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3 A Brief History of Space Flight
Both colleges were under the control of the German military, and Oberth was still a
Romanian citizen at the time. Oberth joined the German nationality at the instigation
of German authorities and was sent to the Peenemünde rocket research base led by
Wernher von Braun in 1941, to work on Nazi German rocketry projects, including
the V-2 rocket weapons. In 1945, after the Allied occupation of Peenemünde, Oberth
was captured but soon released. Thereafter, Oberth had worked in education and was
ever elected honorary chairman of the German Society of Space Research, writing
scientific articles for magazines or serving as a scientific adviser. Oberth was allowed
to leave Nuremberg, Germany, and to move to Switzerland in 1948, where he worked
as an independent rocketry consultant and a writer. In the early 1950s, Oberth had
also worked for the new Italian Navy. Returned to Germany in 1953, he published
a book entitled “Men in Space”, in which he described his ideas for space-based
reflecting telescopes, space stations, electric-powered spaceships, and space suits.
In 1955, at the proposal of von Braun, Oberth was invited to develop space rockets
for NASA in Huntsville, Alabama, USA. Among other things, he was involved in
writing the research report, “The Development of Space Technology in the Next Ten
Years”. Later, he also went to work for the Convair Corporation in the United States
as a technical consultant on the Atlas rocket program, and then retired in 1962.
On December 29, 1989, Oberth died at the age of 95 in Nuremberg, Germany.
Among the four great pioneers in the field of modern astronautics, only Oberth
witnessed the brilliant era of space flight development, which the early astronautic
theory has become reality. In 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched the
world’s first artificial earth satellite, which is an important sign for humanity entering
the era of space flight; in 1961, the Soviet Union successfully launched the first
astronaut into space; in 1969, the United States successfully launched the first manned
moon landing; in 1971, the Soviet Union successfully built the first space station; in
1982, the United States successfully launched a reusable space shuttle. Moreover,
there was a series of deep-space exploration missions, including the probes that
exploring the planets and interplanetary space and that were flying out of the solar
system.
3.4 Early Astronautical Societies and Historical Merits
By the 1920s, the pioneers of modern astronautics had initially established the fundamental theory system of rocketry and space flight, and it had been spread widely [5].
In many countries, such as the Soviet Union, Germany, the United States and the
United Kingdom, a generation of young people with ideals, interests and passions
spontaneously organized and successively set up various societies of studying liquid
rockets and space flights, which promoted the development of modern space science
and technology.
3 A Brief History of Space Flight
Both colleges were under the control of the German military, and Oberth was still a
Romanian citizen at the time. Oberth joined the German nationality at the instigation
of German authorities and was sent to the Peenemünde rocket research base led by
Wernher von Braun in 1941, to work on Nazi German rocketry projects, including
the V-2 rocket weapons. In 1945, after the Allied occupation of Peenemünde, Oberth
was captured but soon released. Thereafter, Oberth had worked in education and was
ever elected honorary chairman of the German Society of Space Research, writing
scientific articles for magazines or serving as a scientific adviser. Oberth was allowed
to leave Nuremberg, Germany, and to move to Switzerland in 1948, where he worked
as an independent rocketry consultant and a writer. In the early 1950s, Oberth had
also worked for the new Italian Navy. Returned to Germany in 1953, he published
a book entitled “Men in Space”, in which he described his ideas for space-based
reflecting telescopes, space stations, electric-powered spaceships, and space suits.
In 1955, at the proposal of von Braun, Oberth was invited to develop space rockets
for NASA in Huntsville, Alabama, USA. Among other things, he was involved in
writing the research report, “The Development of Space Technology in the Next Ten
Years”. Later, he also went to work for the Convair Corporation in the United States
as a technical consultant on the Atlas rocket program, and then retired in 1962.
On December 29, 1989, Oberth died at the age of 95 in Nuremberg, Germany.
Among the four great pioneers in the field of modern astronautics, only Oberth
witnessed the brilliant era of space flight development, which the early astronautic
theory has become reality. In 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched the
world’s first artificial earth satellite, which is an important sign for humanity entering
the era of space flight; in 1961, the Soviet Union successfully launched the first
astronaut into space; in 1969, the United States successfully launched the first manned
moon landing; in 1971, the Soviet Union successfully built the first space station; in
1982, the United States successfully launched a reusable space shuttle. Moreover,
there was a series of deep-space exploration missions, including the probes that
exploring the planets and interplanetary space and that were flying out of the solar
system.
3.4 Early Astronautical Societies and Historical Merits
By the 1920s, the pioneers of modern astronautics had initially established the fundamental theory system of rocketry and space flight, and it had been spread widely [5].
In many countries, such as the Soviet Union, Germany, the United States and the
United Kingdom, a generation of young people with ideals, interests and passions
spontaneously organized and successively set up various societies of studying liquid
rockets and space flights, which promoted the development of modern space science
and technology.