The Washington herald., 1920-01-12
WOULD SHOOT
Man IN MOON
Scientist Claims Rocket Will
Land Punch Right on
The Jaw.
GOES 40 MILESAMINUTE
Will Overcome Pull Of Earth
After Climbing Six and
One-Half Minutes.

Communication with the moon, II
that satellite should happen to be
inhabited, will be possible by means
Of a multiple charge. high efficiency
rocket invented by Professor Rob-
ert H. Goddard. of Clark College.
Details of the invention were an
nounced yesterday by the Smith
sonian Institution. The efficiency
of rocket depends on the velocity
Of thee jection of the gases due
to the explosion of the propelling
material. Professor Goddard has
brought a 81 per cent increase in
efficiency. and his rocket is capable
OF q speed OF 5000 feet Der sec
ond. The Institutions statement
says:
AN interesting speculation de-
scribcd in the publication arising
from Professor Goddard's work is
Oh the possibility of sending to
the surface Of the dark part OF
the new moon a sufficient amount
Of the most brilliant flash pow
der. which. being ignited on i'm
pact. would be plainly visible in
powerful telescope. This would
be the only way possible OF prov
ing that the rocket had really left
the attraction of the earth. as the
apparatus would never come back
once it had escaped that attraction.
while this experiment would be OF
little obvious scientific value. its sue
cessful trial would be of great gen.
eral interest as the first actual con-
tact between one planet and an
other"
Valuable to Test Air.
The great scientific value of Pro-
lessor Goddard's experiments, it is
pointed out lies in the possibility OF
sending recording apparatus to mod
crate the extreme attitudes within
the earth's atmosphere. The nature
OF the higher levels of the air has
been subject of much speculation
for long time. and the highest level
that has ever been reached with
recording Instruments Is about nine
teen miles. This was accomplished
with a free balloon.
AS the earth's atmosphere ex-
tends some go miles out, there Is at
present a great unknown region.
knowledge of which would greatly
benefit the science of meteorological
research. Weather forecas sting. for in
stance. could be greatly improved, il
these higher regions were known. The
present method of sending up a bal
loon Is uncertain. With Professor
Goddard's new apparatus, which will
go straight up and come straight
down, the whole operation will NOT
consume more than half an hour.
Balloons cannot be depended upon,
because they may descend miles from
their place of ascent. and the Weather
Bureau is compelled to rely on who
ever finds balloon to inform il of
the fact. Many times the finder
pockets the delicate recording ap-
paratus the balloon carries and SAYS
nothing more about it.
$50 Miles i'm sI5 Minutes.
Prof. Goddard's rocket attains its
terrific speed through a series Of ex-
plostve charges that follow one an
other into the exploding chamber,
thereby maintaining tho great initial
velocity. A specially contrived nozzle
permits the rapid discharge of the
gases
The rocket can ascend ~ miles in
SIX and One-half minutes, and to
check a too rapid descent, a small
parachute is provided. Prof Goddard
is now under a grant from the Smith
sonian Institution perfecting the re-
loading mechanism of his rocket. He
is expected to give a demonstration of
his new rocket in a short time.