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Robert H. Goddard at Work

Helped by foundation funding, Robert Goddard overcame skeptics and built a wealth of knowledge about constructing rockets. Goddard began his experiments in rocketry while in doctorate studies at Clark University in Massachusetts. In 1919 he wrote a progress report, titled "A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes," which he sent to the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian published the paper in 1920. In it, Goddard first suggested that a liquid fueled rocket could be sent to the moon. Despite the scientific merit of this work, he was ridiculed by some for this seemingly outlandish idea.