Pedro Paulet

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Pedro Paulet (born July 2, 1874 in Arequipa, Peru; died 1945 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) was a Peruvian scientist who in 1895 became the first person to build a liquid-fueled rocket engine, however the engine remained strapped to his test bench. It was not until Robert H. Goddard, in 1926, that the engine was put into a vehicle and flown.

Paulet also designed reaction motors in 1895, propulsion systems in 1900 and an airplane using thermoelectric batteries and rocket engines in 1902. He alluded to the use of nuclear propelled rockets for flights to the moon.

The rocket Paulet I, a joint venture between the Peruvian Air Force and other Peruvian scientific entities, was named in Paulet's honor and was launched December 27, 2006. It reached an altitude 45 km and traveled at five times the speed of sound. This is Peru's first venture into space. Future plans include putting a satellite into orbit.

[edit] Literature

The alleged contributions of Pedro E. Paulet to liquid-propellant rocketry ORDWAY, NASA, Washington Essays on the History of Rocketry and Astronautics, Vol. 2 p 25-41 (SEE N77-33048 23-99); United States; 1977 [1]