In 1912 he taught physics at Princeton while spending his nights theorizing about rocket propulsion. His teaching came to an abrupt halt a year later when Goddard came home after catching tuberculosis. His doctors predicted he’d be dead within two weeks. Instead, during his convalescence he completed the two patents (1,102,653 and 1,103,603) for liquid-fueled, multistage rockets that would revolutionize space travel and influence rocket design to this day.
