Eg N. Ls Verl Christensen ernld Editor E .. erltus “The dream of yesterday is the bape of today and the reality of wmormw.” When in 1959 Congress ordered a gold medal struck in reccgnitkm at Dr. Robert H. Goddanfs pioneering research in rocketry, those words were inscribed un one side. They were spoken by Goddard himself just after the tum of the century as valedictorian at South High School in Worcester, Mass.nnd they characterized his life as a scientist, inventor and racket exP2″- . He is being honored this week nn connection with (1) the 25th anniversary of the entry into the “space age” with orbit of Russia’s Sputnik I Oct. 4, 1957, and (Z) the 10001 anniversary of Goddard’s birth Oct. 5, 1882 in Worcester. At the Goddard Space Flight Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration nt Greenbelt, Md. (named for the rocket scientist), lectures, films and publications are focusing on Goddanfs achievements. Called the father nf modern rockegampulsion, Goddard quietly pursu research and rocket experimma while a professor of physics at Worcestofs Clark University. I-Us dream of space travel took shape as a 17-year-old boy. He didn’t live to see that accomplished (he died Aug. 10, 19451. but made highly significant strides toward the goal. His mast powerlul rocket travelled faster than the speed of sound and reached an altitude of almost two miles, Goddard was frail as a boy and had tuberculosis in his early thirties. Bnt he persisted and by 1926 built and tested successfully his lint rocket, using liquid fuel. The flight of his primitive invention March 16 of that year at Auburn, Mans., has been compared with the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk as a feat epochal in history. Yet his efforts made little impression on government officials. Only through modest subsidies oi the Smithsonian Institution and the Daniel Guggenheim Foundation was he able in sustain his devoted research and testing. He worked for the U. S. Navy in both World Wars, but in neither was the military interested in his rocket blueprints. It remained for his pioneering rocketry principles to come to life in the German V42 missiles of War ll. including gymscupic control, steering by means uf vanes in the jet stream of the rocket motor, power-driv A fuel pumps and other devices. Wemher von Braun, one of the German scientists who came over ta the Americans at the close of the war, attributed “the principles” at the V-2 “to your Dr. Goddard.” As early as 1914, Goddard had received two patents–one for a rocket using liquid fuel; the other fur a two-or-three step rocket using solid fuel. His mathematical theories of rocket propulsion were outlined in a Smithsonian publication in 1920. His paper discussed the possibility of a rocket reaching the moon, which stirred a journalistic controversy concerning its feasibility. Mucn ridicule came G0ddard’s way and no doubt contributed to his avoidance of the public Iimelnght through the years, Goddard was the first scientist who not only realized the potentialities of missiles and space flight but also contributed directly to bringing them to practical realization with his rocketlbuilding and tests. The dedicated labors of this modest man went largely unrecognized in the U. S. until the dawn of what is now called the “space age.” Rockets for defense and space exploration have become A multibillion-dollar industry in modern times. Claiming government infringement on various Goddard patents in rocket development, the Guggenheim Foundation and the late scientisfs widow, Esther C. Goddard, filed a joint claim in 1951. In June 1980, the litigation was concluded with an administrative award nl $1 million. The settlement gave the government the rignta in use more than ZD0 ul Goddan-d’s patents which. said a NASA statement, “cover basic inventions in the field of rockets, guided missiles and space exploration! Today. navigation in space nu longer is idle fancyr People realize nuw that Dr. Robert H. Goddard was “ahead of his time” in his ideas on rccketry and eventual space travel. A hundred years after his birth, he is receiving me acclaim and place in history he eamed. Same Spincff: ”” Of the Space Age As Americas aerospace program develops new technologies for defense md space exploration. exciting “spinuff” benefits nccnne for the benefit of mankind. The 25th anniversary of the “space age”-dating from me orbitlng of the earth satellite Sputnik by the Russians Oct. 4, 1957-is a good time to consider same of those benefits. 1Nvo-thirds of all overseas communications traffic is carried by satellite and a number ul domestic satellite systems serve the public, according to the National AeronautIcnl and Space Administration. “Satcnms” operate in a “geoslationary orbit,” their velocity synchrcuized with Earth’: rotational speed so they remain “staticnary” ss they view a particular geographical area from an altitude of more than 22,000 miles. They relay information that serves defense, communications, lndustry. weather, and other needs. NASA anticipates broadened services in such fields as education. health care, postal service. and fire-lighting and disaster response. Let’s look at a few uf the npecmc bandits: Fabrics of fiberglass coated with fluurocarbon resin are used as building industry alternatives; s wind turbine generator in Hawaii provides electricity for 100 homes; uma program lighting techniques g crize Niagsra Falls at night. SpinnIfs from space apparel de sign Include cool athletic wear, safer fire-fighting suits, and clothing that enable people to work longer under intense heat. Space program-generated computer tedmnlngy assists businessmen in boost productivity and refine customer services; a “nue vapor and gas detector” helps solve arson um; and a NASA filtering unl! to purify water aboard the Space Shuttle is employed for civilhn uses. in the medical field, an artificial sphincter controls urinary Incontinence; an implantable device facililates continuous delivery of medlcation; a blond-filtering system treats such disorders u rheumatoid arthrttls and lupus; s “human tisme stimulator” uses chronic pain, and a new lutnsmeut adminlnters emergency aid to heart attack victims. A mnnltnr in gauge sewer system flows and upacity. a sell-righting III; raft, n water giuxlty monltor. an u pment ta n prospecting for za and gas und foster better management of the earth’: resources–these are among other space age spincfis.