VOA科学技术2025--American Inventors: Rocket Scientist Robert Goddard

 

Today rocket launches and space missions are common. But in the early 1900s, space travel seemed like a dream.

One of the most influential¹ people in the field of rocket science was American Robert Goddard.

The American space agency NASA describes Goddard as "the father of modern rocket propulsion."

Robert Goddard once said that "the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow." His scientific work gave hope to many dreams about space travel. He turned some of those dreams into reality.

More than one hundred years ago, Goddard carried out studies and tests of rocket engines.

He developed and flew many rockets that got their power from solid fuels: chemicals that formed a hard substance. In 1925, he made and tested the first rocket engine using a soft chemical fuel. The next year, he successfully launched the world's first liquid-fuel rocket.

Many historians² consider liquid-fuel rocket flight to be as important as the first airplane flight by the American brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright.

Goddard's work proved that machines could travel outside of Earth's atmosphere and into space.

During his early research, he received money and support from the U.S. Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian published several reports about his efforts.

One publication, called "A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes," wrote about his search for ways to send weather recording³ instruments higher than balloons could fly. It described how he developed the mathematical theories for rocket flight.

In that report, Goddard also suggested the possibility of a rocket someday reaching the moon. At the time, there was a big dispute in the press about this claim. Many people thought he was foolish for suggesting something that seemed so impossible.

Many of Goddard's ideas are still used in rocket development. So, in a way, every rocket that flies today could be considered a Goddard rocket.

I'm Bryan Lynn.

Shirley Griffith reported on this story for VOA Learning English. Bryan Lynn adapted it.

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Words in This Story

mission -n. a flight into space aimed at reaching a goal

propulsion - n. a force that pushes something forward

1 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

2 historians   

n.历史学家，史学工作者( historian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Historians seem to have confused the chronology of these events. 历史学家好像把这些事件发生的年代顺序搞混了。
• Historians have concurred with each other in this view. 历史学家在这个观点上已取得一致意见。

3 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。