Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-20
AVIATION
BY JOSEPH S. EDdERTON.

CKYROCKETS, without which
no fireworks display ha:
been complete for 10, these
many years, may be the
model for aircraft of the not sc
far distant future, If the dreams
of certain scientists and expert
mentors come true. The way FOL
the rocket-plane is being cleared
in Germany, where actual nlgntS
of this character have been maze
with more or less dubious success
and in this country.
In the United States the chief
champion of the rocket principal
for useful propulsion is Prof. Rob-
ert H. Goddard of Clark Univer-
sity, Worcester, Mass. The Blu
reau of Standards also IS inter-
ested and is making study OF
some of the purely scientific prob
lens raised by the jet system of
propulsion, which is the secret OF
the brief, but glorious flight OF the
skyrocket. Jets, 1t is hoped by
those at work on the rookie b plane
idea, also may be the secret for
not so brief and even more glori-
Gus flights of the airplanes OF to-
morrow.
Few of those generations Of
Americans who, on successive an
niversaries of independence Day,
have marked out the path of some
busting and aggressive skyrocket
have made any effort to apply the
principles of its exquiSitely simple
and effective works" to the
transportation of men and goods,
we are led to believe.
Rocket Action Studied.
When the little rocket bought
from the nearest fireworks stand
in some parts of the country
with legal sanctions ignited and
pops off its handle for the biggest
moment in its hitherto muSty
career, it rises with a fiery hiss,
emitS a booming cough and expelS
its little stars of flaming powder,
to the establishment of NIGHTLY
ing bats, owls and assorted nj c.
tural fowl. Little Johnny is =
lightAsi for the moment, then tucAs
the memory of that particula
rocket into the cubbyhole in his
mind reserved for ancient history
and clamorS for the next burnt
sacrifice. To little Johnny's papa
the rocket, probably seems to say,
in the language of the college
cheer leader: isis, boom, another
IS cents gone to hallelujah, yah,
YAH"
To the mind of Prof. Goddard
a~L atl,Ayc IF h;e ilLx hnNAovor the
rocket has much more to say.
I'm more than Just a :..Ss and
q flash in the night" says the
rocket to Prof. Goddard. IT am
a most efficient example Of the
old get-up-and-go spirit. Look at
me! I've got no complicated mo-
tor, no driving shafts, no gears,
no propellerS, no wheels. I am
Old Man Motion reduced to his
essence. I require no fabrication
and l run my whole career with
out mechanical attention or the
replacement of any parts. am
the simplest piece of transporta-
ton machinery you ever saw. My
mission is to transport into the
air those little powder balls which
become stars when. burst and
give up my life for whoopee. I
am a carrier of goods and how!
Think upon me and get some
where"
Prof. Goddard hearkened to the
siren song of the rocket many
years ago and has been hard at
work for Is years in the develop
ment of the rocket as a useful
carrier for the attainment of ex-
IRENE attitudes. So valuable has
been his work that Daniel Gug-
genheim, who established the
Guggenheim Fund for the Promo
ton of Aeronautics, has made a
grant for continuation Of the ex-
perimental program undertaken
by the Clark University professor.
Began Work in 1912.
Prof. Goddard, according to a
review of his rocket studies sent
here by Clark University officials,
began his present series of expert
mentS in 1928 while at Prince
ton University. The work orig
tnally was carried forward with
assistance from the Smithsonian
Institution and Clark University
and later the Carnegie Institution
of Washington.
The Goddard rocket, 1t is ex-
planned, IL propelled by the thrust
produced by expelled gases ere
ated by igniting powder or by the
combustion of two liquids. 1t
works on the principle Of a shot
gun which shoots gases rather
than shot. Basically it is much
like an ordinary Fourth of July
skyrocket. Propulsion is produced
not by push against the air, but
by recoil due to the gases.
while experiments with powder
rockets have been successful" 1t
is stated in the Clark University
review, indications are that the
liquid propellants are much more
efficient and are capable OF
greater development.
1.-THE rockets used so far have
been very small, but have been
uniformly successful, and Prof.
Goddard feels that the prospects
for improvements are much the
same as those which have been
achieved in aviation since the
original flight by the Wright
brothers, who few only a few feet
in their first plane, but demon
strated conclusively the practical
bility of their idea. No immediate
experiments with large rockets are
contemplated. Prof. Goddard has
experimental for Is years and
expects to continue work for q
number of years on the same
problem"