Robert Goddard could scarcely believe his eyes as he scanned the newspaper the morning of January 12, 1920. A young physics professor at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, Goddard had ...

Goddard with his Hoopskirt rocket during a launch attempt in September 1928. The fourth time was the charm for Robert H. Goddard’s “Hoopskirt Rocket,” so named for its resemblance to the ...