According to most historians, the first rocket was built in China in 1212. These rockets used solid fuel (coal, wood, etc.) and gunpowder. According to a Chinese legend, a man named Wan Hu built a vehicle fitted with rockets. Attaching 47 rockets to this vehicle, Wan Hu got into the vehicle, but the vehicle exploded after travelling a few metres. It took until the late 1800s for rockets to be fully understood. Although the British Army used rockets in the War of 1812 between Britain and the USA, it did not have a significant effect on the course of the war. Germany, the USA and Soviet Russia were most influential in the development of rocket science.
Space Travel Society
In Germany, this process can be divided into two as pre-Nazi and Nazi period. Herman Oberth, who thought that the first rocket studies should be initiated in Germany, mentioned the importance of this situation in his book ‘The Rocket Towards Planetary Space’ published in 1923. This book led Johannes Winkler to found the ‘Space Travel Society’. Founded in 1927, this society advocated the importance of space exploration. Even von Braun, who played an important role in the Nazi era and the US Space Programme, was a member of this society. Winkler built one of the first liquid-fuelled rockets (HW-1) and succeeded in launching it on the second attempt. These attempts in the 1930s would not be limited to Winkler. However, these efforts were limited. In particular, the V2 rocket built by von Braun in Germany revolutionised rockets and space exploration.
Pioneering Achievements of Robert Goddard
Robert Goddard was one of the pioneering achievements of the United States in rocket science. In 1926, he made history as the first person to launch a liquid-fuelled rocket. Goddard, who was interested in this business until his death in 1945, carried out all of these works without state support, with the support of some investors.
Effects of the Political Ambitions to Technology
At the same time, these developments would make space one of the areas of competition between the USA and Soviet Russia at the end of the Second World War. Although this rivalry was created for show and propaganda purposes, it also brought about the development of today's technologies and progress in space sciences.
In the next article, we’ll talk about V-3 rockets and footsteps of the US Space program.
Space History is a series of articles about history of the space exploration.