FIRST STEPS TOWARD SPACE - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

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SMITHSONIAN ANNALS OF FLIGHT
FIGURE 2.—Goddard inserts 3-inch rocket in lightweight tube launcher. Demonstration tests
were made at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, 6-7 November 1918.
ber, one-, two-, and three-inch rockets (launched
from lightweight tubes, see Figure 2), a doubleexpansion
trench mortar, and a multiple-charge
repeating rocket (Figure 3) were demonstrated. 30
Witnesses agreed that the weapons systems showed
great promise. 31 However, the war ended two days
later. National reversion to peacetime activities
stopped further development of these wartime applications
of Goddard's rockets and interest by
the military. 32
Returning to Clark University at Worcester,
Goddard attempted to settle his accounts and wind
up the intensive effort of the past few months.
On 7 April 1919 Goddard wrote suggesting that
publication of the concept of his original high
altitude rockets might be desirable as a Smithsonian
paper. 33 Some highly sensational and irresponsible
newspaper articles on the military work
of Goddard had appeared and it seemed desirable
to set down facts. 34 Abbot replied in the affirmative;
35 Goddard made some modifications to his
manuscript, and it was published by The Smithsonian
in December 1919 with the cautious title "A
Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes." 3e Seventeen
hundred and fifty copies of this 69-page paper
were printed.
Little notice might have been given to the publication
if the Smithsonian had not issued on
11 January 1920 a press release which invited attention
to Goddard's speculations on a shot to the
Moon. 37 This portion of the paper was essentially
an extrapolation of the main techniques described,
and in it the concept of a moon shot was underplayed.
Typically, however, Goddard had made
experimental tests of the minimum quantity of