Bob Jacobs Headquarters, Washington, DC (Phone: 202/358-1600) Ed Campion |
March 16, 2001 |
RELEASE: H01-47
NASA Administrator Marks Dr. Goddard's Vision
The following is a statement by NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin regarding the 75th anniversary of Dr. Robert H. Goddard's first successful liquid-fueled rocket launch.
"Once publicly ridiculed for his vision to boldly expand the frontier of space, Dr. Robert Goddard inspired a new generation of explorers on this date in 1926. Dr. Goddard initially expressed interest in rockets in 1899, when he was just 17 years old. By 1915, he had developed the detailed mathematical theory of rocket propulsion and proved rocket engines could produce thrust in a vacuum, making space flight possible.
"Dr. Goddard's first work on rockets made little impression on the scientific community and government leaders. Only through modest subsidies and leaves of absence from his university duties was he able to sustain his lifetime of devoted research and testing.
"At the time of his death in 1945, Dr. Goddard held 214 patents in rocketry, and in memory of this brilliant innovator, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center was established in 1959 in Greenbelt, Maryland.
"Dr. Goddard once said every vision is a joke, until the first man accomplishes it. NASA honors his vision through our continued leadership in aerospace technology and Earth and Space sciences. We work each day to expand knowledge of our planet and its environment, the solar system and the universe. This Agency is committed to future excellence in scientific investigation, the advancement of education, the safe development and operation of space systems, and in providing the inspiration for the next generation of rocket scientists."
Additional information is available on the Internet at: http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/75th/history.htm