GODDARD LAUNCHES FIRST LIQUID FUELED ROCKET
Auburn, Massachusetts (JFK+50) On March 16, 1926, Robert H. Goddard* successfully launched the first liquid fueled rocket.
The rocket, fueled by liquid oxygen and gasoline, traveled 2.5 seconds at 60 miles per hour, reached a height of 41 feet and landed 184 feet from point of liftoff.
Robert Goddard became fascinated with space travel when he read "War of the Worlds" by H.G. Wells in 1898. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD is named in honor of the "Father of Rocketry."
JFK+50 NOTE
Robert Goddard gave the valedictorian speech at his high school graduation in 1904. He said...
"The dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow."
*Robert Hutchings Goddard (1882-1945) was born in Worcester, MA & earned his B.S. in Physics at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 1908, MA & PhD at Clark University. RHG was an engineer, professor, physicist and inventor.
