NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Dr. Robert Goddard, a physics professor in Massachusetts, had a vision, one might even say an obsession. Inspired by reading books by H.G. Wells and Jules Verne, Goddard committed himself to doing everything he could to make it possible to travel to space and the moon.
By 1929, Goodard was launching rockets but local residents were scared of the noise and potential damage. Goddard wanted to move to a place where he had more space. After consulting with weather experts and the famous aviator Charles Lindbergh who had flow over much of the country, Goddard settled on Roswell, New Mexico as the best choice.
Goddard set up operations in Roswell in 1930 and began conducting experiments involving rocket propulsion. With the help of his wife Esther and a few employees, he made dramatic progress with liquid-fuel rocket performance. He launched the first manmade vehicle to travel faster than the speed of sound in 1935. One of his rockets reached an altitude of nearly 9,000 feet in 1937.
