March 16, 1926: The First Liquid-Propellant Rocket Launch
Document Type
Photograph
Date
1926
Keywords
Robert Goddard, rocketry, liquid-propellant rocket, liquid oxygen tank
Description
Photograph of the assembled liquid oxygen tank likely used in Robert Goddard's landmark March 16, 1926 rocket launch. Following December 6, 1925 (the day Goddard achieved the first liquid-fuel rocket to lift its own weight), he realized a successful launch required making the rocket as streamlined and light as possible. Despite working for years to develop pumps and engines for rockets, he would now be relying on the pressure of oxygen evaporated within a liquid oxygen tank.
It is important to note that many sources incorrectly claim that forgoing the pumps and engines is the breakthrough that made the December 6 lift possible, but this is untrue. Goddard writes in both his diary and subsequent reports about using pumps and engines in the December 6 test, as well as the realization that he would need to eliminate them in order to produce a light enough rocket to achieve that first launch.
Following indoor static tests conducted at Clark University in January 1926, Goddard was ready to construct a rocket as light as possible of the purpose of obtaining a successful flight. This liquid oxygen tank was definitely used in the unsuccessful March 6, 1926 test and very likely used on March 16, 1926 (the March 6 failure was not related to the tanks, and no changes or damage were noted). An earlier iteration of the liquid oxygen tank can be seen in Figures 102 and 103.
The top of the tank is more complex than its predecessor because this rocket was built to supply its own back pressure. This was done with the rod noted next to the number 31, and the lever noted next to the number 32. The angle of Figure 110 shows the location of a safety valve (noted next to the number 33) which kept an excess of back pressure from generating. In the finished rocket, this tank was placed above the gasoline tank, with enough space between the two for the alcohol stove.
This photograph was used in Goddard's "Report on the Development of a Liquid Propelled Rocket". This is the first time that photographs of these rocket parts have been made available for online viewing, and together they represent the most granular visual documentation of the March 16, 1926 rocket and its leadup in existence. An excerpt of that report covering everything between December 6, 1926 and March 16, 1926 can be found here.
Photographs were scanned at 400dpi.
Recommended Citation
Goddard, Esther C., "Figure 109: Assembled liquid oxygen tank, March 1926]" (1926). March 16, 1926: The First Liquid-Propellant Rocket Launch. 8.
https://commons.clarku.edu/goddardlaunch/8
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