Worcester to Host Robert Goddard “First Launch Centennial” Press Conference

Worcester to Host Robert Goddard "First Launch Centennial" Press Conference

For Immediate Release: 3/13/2024 4:27 pm

WORCESTER, Mass. - In celebration of Robert Goddard's first successful liquid-fueled rocket launch, the City of Worcester, in coordination with the Town of Auburn and Charles Slatkin's "The Wonder Mission," on Saturday, March 16, 2024, will host a "First Launch Centennial" press conference.

March 16, 2026, will mark 100 years since Goddard's first successful liquid-fueled rocket launch in Auburn. Known as the "Father of Modern Rocketry," Goddard's work and achievements would eventually lead to the dawn of the Space Age.

A Worcester native, Goddard attended college at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and later taught physics at Clark University, where he earned his doctorate and carried out rocket experiments.

On Saturday, March 16, 2024, the City will share its initial plans for the Centennial at the Robert and Esther Goddard House, which was purchased by Slatkin in 2021.

WHAT: "First Launch Centennial" Press Conference
WHO: City Manager Eric D. Batista, Mayor Joseph M. Petty, Congressman Jim McGovern, Town of Auburn officials, Charles Slatkin, founder of "The Wonder Mission"
WHEN: Saturday, March 16, 2024, 10 a.m. (light refreshments available beginning at 9:30 a.m.)
WHERE: The Robert and Esther Goddard House, 1 Tallawanda Dr., Worcester