A recreation of the first liquid-fueled rocket launch","caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168623"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168623"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":450004,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168623\/revisions\/450004"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168623"},{"taxonomy":"news-tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-tags?post=168623"},{"taxonomy":"internal-terms","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-terms?post=168623"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=168623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}