††A rocket is a device, usually cylindrical in shape, which is propelled by hot gases. Rockets containing gunpowder were first developed in China. They were used as weapons and exploded on impact. The idea of using a rocket to reach the moon was suggested by Cyrano de Bergerac as early as 1650. Further developments took place in 1800 when William Congreve reinvented the rocket engine, which was also powered by gunpowder. In 1926 Robert Goddard invented a liquid-fuelled rocket which crashed after reaching only 56 metres. It was not until the mid-1930s that other scientists paid any attention to the idea, using the invention as the basis for the gradual development of space travel.
