Robert Goddard (1882-1945)
Robert Goddard (Goddard, Robert Hutchings) was the earliest rocket engine inventor in the United States and is recognized as the pioneer of modern rocketry. The father of technology.
Robert Goddard was born in Massachusetts, USA. He began to conduct theoretical research on rocket dynamics in 1909. Three years later, he ignited a solid fuel rocket placed in a vacuum glass container. Prove rockets can work in a vacuum. He began researching liquid rockets in 1920, and successfully launched the world's first liquid rocket on March 16, 1926, at Ward Farm, Massachusetts.
American Goddard longed for a trip to Mars when he was 17 years old. Ten years later Goddard realized that the only vehicle that could achieve this purpose was a rocket. From that moment on, he decided to dedicate himself to the Rockets career. As a child, Goddard showed a special interest and ability in science fiction and machinery. At that time, he was often obsessed with Welsh science fiction novels, such as "Star Wars", and was also obsessed with reading Verne's "From the Earth to the Moon" and other works. In his autobiography, he admitted that these novels greatly stimulated his enthusiasm and imagination. He believes that these novels "completely captured my imagination. Wales's wonderfully realistic psychological descriptions brought things to life, and the possible ways in which they proposed to face miracles always kept me thinking." . After graduating from Worchester Institute of Technology at the age of 24, he entered Clark University to pursue a doctorate. Both institutions are in his home state of Massachusetts. After obtaining his doctorate in 1911, he stayed at the school to teach. During this period, he realized that liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen were ideal rocket propellants. In the following years, he became further convinced that his method would definitely send humans into space. He proved for the first time in the laboratory that thrust can exist in a vacuum, and was the first to mathematically explore the ratio of the energy and thrust of various fuels, including liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, to their weight. In 1919, he published the classic paper "Methods of Reaching Extremely High Altitudes", which ushered in the era of space flight and human flights to other planets. He was the first to develop a rocket engine using liquid fuel (liquid oxygen and gasoline). In 1925, in a small room next to his laboratory, a liquid propellant rocket engine was statically tested. In 1926, it successfully carried out the world's first rocket engine. The first flight of a liquid rocket engine. On the snow-covered prairie of Auburn, Massachusetts, Goddard launched the first liquid rocket in human history. The rocket is about 3.4 meters long, weighs 4.6 kilograms at launch, and has an empty weight of 2.6 kilograms. The flight lasted about 2.5 seconds, with a maximum altitude of 12.5 meters and a flight distance of 56 meters. This was a remarkable success, and its significance was just as Goddard said: "Yesterday's dream is indeed today's hope and will be tomorrow's reality."
Goddard launched another in 1929 A larger rocket was built. This rocket flew faster and higher than the first one. More importantly, it had a barometer, a thermometer and a camera to film the entire flight. This was the first A rocket carrying instruments. A liquid rocket launched in 1935 exceeded the speed of sound for the first time; in addition, he also obtained patents for rocket vehicle orbital change devices and the use of multi-stage rockets to increase launch heights, and developed rocket engine fuel pumps, self-cooling rocket engines and Other parts. The small-thrust rocket engine he designed was the prototype of a modern small moon landing rocket, and it was successfully launched to an altitude of about 2 kilometers. He has obtained 214 patents in one year.
Goddard's research is extremely short of funds, and the critical public opinion community has not let this rigorous professor go. Reporters from the New York Times laughed at him for not even understanding basic high school physics and fantasizing about traveling to the moon. They called Goddard "The Moon Man." The public, influenced by the press, also expressed doubts and incomprehension about the scientist's work, but this could not shake the tenacious Goddard. The best thing to do was to go his own way, continue his research, and remain silent about the public reaction, knowing full well that the ridicule would not last.
The attention of the press was once again focused on him, at least this time with some words of praise. Unexpectedly, the newspaper reports attracted the attention of Lindbergh, one of the pioneers of American aviation. After personally inspecting Goddard's experiments and plans, he immediately sought to raise $50,000 for Goddard from the Gegenheim Foundation.
This was a real help for Goddard, who was extremely short of funds and in urgent need of experimental design. By this time, Massachusetts was too crowded for Goddard's plans, so in 1930 his family and four assistants moved to Roswell, New Mexico to establish his launch site. By 1941, apart from a brief interruption, he was here engaged in one of the most impressive personal research projects in the history of science and technology.
Goddard's research finally received the attention of the government. After his death, the honors he received reached their zenith. He was posthumously awarded the first Lewis Hill Space Medal, and a major NASA base was named Goddard Space Center in his honor.
Although Goddard successfully launched the world's first liquid rocket, it initially did not attract the attention and support of the US government. Therefore, by the time of his death, US rocket technology was still far behind Germany. . It was not until 1961, after Soviet astronaut Gagarin ascended to space, that the United States published Goddard's full report on liquid rockets over the past 30 years. Later, he was known as the "Father of Rockets" in the United States, and a NASA space flight center was named "Goddard Space Research Center."
But his life was lonely and not understood. Undaunted, the brave Goddard did a lot of work in theory and practice to show people who doubted his vision that the entire future space industry would be based on rocket technology. He is therefore well-deservedly called the "Father of Modern Rockets."
Goddard's life was a rough and heroic life. The reports, articles and copious notes he left behind are a huge treasure. Regarding his work, von Braun once commented: "In the history of rocket development, Dr. Goddard is unrivaled. He is ahead of everyone in the design, construction and launch of liquid rockets. It was liquid rockets that paved the way for the exploration of space. While Goddard was completing his greatest work, those of us who were latecomers to the rocket and space industry were only beginning to take our steps."< /p>
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