The Goddard Rocket Researches: A Photographic Record [Individual Photographs]

'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.

The vast majority of these photographs were taken by Esther herself. Esther was an avid camerawoman and photographer, and during Robert's lifetime she meticulously documented his career in rocketry -- from experiments and instruments to processes and workspaces. In his book Rocket Man: Robert H. Goddard and the Birth of the Space Age, David A. Clary states that Esther "became a pioneer in photographic documentation of technology, taking pictures of tests and flights--including deriving stills from movies--and illustrating Robert's notes with detailed photographs of everything manufactured in the shop and assembled into rockets". Esther also shot 16mm film footage when Robert bought her a movie camera in 1926. That footage can be seen here.

Following Robert's death in 1945, Esther dedicated the rest of her life to relentlessly crafting and promoting the legend and reputation of Robert’s life and work. This element of careful curation can be seen in this photo album, both in its construction and the classification system present in the bottom right of each photograph.

This page contains each individual photograph in the album, which can be seen in its entirety here.

Photographs were scanned at 400dpi.

Sources consulted for the descriptions in this series include Esther's photo album annotations, The Papers of Robert Goddard, and Rocket Man: Robert H. Goddard and the Birth of the Space Age by David Clary.

These images are the property of Clark University and are 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

All collection descriptions written by Katie Stebbins, Digital Projects Librarian.

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[301] Closeup of pressure tank thrust unit, December 1941

[302] Underground muffler for testing stand, shown at left, November 1941

[303] Test of quick-starting gasoline flow using pneumatically operated valve, Fall 1941

[304] Control box containing solenoid-operated 3-way control valves and interlocking relays, Fall 1941

[305] Thrust unit and instrument board for testing Navy JATO device, December 1941

[306] Setup for low pressure tank feed test, December 9 1941

[307] Closeup of tanks and associated parts of low-pressure tank feed model, December 23 1941

[308] Setup for low pressure tank feed test, December 23 1941

[309] Setup for test of preliminary pump unit, January 30 1942

[310] Instrument board for test of modified preliminary pump unit, February 6 1942

[311] Setup for gas generator test without pumps, February 12 1942

[312] Preliminary pump test, February 19 1942

[313] Combustion chamber and nozzle for test of February 19 1942

[314] Setup for variable thrust pump test, March 9 1942

[315] Front end of setup for variable thrust pump test, March 9 1942

[316] Setup for test of variable thrust pump unit, March 14 1942

[317] Setup for test of variable thrust pump unit, March 18 1942

[318] Setup for test of variable thrust pump unit, April 25 1942

[319] Closeup of setup for test of high-pressure tank unit, May 9 1942

[320] Instrument board for test of high pressure tank unit, May 9 1942

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