The Goddard Rocket Film Reels

Reel 08: L-Series of Tests, May 1936 - August 1938

Type

Video

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Date

1936-1938

Description

The Goddard Rocket Film Reels consists of twelve four-hundred-foot 16mm black-and-white film reels documenting Robert Goddard's experimental work with rockets in Auburn, Massachusetts, Roswell, New Mexico, and Annapolis, Maryland from 1926 through 1945. These reels were restruck in the mid-1960s, which were then digitized several years ago. Some, and very likely all, of these home movies were shot by Robert's wife Esther C. Goddard.

The description for the individual reels 4-8 could not be located, so these reels were grouped to our best estimate. While this video goes significantly longer than the length of one reel, we chose to keep the L series of tests together.

Reel 8 consists of the L-Series of tests by Dr. Robert Goddard in Roswell, New Mexico. Supported by Guggenheim-funded research, Robert and Esther lived in Roswell from 1930 to 1932 and 1934 to 1942. The L-Series were a series of thirty flight tests divided into three sections (A, L1-L7; B, L8-L15; C, L16-L30) which tested ten-inch diameter motors in nitrogen-pressured rockets. Seventeen of these tests were flights tests, while the other thirteen were static tests. The L-Series tackled a range of variables and challenges that came with building larger rockets. The intertitles below note significant flights within the series.

This list of intertitles gives a detailed account of the footage contained in this reel:

L Series of Tests:
(00:05) The staff, 1936-1937
(00:22) Static Test of Liquid Nitrogen Model, May 11, 1936
(00:45) L2
(01:14) L3
(01:30) L4
(01:57) L5
(02:41) L6
(03:05) L7
(03:21) Tests L8 (a-e) Five Static Tests of Various Fuels
(04:51) L10
(05:23) Test L11 with Preliminary Test Where Rocket Became Caught in the Launching Tower
(06:14) Test L12
(07:30) Test of Large Movable Air Vanes, April 22, 1937
(07:58) Test of Retractable Air Vanes, May 19, 1937; taken at sunset. Notice that rocket appears shorthand near end of flight, when nearly overhead. Notice descent of rocket afterward, parachute, at right of end of smoke trail
(09:07) Rocket and cap, after recovery, the next morning
(09:45) Test L16. Test of Steering Movable Tail Piece, July 28, 1937
(10:13) Landing of Rocket. Rocket appears first at upper left center, descending horizontally; then parachute opens; cap with pilot parachute descends later, to the left
(10:34) Cap and rocket, after recovery
(11:06) Movable tailpiece steering with catapult launching. August 26, 1937
(12:51) Test L 18 – Two Starts
(14:54) Test L 21
(16:16) Test L 23
(17:00) Test L 24 – A High-Pressure Static Test
(17:54) Test L 26. A short flight, showing the parachute released at close range
(18:59) Test L 28
(20:30) Tower and rocket after the “twister” of June 15, 1938
(21:09) Flight of August 9, with a N.A.A barograph. At highest point, rocket was almost directly above camera. Notice also descent by parachute

Duration

00:22:13

Genre

home movies

Keywords

Robert H. Goddard, rocketry, home movies, motion picture film, liquid nitrogen, air vanes

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