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A U.S. professor of physics and scientist, Robert Goddard was a pioneer of controlled, liquid-fueled rocketry. He launched the world's first liquid-fueled rocket on March 16, 1926. From 1930 to 1935, he launched rockets that attained speeds of up to 885 kilometers per hour (km/h) (550 miles per hour (mph)). Though his work in the field was revolutionary, he was sometimes ridiculed for his theories.
Robert Goddard received little scientific support during his lifetime. Eventually, however, he became recognized, along with Tsiolkovsky and Oberth, as one of the fathers of modern rocketry. He was the first not only to recognize the scientific potential behind missiles and space travel but also to bring about the physical design and construction of those ideas.
The Goddard Rocket Launching Site National Historic Landmark commemorates the site of the world's first successful liquid-fueled rocket. It is located on Upland Street in Auburn, Massachusetts within the boundaries of the town-owned Pakachoag Golf Course. The actual launch site is indicated by a granite marker adjacent to the ninth fairway of the golf course. The site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1966. Dr. Goddard's launch site can still be seen today and is memorialized by a stone monument set on the ninth fairway.
Dr. Robert H. Goddard launched his historic rocket on March 16, 1926, from what was then the Asa Ward Farm. Its 10-foot cylinder reached an altitude of 41 feet, flew for two-and-a-half seconds, and fell to the ground 184 feet from the launching frame. The site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1966 and is one of only six National Historic Landmarks in Worcester County.