Today in Technology History
An event that occurred on this date in the history of technology.
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June 11
"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to do that," according to a familiar expression -- suggesting that rocket scientists are smart people and experts in their field. But it's worth remembering that the first people to find practical uses for rockets weren't really rocket scientists at all: they were ordinary people with an amateur interest in rocketry.
That happens a lot in the history of technology: Before an invention becomes widespread, there is often a long period of amateur experimentation. Take, for instance, the automobile. The first time an engine was put on a wheeled vehicle was back in 1769, but for more than a century after that, only a few amateurs worked on automobiles. Later, automobile design became the work of expert engineers.
Much the same thing happened with rockets. Small rockets had been used for centuries for fireworks and artillery. After larger rockets became a reality, amateurs got involved. In some places, there were even amateur rocketry clubs that devised new experiments.
The year 1928 was a big one for rocket experimentation, when amateur experimenters first put rockets on automobiles and trains. And it was on June 11, 1928 -- exactly 75 years ago -- when a rocket was attached to an aircraft for the first time.
The aircraft was a glider, and the experiment was directed by Alexander Lippisch, an aircraft designer. The glider launched with the power of one rocket and an elastic launching rope (basically a big rubber band), and then once it was in flight a second rocket was fired. Although the glider managed to fly about a mile, it fell apart in the air and crashed. Although the pilot survived, it was an inauspicious beginning for the era of rocket-powered flight.
In time, though, aircraft designers successfully harnessed rocket power -- in fact, Lippisch himself went on to build an extremely fast rocket plane for Germany -- and the era amateur rocket experiments came to an end.
Related links:
Click here to read a little more about the first rocket plane, and to see a picture of a rocket plane that was tested a year later.
Click here to read the famous urban legend about the "rocket car."
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