The Small Rocket That Made History
On March 16, 1926, a small rocket rose from a field in Auburn, Massachusetts. Its flight lasted only about two and a half seconds. It climbed roughly 41 feet and landed about 184 feet from its launch site. That short trip marked the first successful flight of a rocket powered by liquid fuel.
The rocket’s inventor was Robert H. Goddard, an American scientist who had spent years studying how rockets might travel high above Earth. His test took place on his Aunt Effie Ward’s farm. The rocket stood in a launch frame in a field where cabbages had grown. It looked very different from the enormous rockets people would build later.
Why use liquids?
Rockets had existed for centuries. Many earlier rockets burned solid materials such as gunpowder. Once a solid-fuel rocket was burning, controlling its burn could be difficult. Goddard explored another possibility: keeping the fuel and the substance needed to burn it in liquid form until they were needed.
- inventor:
- A person who creates something new.
- launch:
- To send something, such as a rocket, into motion.
- engineers:
- People who use science and math to design and build things.
- adjusted:
- Changed to make something work in a desired way.
- equipment:
- The tools or machines needed for a task.
- propellants:
- Materials used to produce the force that moves a rocket.
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Main Idea
Identify the central idea and explain how important details develop it.
Context Clues
Use clues in the passage to work out what words mean. A separate printable Vocabulary worksheet is also available.
Summarize
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Purpose
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Structure
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Vocabulary
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Writing Prompts
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1Why was Goddard's short rocket flight important?
- 2How was Goddard's rocket different from many earlier rockets?
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About this explanatory article passage for Upper Elementary
“The Small Rocket That Made History” is a explanatory article reading passage about Rocket Flight, written for Upper Elementary. It takes about 4 minutes to read (541 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.