BobRingReflections

My last blog was about Robert Goddard, sometimes called the father of modern rocketry.  Researching that article made me realize that, even though I know a lot about the science of rockets (rocketry) from my aerospace background, there’s a lot about the history of rockets that I didn’t know.  Rocket technology has evolved over more than 2000 years.  Today’s rockets are a product of a long tradition of ingenuity and experimentation, and combine technical expertise from a wide array of engineering disciplines. This article will cover the history of rockets, beginning with early pre-scientific tinkering, then the transition to a scientific approach, the pioneers of modern rocketry, development of the V-2 rocket during World War II, the immediate post-war rocketry period, and the space age through today.  I will conclude with a quick look at where rocket technology might go from here.   My principal sources include: “History of Rockets,” “Hermann Oberth,” “V...