Evening star., 1937-06-05
LAUDS
SPEED Of ROCKETS
Vast, UnexpIored Prospect
Discussed in Letter to
Prof. Goddard.
By the Associated Press,

WV 0A0 4 EAAt, 10uCc., SdtlVs C,-~Nplt
Charles A. LindberRh predicted today
that commerce must look to the rock
ct II we hope to attain speeds OF trans
port above a few hundred miles an
hour
In letter to President Wallace W.
Atwood of Clark University. read to-
day 1t Clark's commencement exer-
cises, the aviator scientist said rocket
experiments by Prof, Robert H. Cod
dard Of Clark might lead n rocket
enthusiast" to predict 'in An un-
guarded moment that we will
eventually travel at speeds governed
only by the accelerAtion which the
human body can stand"
Lindbergh's letter, written in Eng
land a month ago. pointed out that
from the standpoint Of science the
rocket offers the only known possi-
biiity OF sending instruments to alti-
tudes above those reached by sound
ing balloons. Observations taken out =
side Of the earth's atmosphere, or
even In the higher levels Of the atmos-
phere, would be of immense value in
the study Of such subjects a. astron-
omy, meteorology and terrestrial
magnetism.
Feasible Carriers Of Explosives.
He also pointed out that from the
standpoint Of war we must consider the
fact that rockets may carry explosive
faster than the airplane and farther
than the projectile"
Lindbergh recalled Prof. Goddard S
early experiments with rockets and
Jet propulsion in the Clark labora-
tories, grants from the Smithsonian
Institution and the 1929 grant from
Daniel Guggenheim which permitted
him to devote full time to rocket re-
search on an uninhabited plain near
Roswell, N. Mex
Earlier this week Prof. Goddard
explained that he and his aides at
last had solved = knotty problem OF
parachute construction to permit
bringing the rocket and its delicate
instruments down gently.
He said a gyroscope had solved sta
bilization problems, and the new task
ahead was to streamline and tighten
the projectile to permit its fuel to
carry instruments and q radio trans-
mitter farther.
Col. Lindbergn's letter declared:
The importance Of the rocket lies
in the effect it may have on science
on commerce and on war. An attempt
to estimate its future in these various
fields might well be Iikened to m
attempt to prophesy the future OF
the airplane at the time of Langley
The problems are somewhat similar
and the possibilities as great
Offers Freedom From Air.
"The rocket Is now in that mos
interesting period OF discovery wher,
the shorelines are unplotted and tn,
future limited only by imagination
We cannot state what speeds o.
ranges the rocket may attain, but i
Is not restricted by the rotation Of Al
engine or by dependence on the At
uaosphere. As the airplane gave mar
freedom from the earth, the rocke
offers him freedom from the air.
whether instruments, mail or ex
| plosives can be carried advantageous,
by rockets is 4 question for future
research to decide Sometimes tn
problems Of carrying capacity sne
control seem almost insurnnountable
However, one need Be only III year
of age to have been born when Lang
ley's model first demonstrated tn,
practicability OF mechanical flight ii
| 1896.
"A child born in that year woult
have been old enough to remembe
the discussion Of his parents over th'
| flights Of Wilbur and Orville Wright
He may have been bombed during tn,
World War, have transacted bushes
| by atrmail few years after the Armis
tice. and have celebrated his 40tl
birthday by crossing the Pacific Oceal
| on 2o-ton flying boat. The first hal
Of his lifetime would have spanned thu
transition from the 26-pound aero
drome' Of Langley to the transoceani
airliner.
! WsnAeyy May Lie Ahead.
! If such man went to New Mexico
today he could witness rocket ascent
which would make him wonde
whether the second half OF his hfetim
would Ste a similar development IL
wingIeas flight.
| And II the conservatism Of Prot
Goddard should point out the prob
lens OF carrying capacity, cost An
control, his visitor might well recal
the articles he has read on the i'm
pacticability Of the airplane.
"A rocket enthusiast might bring ou
the fact that rockets we're used to carr
explosives in the beginning OF tn
nineteenth century and that rocke
brigade took part in the Battle o
Waterloo. He could add that letter
have already been carried over shor
distances ~ q dkmonstration.
In an unguarded moment he Nigh
prophecy that We will eventually trave
At speeds governed only by the &c
celera1ion which the human body cal
stand, and that in rocketing betuee1
America and Europe we will aecellerat
hallway across the ocean and de
celerate during the other half. Or, h
might even point his rocket towar
another planet, and without regard +
fuel supply, landing facilities or Pro-
Godo8ro lose himself in iy1keYSfel1n