Rocket with turbopumps that inject propellants into the combustion chamber on its assembly frame is shown without its casing at the Goddard shop in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1940. With Dr. Robert Goddard (far left) is Nils Ljungquist, machinist; Albert Kisk, brother-in-law and machinist; and Charles Mansur, welder. Dr. Goddard has been recognized as the father of American rocketry and as one of the pioneers in the theoretical exploration of space. His dream was the conquest of the upper atmosphere and ultimately space through the use of rocket propulsion. When the United States began to prepare for the conquest of space in the 1950's, American rocket scientists began to recognize the debt owed to the New England professor. They discovered that it was virtually impossible to construct a rocket or launch a satellite without acknowledging the work of Dr. Goddard.