Rocket Man

Robert H. Goddard and the Birth of the Space Age

By: David A Clary

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Paperback | 11 August 2004 | Edition Number 1

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Paperback
352 Pages

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New edition

Age
13+

Grade
12+

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Now in paperback, the life and legacy of the much-overlooked yet highly influential Robert Goddard--the brilliant, eccentric, and controversial pioneer of the space age. More famous in his day than Einstein or Edison, the troubled, solitary genius Robert H. Goddard was the American 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 devised the methods that carried men to the moon. Today, no rocket or jet plane can fly without his inventions. Yet Goddard is the "forgotten man" of the Space Age. After the Germans launched the V-2 missiles of World War II, the American government usurped his 214 patents and suppressed his contributions in the name of national security, until it was forced to pay one million dollars for patent infringement. Goddard became famous again; monuments and medals raining upon his memory. But his renewed fame soon faded, and Goddard's pivotal role in launching the Space Age has been largely forgotten--until now.

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Engineering & Technology Transport Technology & Trades Aerospace & Aviation Technology Biographies & True Stories Biographies Science, Technology & Medicine Biographies History General & World History Science Science in General History of Science

Other Technologies & Applied Sciences Space Science Mechanical Engineering & Materials Mechanical Engineering Engines & Power Transmission

Acknowledgments	p. XI
Introduction	p. XV
Chronology of Robert H. Goddard	p. XIX
Abbreviations Used in Text and Notes	p. XXIII
Prologue: Justice for Bob Goddard	p. 1
Anniversary Day	p. 5
Heart of the Commonwealth	p. 6
The Cherry Tree	p. 7
To Fly Among the Stars	p. 14
The Hope of Today	p. 16
Something Impossible Will Probably Be Accomplished	p. 21
As Useful a Unit as Possible	p. 22
The General Notion of a Plan	p. 28
And Everybody Connected with You	p. 33
An Indelible Impression on My Mind	p. 37
Some First-Rate Work Yet	p. 41
He Will Have the Vitality to Pull Him Through	p. 41
The Problem of Raising a Body	p. 44
Take Chances, and Do What We Can	p. 51
It Was Almost Impossible to Turn Him Down	p. 54
Extreme Altitudes	p. 59
I Regard the Scheme as Worth Promoting	p. 59
Can't You See That There's Millions in That Thing for You?	p. 65
Indications are That Spies are active	p. 68
Official Inertia Only Obstacle	p. 73
Professor Has Perfected Invention for Exploring Space	p. 81
I Was Enthusiastic Over the Way I Have Been Treated	p. 82
The Ideal Type of Rocket Is, However, the Liquid-Propellant Rocket	p. 84
A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes	p. 87
She Would Certainly See That He Was Constantly Encouraged	p. 97
This Flight Was Significant, As It Was the First	p. 103
He'd Go Away for a Few Days or a Week and His Classes Would Be Canceled	p. 104
This Has Been Distinctly an American Piece of Work	p. 107
Hope That You Will Be Able to Actually Send a Rocket Up into the Air	p. 112
I Think I'll Get the Hell Out of Here!	p. 119
Nell	p. 123
It is Physically Possible to Send a Rocket to the Moon	p. 124
Until You Get a Good High Flight I Do Not Consider Your Rocket Developed	p. 127
Man in Moon Scared Green	p. 133
In the Field of Aviation They Were Way Beyond Their Time	p. 138
The Great Adventure in New Mexico	p. 147
Leave the Gates As You Find Them	p. 148
Come and See Goddard the Man Whenever You Feel Like it	p. 155
Send Me a Report of Progress So That I Could Have A Little News to Give Her	p. 158
Humanity Among the Faculty	p. 163
He was a Hobbyist	p. 167
I Wonder What is Happening	p. 168
Flying Couple Visit with Dr. Goddard	p. 169
His Many Years of Experience Would Have Had A Strong Influence	p. 176
The Most Thrilling Sight I Have Ever Witnessed	p. 181
Have to Carry on Alone	p. 189
Not Saying it with Flowers, But with Dollars	p. 190
A Billowing River of Fire	p. 199
Problems Regarding National Defense are Beginning to Arise	p. 200
It is a Case of a Square Peg in a Round Hole	p. 207
One of the Pities of the Present War Time	p. 211
Bob Needs Howard More Desperately Than Ever	p. 212
The University Would Like to Have My Resignation	p. 217
Vergeltungswaffe	p. 221
Almost Single-Handed, Dr. Goddard Developed Rocketry	p. 228
We Have Collaborated in Serving Bob's Memory	p. 233
The Patents Were My Primary Goal	p. 234
Everything in Our Power to Inform the Public	p. 242
There Are Still some Tag Ends to Do for Bob	p. 247
He Took Himself Too Seriously	p. 253
Epilogue: Into Fields of the Immortals	p. 255
Notes	p. 261
Bibliography	p. 299
Index	p. 317
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Rocket Man

Robert H. Goddard and the Birth of the Space Age

At a Glance

Paperback

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