The First Liquid-Fuelled Rocket
Next: March 16, 2027
Two and a half seconds to space.
The story
Where it comes from
This Story marks the anniversary of 16 March 1926, when the American physicist Robert H. Goddard launched the world's first liquid-fuelled rocket from a relative's farm in Auburn, Massachusetts. Fuelled by petrol and liquid oxygen, the slim rocket, about three metres tall and later nicknamed Nell, rose 12.5 metres, flew for two and a half seconds and came down 56 metres away in a cabbage patch. It was a modest hop, but liquid fuel went on to carry satellites, astronauts and spacecraft to the Moon and beyond.
How it's celebrated
There is no formal observance, but NASA marks the big anniversaries, and its Goddard Space Flight Center is named after him. Clark University, where Goddard taught, has put photographs and papers from the launch online. It is a good day to build a bottle rocket with children, or to watch a launch and remember the cabbage patch where it started.
Did you know
- Goddard's wife Esther photographed and filmed much of his work, including the rocket standing in its launch frame.
- Unusually, Nell had its engine at the top and its fuel tanks below, a layout Goddard thought would be more stable.
- His last launch from Auburn, in 1929, carried a barometer, a thermometer and a camera, and all three were recovered in working order.
Coming up next
- St Patrick's Day · March 17, 2027
- Vanguard 1 Takes Off · March 17, 2027
- Global Recycling Day · March 18, 2027
- Sydney Harbour Bridge Opens · March 19, 2027
- International Day of Happiness · March 20, 2027
- World Storytelling Day · March 20, 2027