“I don’t think the human race will survive the next thousand years, unless we spread into space. There are too many accidents that can befall life on a single planet. But I’m an optimist. We will reach out to the stars.”
— Stephen Hawking, theoretical physicist and cosmologist.
One would think that with all the attention that the Space Race received during the Cold War, either the US or Russia would have been the pioneer of space exploration. But surprisingly, the Germans were at the forefront. In the 1930s and the 1940s, one name became synonymous with space research across the world: Werner Von Braun. Von Braun was greatly influenced by the works of both, Goddard and Oberth, and started to work on liquid-fuelled rockets from an early age. In the 1930s, when the Nazi party came into power, Von Braun was enlisted by the army and by 1934, he had successfully launched two liquid-fuelled rockets, although neither of them reached space. This series of rockets would be known as the Aggregat series, and titled A-1, A-2 and so on. Of course, Hitler’s interest in the rockets was to use them as long-range ballistic missiles that would have a reach unparalleled by any other artillery on the planet. He personally met with Von Braun a few times and finally gave the go-ahead for A-4. It was this fourth Aggregat rocket that would turn out to be the most significant in mankind’s history. More famously known as the V-2 rocket, this would be the first man-made machine to reach 100 kilometres from the surface of the earth – the demarcating line between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.
There were some key elements and advancements in the V-2 rocket which
no American or Russian scientists had managed at the time. The liquid-fuel, of course, was the most important part. The rocket used an ethanol-water mixture as fuel and liquid oxygen as the oxidizer, a combination of which allowed it to reach heights of 80 kilometres – high enough to be able to attack London. More importantly, being a combat ballistic missile, the rocket needed Taking off 9 to have some sort of guidance system. Von Braun’s team used an ingenious combination of gyroscope sensors and rudders to achieve this. But like with so many artefacts of war, the V-2 rocket was rushed out of production as a moraleboosting weapon for the Nazi army, which was getting hammered by the Allied Forces. So while it managed to do what it was asked, it didn’t fulfil the lofty ambitions of Von Braun. Germany eventually lost the war and American and Russian forces managed to capture the plans and even some of the scientists – including Von Brain – responsible for developing the rocket. This knowledge, combined with their pre-existing space programmes, led to both the US and the Russians kicking off the Space Race.
The V-2 rocket
One would think that with all the attention that the Space Race received during the Cold War, either the US or Russia would have been the pioneer of space exploration. But surprisingly, the Germans were at the forefront. In the 1930s and the 1940s, one name became synonymous with space research across the world: Werner Von Braun. Von Braun was greatly influenced by the works of both, Goddard and Oberth, and started to work on liquid-fuelled rockets from an early age. In the 1930s, when the Nazi party came into power, Von Braun was enlisted by the army and by 1934, he had successfully launched two liquid-fuelled rockets, although neither of them reached space. This series of rockets would be known as the Aggregat series, and titled A-1, A-2 and so on. Of course, Hitler’s interest in the rockets was to use them as long-range ballistic missiles that would have a reach unparalleled by any other artillery on the planet. He personally met with Von Braun a few times and finally gave the go-ahead for A-4. It was this fourth Aggregat rocket that would turn out to be the most significant in mankind’s history. More famously known as the V-2 rocket, this would be the first man-made machine to reach 100 kilometres from the surface of the earth – the demarcating line between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space. There were some key elements and advancements in the V-2 rocket whichno American or Russian scientists had managed at the time. The liquid-fuel, of course, was the most important part. The rocket used an ethanol-water mixture as fuel and liquid oxygen as the oxidizer, a combination of which allowed it to reach heights of 80 kilometres – high enough to be able to attack London. More importantly, being a combat ballistic missile, the rocket needed Taking off 9 to have some sort of guidance system. Von Braun’s team used an ingenious combination of gyroscope sensors and rudders to achieve this. But like with so many artefacts of war, the V-2 rocket was rushed out of production as a moraleboosting weapon for the Nazi army, which was getting hammered by the Allied Forces. So while it managed to do what it was asked, it didn’t fulfil the lofty ambitions of Von Braun. Germany eventually lost the war and American and Russian forces managed to capture the plans and even some of the scientists – including Von Brain – responsible for developing the rocket. This knowledge, combined with their pre-existing space programmes, led to both the US and the Russians kicking off the Space Race.
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