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“What did Robert Goddard successfully use on this date in 1935 to control a rocket?”
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nNow we think of Robert Goddard as the one who ushered in the Space Age, because this American engineer and physicist is the guy who built the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket.
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nDuring his life, the press sometimes ridiculed his ideas, and most of the public didn’t know him or applaud him. But NOW we know he was a pioneer, one of the founders of modern rocketry.
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nYears ago I wrote about Goddard Day (March 16), the anniversary of Goddard’s first successful launch in 1926. Today’s anniversary occurred nearly a decade later, as Goddard tried to figure out a guidance system that would keep a rocket pointing vertically longer, and then curve into a horizontal flight. This flight reached a then-record 4,800 feet of altitude before roaring off into a horizontal flight.
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![](https://i0.wp.com/2.bp.blogspot.com/-EFZVSh9n9JM/WNBkXPM3xFI/AAAAAAAA1-Q/Sx4xCx9d1VsTPE2YFe7wx9HJPCvRN1aiACLcB/s320/gyroscope%2Bclose%2Bup.jpg?resize=320%2C254&ssl=1)
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nHis answer was a gyroscope mounted on gimbals to electrically control steering vanes that are located in the exhaust.
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nA what-a-scope mounted on whatsits? Electrically controlling what in what?
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nA gyroscope is a sort of toplike toy or device with a wheel or disk mounted so that it can spin around an axis – but the axis can change direction. Notice that the axis is not affected by the tilting of the mounting. That’s what makes a gyroscope perfect for maintaining the planned direction in a guidance system.
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![](https://i0.wp.com/2.bp.blogspot.com/-UKBxShF-3K8/WNBkW0_Y6zI/AAAAAAAA1-E/r3Hvn-KuVaUzkqyV6hp_MDulBVhx57RyQCLcB/s1600/Gyroscope_precession.gif?w=696&ssl=1)
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![](https://i0.wp.com/4.bp.blogspot.com/-3P_4bgatoV0/WNBkW26-KEI/AAAAAAAA1-I/yedT55VPl30k4H_9Duoh9Rdqvgl2ApCygCLcB/s400/3D_Gyroscope.png?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)
nGoddard’s gyroscope moved the vanes positioned to divert or change direction of a portion of the exhaust rushing past them during the rocket’s flight.
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![](https://i0.wp.com/3.bp.blogspot.com/-aWToQ6ukLRg/WNBkWzHzqZI/AAAAAAAA1-M/kVQh2FKAULg4C9Ety8xarWXH0p8j4ANswCLcB/s320/rocket-exhaust-particles_titanrocket.jpg?resize=320%2C271&ssl=1) |
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Above, the exhaust rushing out of the rocket’s nozzle. Below, the movable steering vanes near the rocket’s nozzle. |
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![](https://i0.wp.com/3.bp.blogspot.com/-sco01zt6zeM/WNBkXE9S1mI/AAAAAAAA1-U/SFfPSmgL_eAxTvkMdgkt0Xu95zvZJxg4QCLcB/s320/steering%2Bvanes.jpg?resize=320%2C212&ssl=1)
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To find out more…check out this or this.
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nAlso on this date:
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![](https://i0.wp.com/4.bp.blogspot.com/-W4QPEXMd0ug/VRTlOZ5RgII/AAAAAAAAb_I/sOEIThmLLcI/s200/waffles%2Bon%2Ba%2Bstick.jpg?resize=200%2C147&ssl=1)
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nSomething on a Stick Day
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nBarnum and Bailey Day
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nTeachers’ Day in the Czech Republic and Slovakia
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nWeed Appreciation Day
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nWhat’s in a Name Day
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nRagnar Lodbrok Day in Scandinavia
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nMule Day in Columbia, Tennessee
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nPlan ahead:
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nAnd here are my Pinterest boards for:
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nApril holidays
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