[268] Working on the nose cone, February 6 1940

Photographer

Esther C. Goddard

Preview

Description

Photograph of the P15 rocket in the launching tower with the nose cone being worked on, February 6, 1940. The actual P15 test would take place February 9th. This was the first rocket flight ever attempted with fuel-fed pumps. Feeling confident about the test's success, Robert Goddard invited his world-famous patron Charles Lindbergh, Harry and Alicia Guggenheim, photographers from National Geographic, and NAA (National Aeronautic Association) observers (hoping to get the flight on official record) to watch. Snow, ice, and rain prevented the test from being performed for ten days following the guests' arrivals. The rocket was in the tower during that time. When they finally performed the test, clogging due to ice caused the oxygen pump to blow apart and shred the rest of the rocket.

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. The P-Series of tests Goddard would conduct took place from January 1939 into October of 1941.

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. Goddard would refer to this gas generator as "an internal combustion-boiler for liquid oxygen", "the object of which was to convert liquid oxygen into warm gaseous oxygen, in a device of small size and light weight, by the combustion of gasoline within this liquid oxygen". This warm gas is what would drive the turbines. From there, flight and static tests using liquid-propellant rockets with these high-speed centrifugal turbine-driven pumps were conducted for tests P13-P36. These rockets averaged nearly 22 feet in length and were 18 inches in diameter. Empty, they weighed between 190 to 240 pounds. The liquid-oxygen load averaged about 140 pounds and the gasoline 112 pounds, making these "quarter-ton" loaded rockets.

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. At 07:49 in Reel 9, you can see several minutes of footage showing demonstrations of this rocket's insides and various mechanisms.

'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

2-6-1940

Type

image

Genre

photograph

Format

jpg

Keywords

Robert Goddard, rocketry, rockets, Roswell, New Mexico, liquid-fuel rockets, nitrogen, pump-fed rockets, turbines, turbopumps

Recommended Citation

Goddard, Esther C., "[268] Working on the nose cone, February 6 1940" (1940). The Goddard Rocket Researches: A Photographic Record [Individual Photographs]. 271.
https://commons.clarku.edu/goddardphotographs/271

Rights

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