Sound barrier broken by rocketIn 1934, the first rocket fired in America to break the sound barrier was lanched by the American Rocket Society from Marine Park, Staten Island, New York. The rocket, named ARS-4, had a single thrust chamber with four canted nozzles. Its flight reached a top speed of 700 mph, a maxium height of 400-ft,1,600-ft horizontal range and ended in New York Bay. On an earlier attempt, 10 Jun 1934, it did not fly because the fuel ports were too small. The society was founded on 4 Apr 1930, originally named the American Interplanetary Society. Their pioneering work designing and testing several liquid-fuelled rockets led the way to the U.S. space program.«* |
