[233] 30-pound reducing valve used for filling oxygen and gasoline tanks for first pump test at tower, January 6 1939

Photographer

Esther C. Goddard

Preview

Description

Photograph of a 30-pound reducing valve, used for filling oxygen and gasoline tanks to 30 pounds of pressure for the first pump test at the launching tower, which took place on January 6, 1939.

By 1938, Robert Goddard felt he had covered everything needed for successful high-flying rockets -- except for a turbine that could drive high-speed pumps to force propellants into the chamber. This would define his work over the next several years. This test, P1, was the first in the P-Series of tests Goddard would conduct from January 1939 into October of 1941, consisting of a variety of flight and static tests developing high-speed centrifugal turbine-driven pumps for liquid propellant rockets. P1-P4 used two pump models that had been tested during the preceding months to conduct four proving-stand tests. The results from P1-P4 concluded that a small chamber, or gas generator, producing warm oxygen gas should be developed for a successful turbine. The development of this gas generator would make up tests P5-P12. Ultimately, the P-Series would expose the unsustainability of Goddard's objectives working with large and more complex turbine rockets. Combined with his longtime aversion towards scientific collaboration, and a counterintuitive approach to testing that often emphasized changing several variables at a time, the P-Series saw him biting off more than he could chew. The P-Series of tests can be seen in Reel 9 and Reel 10 of The Goddard Rocket Film Reels.

'The Goddard Rocket Researches: A Photographic Record' is an annotated photo album covering Robert H. Goddard's work and experimentation with rocketry. It was assembled and curated by Esther Goddard sometime after her husband's passing in 1945. Additionally, almost all of the photographs were taken by Esther herself.

Photographs were scanned at 400dpi.

Date Taken

1-1939

Type

image

Genre

photograph

Format

jpg

Keywords

Robert Goddard, rocketry, Roswell, New Mexico, liquid-fuel rockets, pump-fed rockets, turbines, turbine-driven pump, reducing valve

Recommended Citation

Goddard, Esther C., "[233] 30-pound reducing valve used for filling oxygen and gasoline tanks for first pump test at tower, January 6 1939" (1939). The Goddard Rocket Researches: A Photographic Record [Individual Photographs]. 236.
https://commons.clarku.edu/goddardphotographs/236

Rights

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