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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →On January 13, 1920, The New York Times mocked rocket pioneer Robert H. Goddard’s proposal to explore extreme altitudes and the possibility of reaching the Moon. The editorial wrongly argued that a rocket could not work in a vacuum. On July 17, 1969—the morning after Apollo 11 launched—the newspaper published a three-paragraph item titled “A Correction,” acknowledging that a rocket can function in a vacuum.
What The New York Times got wrong in 1920
The editorial responded to Goddard’s 1919 Smithsonian publication, A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes. It treated air as something a rocket had to push against, and therefore dismissed the possibility that rockets could work in the vacuum of space. NASA identifies that reasoning as erroneous: a rocket does not need air outside it to produce thrust. Its thrust comes from expelling propellant.
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The editorial was anonymous, according to NASA; no named author should be attached to it. NASA’s annotated Apollo bibliography places the 1919 monograph and the January 1920 editorial in their historical context.
Goddard demonstrated liquid-fueled rocketry in 1926
On March 16, 1926, Goddard launched the first liquid-fueled rocket from a farm in Auburn, Massachusetts. NASA’s account says it flew for 2.5 seconds, reached 41 feet, and landed 184 feet from its launch point. It was an early experiment—not a spaceflight—but it demonstrated the practical development of liquid-fueled rockets.
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NASA also reports that a $5,000 Smithsonian grant in 1917 supported Goddard’s early research. Its historical account, “95 Years Ago: Goddard’s First Liquid-Fueled Rocket”, gives the flight details and describes the later correction.
When and what the correction said
The Times printed its correction on July 17, 1969, one day after Apollo 11 lifted off—not after the Moon landing. NASA describes it as a three-paragraph item under the headline “A Correction.” Its concluding passage read:
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“Further investigation and experimentation have confirmed the findings of Isaac Newton in the 17th Century, and it is now definitely established that a rocket can function in a vacuum as well as in an atmosphere. The Times regrets the error.”
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The statement was issued by the newspaper as an institution; the reviewed accounts do not identify an individual author. The sources establish the timing of the correction but do not establish the editors’ private reason for publishing it that day.
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Why a rocket can work in a vacuum
A rocket produces thrust by expelling propellant in one direction; the rocket is pushed in the opposite direction. It does not need external air to push against. That is why the lack of air in space does not prevent rocket propulsion.
The Times’s 1920 objection confused a rocket with vehicles that rely on surrounding air, such as propeller-driven aircraft. Its 1969 correction acknowledged the essential point: rockets can function both in an atmosphere and in a vacuum. For additional historical context, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s account of Robert Goddard discusses his place in rocketry.
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