3.3 Four Founders of Modern Rocketry and Astronautics
119
to disclose technical details and problems to the others, which led to many detours,
while the key technologies affecting the rocket performance had not been resolved. In
August 1936, Goddard was visited by Frank Malina, who was then studying rocketry
at California Institute of Technology and whose mentor was the famous HungarianAmerican mathematician and physicist Theodore von Kármán. Goddard declined
to discuss any of his research, other than that which had already been published
in the report, “Liquid-Propellant Rocket Development”. This deeply troubled von
Kármán, and later in the biography, The Wind and Beyond: Theodore von Kármán,
Pioneer in Aviation and Pathfinder in Space, written by Theodore von Kármán and
Lee Edson, he said: “I believe Goddard became bitter in his later years because
he had no real success with rockets, while Aero-jet General Corporation and other
organizations were making an industry out of them. There is no direct line from
Goddard to present-day rocketry. He is on a branch that died. He was an inventive
man and had a good scientific foundation, but he was not a creator of science, and
he took himself too seriously. If he had taken others into his confidence, I think he
would have developed workable high-altitude rockets and his achievements would
have been greater than they were. But not listening to, or communicating with, other
qualified people hindered his accomplishments”. So, Goddard’s achievements in the
liquid rockets had little effect on the later development of rockets in the United States,
and he was quickly surpassed by other rocket research teams.
After the incident of the Attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the United States declared
its participation in the Second World War. Goddard was once transferred to the U.S.
Department of Defense to participate in the development of rocket weapons, but after
all, it was a short time, and his research results had not been applied to the War. Since
the Army declined his offer to develop the rockets for them, Goddard temporarily
gave up his preferred field to work on experimental aircraft for the U.S. Navy. When
the War ended, Goddard was able to inspect captured German V-2 rockets, many
components of which he recognized. Nevertheless, he would not design any more
rockets of his own.
On August 10, 1945, Goddard passed away in Baltimore, Maryland, due to throat
cancer at the age of 63. Goddard’s wife, Esther Christine Kisk, gathered his papers and
worked on securing patents after his death. Many of his original papers containing his
seminal work on rockets can be seen in the Smithsonian Institution Archives. Many
years later, his work was acknowledged by the U.S. government when $1,000,000
settlement was made for the use of his patents. The Goddard Memorial Library at
Clark University was named in his honor. In 1959, NASA’s Administrator announced
the naming of Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) under construction near Greenbelt, Maryland, in commemoration of Robert Hutchings Goddard, the American
pioneer in rocket research. There are also many streets and a park that bear his
name, and the Blue Origin makers have named a reusable launch vehicle for him.
Goddard’s influence and impact continue to be felt throughout our current space
exploration efforts, plus those in the future.
119
to disclose technical details and problems to the others, which led to many detours,
while the key technologies affecting the rocket performance had not been resolved. In
August 1936, Goddard was visited by Frank Malina, who was then studying rocketry
at California Institute of Technology and whose mentor was the famous HungarianAmerican mathematician and physicist Theodore von Kármán. Goddard declined
to discuss any of his research, other than that which had already been published
in the report, “Liquid-Propellant Rocket Development”. This deeply troubled von
Kármán, and later in the biography, The Wind and Beyond: Theodore von Kármán,
Pioneer in Aviation and Pathfinder in Space, written by Theodore von Kármán and
Lee Edson, he said: “I believe Goddard became bitter in his later years because
he had no real success with rockets, while Aero-jet General Corporation and other
organizations were making an industry out of them. There is no direct line from
Goddard to present-day rocketry. He is on a branch that died. He was an inventive
man and had a good scientific foundation, but he was not a creator of science, and
he took himself too seriously. If he had taken others into his confidence, I think he
would have developed workable high-altitude rockets and his achievements would
have been greater than they were. But not listening to, or communicating with, other
qualified people hindered his accomplishments”. So, Goddard’s achievements in the
liquid rockets had little effect on the later development of rockets in the United States,
and he was quickly surpassed by other rocket research teams.
After the incident of the Attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the United States declared
its participation in the Second World War. Goddard was once transferred to the U.S.
Department of Defense to participate in the development of rocket weapons, but after
all, it was a short time, and his research results had not been applied to the War. Since
the Army declined his offer to develop the rockets for them, Goddard temporarily
gave up his preferred field to work on experimental aircraft for the U.S. Navy. When
the War ended, Goddard was able to inspect captured German V-2 rockets, many
components of which he recognized. Nevertheless, he would not design any more
rockets of his own.
On August 10, 1945, Goddard passed away in Baltimore, Maryland, due to throat
cancer at the age of 63. Goddard’s wife, Esther Christine Kisk, gathered his papers and
worked on securing patents after his death. Many of his original papers containing his
seminal work on rockets can be seen in the Smithsonian Institution Archives. Many
years later, his work was acknowledged by the U.S. government when $1,000,000
settlement was made for the use of his patents. The Goddard Memorial Library at
Clark University was named in his honor. In 1959, NASA’s Administrator announced
the naming of Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) under construction near Greenbelt, Maryland, in commemoration of Robert Hutchings Goddard, the American
pioneer in rocket research. There are also many streets and a park that bear his
name, and the Blue Origin makers have named a reusable launch vehicle for him.
Goddard’s influence and impact continue to be felt throughout our current space
exploration efforts, plus those in the future.