[3][4][5][6] As a teenager, Truax was inspired by Robert Goddard articles in Popular Mechanics magazine to build his own rockets while residing in Alameda, California.

[7] Truax headed the Navy Development Project (ensigns R. C. Stiff, J. F. Patton, W. Schubert and MIT civilian Robertson Youngquist), where hypergolic propellant was discovered—fuel that burst into flame spontaneously when brought into contact with nitric acid, leading to the use of aniline plus 20% furfuryl alcohol for the 1945 WAC Corporal (the first free-flight rocket to use the fuel).

[11] After serving as 1957 American Rocket Society president, Truax retired from the United States Navy in 1959 and headed the Aerojet-General Advanced Development Division and Aerojet's Sea Dragon project.

[2] The X-3[14] Volksrocket (other names: Arriba One, Skycycle X-3) was a reusable space tourism rocket planned by Robert Truax after Evel Knievel provided a $1,000 research grant[14] for a pilot study.

[15] Among others who offered some financing and who went through some of his training were Ronald Beller, a pilot from Kentucky, Martin Yahn, Ray Upton, and Fell Peters, all of southern California.