READING 3 The Father of Modern Rocketry

The Father of Modern Rocketry

Read the following article. Pay special attention to the words in bold. 7.4

When Robert Goddard was 17 years old, he climbed a cherry tree to cut its dead branches. He looked around himself and imagined going into space, maybe even to Mars. The year was 1899.

As a child, Goddard loved to read. He often visited the library to borrow books on physical sciences. He was a sick child and didn’t graduate from high school until he was 21. He later became a physics professor at a university. In his free time, he built rockets and took them to a field, but they didn’t fly.

In 1920, Goddard wrote an article about rocket travel. When the New York Times saw his article, a reporter wrote that Goddard had less knowledge about science than a high school student.

In 1926, Goddard built a 10-foot rocket, put it into an open car, and drove to a field on his aunt’s nearby farm. He lit the fuse1 , and the rocket went into the sky. It traveled at 60 mph to an altitude2 of 41 feet. Then it fell into the field. The flight lasted 2.5 seconds. The U.S. government didn’t show much interest in Goddard’s invention. To continue his experiments, Goddard used his own money and money from private foundations3 .

Over the years, his rockets grew to 18 feet and flew up to 9,000 feet. No one made fun of him after he was successful. In fact, he became known as the father of modern rocketry. He wrote, “The dream of yesterday is the hope of today, and the reality of tomorrow.”

Goddard didn’t live to see space flight. He died in 1945, but his work didn’t stop. Scientists continued to build bigger and better rockets. In 1969, the American rocket Apollo 11 took the first men to the moon. At that time, the New York Times wrote about its 1920 article: “The Times regrets the error.”

Robert Goddard with one of his rocket designs in 1928

1 fuse: a cord that, when lighted, carries a flame 2 altitude: height 3 foundation: an organization that provides money for projects