Earlier US interest in rocketry 1920s - 30s

[Paul Spring]

In OTL, Robert Goddard of Worcester, Massachusetts was the first person who built and tested a successful liquid-fueled rocket in 1926. Goddard, however, was a very shy man, who tended to avoid publicity. A few years before the test of the first liquid-fueled rocket, he had spoken to some newspaper reporters about his theories that rockets could travel not only in the atmosphere but also in the vacuum of space, only to become the subject of several humiliating articles that thoroughly made fun of him for his "ridiculous" ideas. As a result, he always preferred to work alone. After testing a few short range rockets in Massachusetts, he moved to New Mexico in 1930 because he needed to find a very thinly populated area in which to test rockets that flew higher. He was able to obtain funding, but remained somewhat secretive and reluctant to work too closely with anyone else. He was unable to get the military to show any major interest in rockets until World War II, and even then the US spent relatively little on rocket research.

What if Goddard had been less of a "loner" and better at publicizing his ideas. Suppose the newspaper articles mocking him don't happen, or he shrugs them off. He gets more funding than in OTL and by the mid 1930s has gotten some people in the army and/or navy interested in rocket research. How far would the US be likely to go with rocket research? Could the US rather than Germany get the first long-range rockets in service? How would other countries on both sides of the war react? How might things develop after the war?

[meries]

In OTL, Robert Goddard of Worcester, Massachusetts was the first person who built and tested a successful liquid-fueled rocket in 1926. Goddard, however, was a very shy man, who tended to avoid publicity. A few years before the test of the first liquid-fueled rocket, he had spoken to some newspaper reporters about his theories that rockets could travel not only in the atmosphere but also in the vacuum of space, only to become the subject of several humiliating articles that thoroughly made fun of him for his "ridiculous" ideas. As a result, he always preferred to work alone. After testing a few short range rockets in Massachusetts, he moved to New Mexico in 1930 because he needed to find a very thinly populated area in which to test rockets that flew higher. He was able to obtain funding, but remained somewhat secretive and reluctant to work too closely with anyone else. He was unable to get the military to show any major interest in rockets until World War II, and even then the US spent relatively little on rocket research.

What if Goddard had been less of a "loner" and better at publicizing his ideas. Suppose the newspaper articles mocking him don't happen, or he shrugs them off. He gets more funding than in OTL and by the mid 1930s has gotten some people in the army and/or navy interested in rocket research. How far would the US be likely to go with rocket research? Could the US rather than Germany get the first long-range rockets in service? How would other countries on both sides of the war react? How might things develop after the war?

From what I've heard and read, the German scientists that created the V1 and V2 based at least on part of Goddard's research and tests. When asked by American officers the scientists told them to ask Goddard because they learned from him. However, Goddard died in late 1944 I believe so they couldn't ask him.

But lets say that Goddard doesn't talk to any newspaper reports before his tests. Goddard thus doesn't become "shy" about talking publicly about his ideas. Goddard starts testing his theories first in Massachusetts and then in New Mexico. Once he has something big to show lets say in 1933, he talks to reporters. Unlike OTL, the newspapers give him fairly good coverage. A lot of funding comes into Goddard's project and gets some attention by the military.

Through the mid-1930s, Goddard's research progesses quickly then in 1938, the War Department contacts Goddard to continue his research with them. Goddard only agrees if he is in complete control, the War Department agrees since they would get anything that would work. When WW2 starts, the War Department funnels more money into rocket research allowing Goddard to hire more scientists to help him. US enter into the war and the Manhattan Project leads FDR to comment to one of staff, "I'd like to hit Tokyo and Berlin with an atom weapon launched from our shores."

The War Department with Goddard watching successfully tested the E1 (E for Eagle) missile in the deserts of Nevada in February 1942, Germany wouldn't be able to test until October. FDR authorized production of E1 and American industry, quickly on the rise started to manufacture it. Germany suffers the setbacks through Ally raids and bombing missions it did in OTL while US industry just grows. In October 1943, the E1 are being shipped to England. And on December 12, 1943 the first E1 rocket is launch and hits a German tank group stationed close Brussels. The attacks continue towards Belgium and Holland as a way to confuse Hitler into believing the D-Day landings will occur there. On the night of June 5-6, 1944 some E1 launched towards Normandy to help disorganize the German forces as D-Day occurs at dawn.

The E1, and later in 1944 the E2 that launched from England and penetrated into Germany itself, is used for the rest of the war including from southern Italy towards northern Italy and from liberated France into Germany. The E2 with its range of between 450-500 miles is used with limited success against the Japanese homeland of Kyushu. Most rockets miss, but a few successes see Nagaski hit twice while Kagoshima is the main Japanese city hit with the E2. The E3 was in production when the Japanese surrendered and would have had an astonishing 1500-mile range, but wouldn't have been able to care a atomic bomb.

It must be mentioned that between September 17, 1944 and October 2, 1944 the E1 and the V2 rockets were launched day and night in a battle to take each other out. In the end "The Battle of the Rockets" was a draw with neither side able to take the other's launching sites out completely. At the end of the European War, many German rocket scientists surrendered to the US and quickly were sent to the States and joined Eagle Rocket Project. Goddard having died in December 1945, didn't get to see the end of the war. But FDR while he was still alive called Goddard, "One of the greatest fighters of the war."

The US as the only atomic power and the leading rocket power now with many V2 rocket scientists from Germany including Werner von Braun. The Eagle Rocket Project was divided into two lines of rockets, military and space, yet both helped develop the other. The USSR was several generations behind the US and it quickly showed. In March 1954, the US launched the first artifical satellite, Goddard-1. On December 14, 1957 the US launched the first man into space, John Glenn. On April 5, 1958 Alan Shepard is the first human to orbit the Earth and does it six times. The USSR was only to launch its first satellite in 1958 and then first human in 1962, as it is severally behind the US because it doesn't get as many scientist as in OTL.

The 1960s see US rocket and missile tech grow faster. The "Space Race" of OTL, is a "Space Walk" as the US while suffering some setbacks just runs away from the USSR who try to do things to fast and have major setbacks that result in numerous death (more than OTL). In October 1966, the US orbits the Moon. On July 4, 1967 the "Eagle" lands on the Moon as James A. Lovell becomes the human to step on another planet. The US sent two probes to Mars before the end of the 1960s, but like the OTL after the Moon landing things slowed down a bit. The US and USSR went to make Space Stations until 1977 when the Shuttle was introduced into service. The US lead in missile tech brough the USSR to the negiotating table sooner, but the Cold War basically ran the same way.

In the 1990s, the US started a new era in the Space program when it launched the Space Planesin October 1993 to commenrate the E1's first use in WW2. The Falcon, Hawk, Condor, and Eagle together were used to build the US Space Station Alpha by 1996 and at one point three of the planes were in space. On August 18, 2001 the US returned to the Moon after a 28-year absence with the first woman landing on the return mission.