[047] Rocket in flight, July 17 1929

Photographer

Esther C. Goddard

Preview

Description

Photograph of the July 17, 1929 test depicting the rocket in flight. This still was taken from a piece of 16mm film shot by Esther Goddard. Esther would often extract still images from her own footage. Footage from this flight can be seen in can be seen in Reel 2 of The Goddard Rocket Film Reels.

The test was successful and marked the fourth flight of a liquid-propellant rocket. Its total loaded weight was 57 pounds. The rocket began to lift at 13 seconds, rose at 14 and a half seconds, and reached the top of its flight at 90 feet. The rocket hit the ground at 18 and a half seconds and landed 90 feet from the tower.

The gasoline tank exploded upon landing, which could be heard by neighbors two miles away. The flight garnered local and then national news headlines, causing Goddard to release a statement to the press. While the district fire inspector deemed the testing site to be safe and in a clear area, his flight tests were then banned in Massachusetts by the State Fire Marshall. Goddard would then move his testing out of reach from the State Fire Marshall to federal ground at Camp Devens, an army post northwest of Worcester.

'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

1929

Type

image

Genre

photograph

Format

jpg

Keywords

Robert Goddard, rocketry, Clark University, liquid-propellant rockets, liquid fuel rockets

Recommended Citation

Goddard, Esther C., "[047] Rocket in flight, July 17 1929" (1929). The Goddard Rocket Researches: A Photographic Record [Individual Photographs]. 44.
https://commons.clarku.edu/goddardphotographs/44

Rights

This image is the property of Clark University and is intended for non-commercial use. Images may be copied for research, teaching, personal, or any fair use as defined by U.S. copyright law. Images may not be altered in any way. Users of these images are asked to acknowledge Clark University. For questions or further information about usage rights, please contact archives@clarku.edu