Skip to content
Clark University
  • Media Relations
Suggest a Story
ClarkNow logo
  • Topics
  • All Stories
  • In the News
  • Expert Sources
  • Podcasts
      • Info For

        • Media Relations
Suggest a Story

Goddard launches space age with historic first 85 years ago today

March 16, 2011
By Clark News and Media Relations

From Mass Moments: “On this day [March 16] in 1926, Clark University physics professor Robert Goddard launched the world’s first liquid fuel rocket — and with it the space age. Standing in a snow-covered field in Auburn, Massachusetts, he watched as the rocket he had built rose 41 feet into the air, flew for two and a half seconds, and landed 184 feet away. …”

Read more at Mass Moments, an electronic almanac of Massachusetts history, launched by the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities  on January 1, 2005.

For an extensive look at the work and life of the “father of modern rocketry,” visit The Dr. Robert H. Goddard Collection housed in the Archives and Special Collections section of Clark University’s Robert H. Goddard Library.

  • Apply Undergrad
  • Apply Grad
  • Give
  • Contact Us
Helpful Links
  • Report a Concern
  • Offices
  • Campus Safety
  • Employment
  • Healthy Clark Dashboard
  • Website Feedback
Follow Us
  • See more of us on Facebook
  • See more of us on Twitter
  • See more of us on Instagram
  • See more of us on TikTok
  • See more of us on YouTube
  • See more of us on LinkedIn
Clark University footer logo Return to Clark University Homepage
Challenge Convention.
Change Our World.
508-793-7711
950 Main Street Worcester, MA 01610
Copyright © 2023 Clark University Public Information | Privacy Policy | Website Accessibility | Nondiscrimination Policy