Rocket Man Robert H. Goddard and the Birth of the Space Age

by Clary, David A.

• ISBN13: 9780786887057
• ISBN10: 0786887052
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-08-11
• Publisher: Hachette Books

Summary

More famous in his day than Einstein or Edison, Robert H. Goddard (1882-1945) was the father of rocketry and space flight, launching the world's first liquid-fuel rockets and the first powered vehicles to break the sound barrier. Supported by Charles Lindbergh and Harry Guggenheim, he invented the methods that to this day carry men to the moon and make jet planes fly. Yet he is the forgotten man of space age, ignored by his own government until the Germans demonstrated his priniples in WWII, when they instead usurped his patents. This is the definitive biography.

Author Biography

David A. Clary, former chief historian of the U.S. Forest Service, is the author of numerous books and other publications on military and scientific history. He has served as consultant to several government agencies and teaches history at Eastern New Mexico University at Roswell, where he resides

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS	xi
INTRODUCTION	xv
CHRONOLOGY OF ROBERT H. GODDARD	xix
ABBREVIATIONS USED IN TEXT AND NOTES	xxiii
PROLOGUE JUSTICE FOR BOB GODDARD	1	(4)
ONE: AN VERSARY DAY	5	(16)
HEART OF THE COMMONWEALTH	6	(1)
THE CHERRY TREE	7	(7)
TO FLY AMONG THE STARS	14	(2)
THE HOPE OF TODAY	16	(5)
TWO: SOMETHING IMPOSSIBLE WILL PROBABLY BE ACCOMPLISHED	21	(20)
AS USEFUL A UNIT AS POSSIBLE	22	(6)
THE GENERAL NOTION OF A PLAN	28	(5)
AND EVERYBODY CONNECTED WITH YOU	33	(4)
AN INDELIBLE IMPRESSION ON MY MIND	37	(4)
THREE: SOME FIRST-RATE WORK YET	41	(18)
HE WILL HAVE THE VITALITY TO PULL HIM THROUGH	41	(3)
THE PROBLEM OF RAISING A BODY	44	(7)
TAKE CHANCES, AND DO WHAT WE CAN	51	(3)
IT WAS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO TURN HIM DOWN	54	(5)
FOUR: EXTREME ALTITUDES	59	(22)
I REGARD THE SCHEME AS WORTH PROMOTING	59	(6)
CAN'T YOU SEE THAT THERE'S MILLIONS IN THAT THING FOR YOU?	65	(3)
INDICATIONS ARE THAT SPIES ARE ACTIVE	68	(5)
OFFICIAL INERTIA ONLY OBSTACLE	73	(8)
FIVE: PROFESSOR HAS PERFECTED INVENTION FOR EXPLORING SPACE	81	(22)
I WAS ENTHUSIASTIC OVER THE WAY I HAVE BEEN TREATED	82	(2)
THE IDEAL TYPE OF ROCKET IS, HOWEVER, THE LIQUID-PROPELLANT ROCKET	84	(3)
A METHOD OF REACHING EXTREME ALTITUDES	87	(10)
SHE WOULD CERTAINLY SEE THAT HE WAS CONSTANTLY ENCOURAGED	97	(6)
SIX: THIS FLIGHT WAS SIGNIFICANT, AS IT WAS THE FIRST	103	(20)
HE'D GO AWAY FOR A FEW DAYS OR A WEEK AND HIS CLASSES WOULD BE CANCELED	104	(3)
THIS HAS BEEN DISTINCTLY AN AMERICAN PIECE OF WORK	107	(5)
HOPE THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY SEND A ROCKET UP INTO THE AIR	112	(7)
I THINK I'LL GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!	119	(4)
SEVEN: NELL	123	(24)
IT IS PHYSICALLY POSSIBLE TO SEND A ROCKET TO THE MOON	124	(3)
UNTIL YOU GET A GOOD HIGH FLIGHT I DO NOT CONSIDER YOUR ROCKET DEVELOPED	127	(6)
MAN IN MOON SCARED GREEN	133	(5)
IN THE FIELD OF AVIATION THEY WERE WAY BEYOND THEIR TIME	138	(9)
EIGHT: THE GREAT ADVENTURE IN NEW MEXICO	147	(20)
LEAVE THE GATES AS YOU FIND THEM	148	(7)
COME AND SEE GODDARD THE MAN WHENEVER YOU FEEL LIKE IT	155	(3)
SEND ME A REPORT OF PROGRESS SO THAT I COULD HAVE A LITTLE NEWS TO GIVE HER	158	(5)
HUMANITY AMONG THE FACULTY	163	(4)
NINE: HE WAS A HOBBYIST	167	(22)
I WONDER WHAT IS HAPPENING	168	(1)
FLYING COUPLE VISIT WITH DR. GODDARD	169	(7)
HIS MANY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE WOULD HAVE HAD A STRONG INFLUENCE	176	(5)
THE MOST THRILLING SIGHT I HAVE EVER WITNESSED	181	(8)
TEN: HAVE TO CARRY ON ALONE	189	(22)
NOT SAYING IT WITH FLOWERS, BUT WITH DOLLARS	190	(9)
A BILLOWING RIVER OF FIRE	199	(1)
PROBLEMS REGARDING NATIONAL DEFENSE ARE BEGINNING TO ARISE	200	(7)
IT IS A CASE OF A SQUARE PEG IN A ROUND HOLE	207	(4)
ELEVEN: ONE OF THE PITIES OF THE PRESENT
WAR TIME	211	(1)
BOB NEEDS HOWARD MORE DESPERATELY THAN EVER	212	(5)
THE UNIVERSITY WOULD LIKE TO HAVE MY RESIGNATION	217	(4)
VERGELTUNGSWAFFE	221	(7)
ALMOST SINGLE-HANDED, DR. GODDARD DEVELOPED ROCKETRY	228	(5)
TWELVE: WE HAVE COLLABORATED IN SERVING BOB'S MEMORY	233	(22)
THE PATENTS WERE MY PRIMARY GOAL	234	(8)
EVERYTHING IN OUR POWER TO INFORM THE PUBLIC	242	(5)
THERE ARE STILL SOME TAG ENDS TO DO FOR BOB	247	(6)
HE TOOK HIMSELF TOO SERIOUSLY	253	(2)
EPILOGUE: INTO FIELDS OF THE IMMORTALS	255	(6)
NOTES	261	(38)
BIBLIOGRAPHY	299	(18)
INDEX	317