Abstract
OUR readers who are interested in the development of rocket propulsion, and may have read a review in NATURE of March 14 of a somewhat premature book on the possibilities of using rockets for interplanetary travel, will be glad to hear that an authoritative statement has been issued by the Smithsonian Institution concerning the researches carried out by Dr. Robert H. Goddard, who has been experimenting at Roswell, New Mexico. Dr. Goddard has produced a rocket weighing five pounds which is capable of developing 1,030 horse-power for a period of twenty seconds by the combustion of a mixture of gasolene and liquid oxygen. Difficulties were experienced with the steadiness of direction of the rocket, which is now controlled by gyroscopic means. So far, the rocket has not attained an altitude of more than 7,500 feet, but the altitude has been purposely limited for experimental reasons. It is hoped that it will be possible to develop rockets capable of carrying recording apparatus which will serve as scientific instruments for exploring the upper atmosphere. It is good to hear that such experiments are being carried out, and the sober objectivity of Dr. Goddard's work presents a sharp contrast to the unscientific imagination exhibited by those who seek to direct attention to the advent of interplanetary travel long before the preliminary investigations that might throw light upon its possibility or otherwise have been completed.
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Development of Rockets for High Altitude Exploration. Nature 137, 810 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/137810b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/137810b0