One day humans may be able to wake up on the dry barren surface of Mars This amazing feat would be the result of decades of research and technology dating back to the earliest study of rocketry A key moment in modern rocket science came in 1926 when American scientist Robert Goddard built and tested the first successful rocket using liquid fuel Goddard became known as the father of modern rocketry The full potential of his invention was not understood at the time At first the science of rocketry was put to use in designing and building weapons During World War II 1939 1945 German-born engineer Wernher von Braun designed a rocket for Germany called the V-2 The first long-range guided ballistic missile the V-2 was propelled by liquid oxygen and ethyl alcohol to a maximum range of about 200 miles 320 kilometers After World War II scientists began thinking of ways to use rocketry for a more positive purpose exploring space Before that time people could look to the stars only with telescopes placed on Earth’s surface While scientists worked to make telescopes as strong as possible the next logical step in studying the solar system was to launch equipment and humans into space to get a closer look Scientists needed to learn more about the temperature atmosphere and other conditions beyond 4 IntroduCtIon
IntroduCtIon Robert H Goddard a professor and inventor is generally considered to be the father of modern rocketry He poses here with a liquid oxygen-gasoline rocket in its frame The rocket was first fired in 1926 5
Three crew members of the US space shuttle Atlantis strapped into their launch positions practice a countdown at the Kennedy Space Center in preparation for their September 25 1997 liftoff Earth There was a lot to explore and research and rocket science would help get people there With the help of rockets multiton spacecraft can be blasted out of the atmosphere at tens of thousands of 6 roCket sCIenCe and spaCeCraft fundamentals
IntroduCtIon miles per hour defying the pull of gravity The first space capsules could fit just one astronaut with no room to move around Later as technology improved spacecraft were able to accommodate crews who worked together to operate the craft and perform research Ongoing advances will allow scientists to design ever-more complex spacecraft capable of traveling even faster and farther shedding light on more of the mysteries of the universe 7
