Robert Goddard and "Nell"

[greg3]

Hi 

This is one of my entries for the"Moment in Space" competition currently running on Lego Ideas... it depicts the first ever successful launch of a liquid fuelled rocket. 

Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr

The launch took place on March 16th 1926 and ultimately paved the way for most of the rockets and spacecraft launched ever since. It was the work of Robert Goddard who not only pioneered the engine design but also patented multi stage rockets, gyroscopic guidance systems and many of the other technologies that space travel now rely on!! (I wasn't sure how strict Ideas would be on mentioning real people/events so I left Goddard's name out of the actual entry description)

I based the build on this photo which has always fascinated me ever since i saw it in a book as a kid... (I always found it amazing that we got from that to the Saturn V, Space Shuttle and beyond!!) I know the baseplate should be white but I couldn't find a suitably clothed torso for a winter scene!!

800px-Goddard_and_Rocket by g.nat, on Flickr

Even more incredible are the details on how Nell (as the rocket was named) worked and was launched...

The rocket's engine was located in the nose. Below this, protected by a conical heat shield, were fuel tanks: one containing liquid oxygen, the other gasoline. 

To launch the rocket, a blowtorch was used to ignite gunpowder in the nose cone. Then oxygen from an external tank was fed into the fuel tanks, forcing the 2 liquids along separate pipes until they met in the nose cone. This mixture was ignited by the burning gunpowder to produce thrust. Once the rocket took off, the pressure in the fuel tanks was maintained by evaporating fuel.

Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr

Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr

Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr

Close up of the launch stand... not 100% accurate but the closest I could get with the parts I had!!

image by g.nat, on Flickr

The actual rocket only flew for 2.5 seconds, achieved an altitude of 41 feet, travelled 184 feet and landed in a cabbage field but without it, we may never have reached the moon!! As Goddard himself said... "The dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow"

Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr

Anyway, I hope it's OK to post a link to the actual entry here (if not I'll remove it) 

Dawn of the Space Age entry

Thanks for looking!! Comments are always welcome (and any votes even more so!!)

 

Edited February 10, 2018 by greg3

[Tron Of Black]

Just saw the model over in your Ballabreek 2018 thread :) Very cool idea for a model, you definitively have my vote!