3.4 Early Astronautical Societies and Historical Merits
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engines promised a more efficient method of propulsion than the rocket ones at the
high speeds and altitude that Sänger hoped to attain. After the War, Sänger had
worked for the French armament ministry, directed the Institute of Jet Propulsion
Physics, Stuttgart and taught at the West Berlin Technological University. On 10
February 1964, Sänger died of a heart attack in Berlin while lecturing to his students.
3.5 Entering the Age of Space Flight
The early spaceflight research societies and individuals played a significant role in
promoting the development of rocketry and astronautics, and since then humanity
began to enter the age of space flight. From the development and application of liquid
rockets and V-2 missiles to the launch of the first artificial earth satellite, the manned
earth orbit flights and the manned landing on the Moon, humanity were opening step
by step the great gate of space flight age.
3.5.1 Liquid Rockets and V-2 Missiles
On June 28, 1919, the victorious countries, led by Britain, France and Russia, signed
the Treaty of Versailles at the Palace of Versailles in Paris, aiming at punishing and
reducing the military equipment of the defeated countries, which marked the official
end of the First World War. Although the armistice, signed on 11 November 1918,
ended the actual fighting, it took six months of the Allied negotiations at the Paris
Peace Conference to conclude the peace treaty. By the Treaty of Versailles, as the main
defeated country in the War, Germany was restricted to develop military equipment
such as combat aircrafts, tanks, artilleries and machine guns, especially the Army
equipment. Under such an international context, the German army had to develop a
new weapon system, liquid rocket weapon, which leaps over the conventional army
equipment.
Karl H. E. Becker, head of the ballistics and munitions section of the Weapons
Testing Division of the Reich Ministry of Defense, was a key early supporter of
German development of rockets as weapons. In 1929, Colonel Becker (later became
an Artillery General) got the permission of the Ministry of Defense, leading the
research on the possibility to jet propulsion rockets and their applications to the
delivery of bombs, in which he appointed Lieutenant Walter R. Dornberger to take
charge of the specific work. In December 1930, the Ministry of the Army held a
special conference on the development of rocket weapons, indicating that German
officials began to support the liquid-fueled rocket research program. At the end of
1932, Dornberger selected some standouts from the VfR, including Wernher von
Braun, Walter Riedel, Arthur Rudolph and Heinrich Grünow, to formally establish
a liquid rocket research group. The 21-year-old von Braun was responsible for the
design and development of the first small liquid rocket with a thrust of 270 kgf,
141
engines promised a more efficient method of propulsion than the rocket ones at the
high speeds and altitude that Sänger hoped to attain. After the War, Sänger had
worked for the French armament ministry, directed the Institute of Jet Propulsion
Physics, Stuttgart and taught at the West Berlin Technological University. On 10
February 1964, Sänger died of a heart attack in Berlin while lecturing to his students.
3.5 Entering the Age of Space Flight
The early spaceflight research societies and individuals played a significant role in
promoting the development of rocketry and astronautics, and since then humanity
began to enter the age of space flight. From the development and application of liquid
rockets and V-2 missiles to the launch of the first artificial earth satellite, the manned
earth orbit flights and the manned landing on the Moon, humanity were opening step
by step the great gate of space flight age.
3.5.1 Liquid Rockets and V-2 Missiles
On June 28, 1919, the victorious countries, led by Britain, France and Russia, signed
the Treaty of Versailles at the Palace of Versailles in Paris, aiming at punishing and
reducing the military equipment of the defeated countries, which marked the official
end of the First World War. Although the armistice, signed on 11 November 1918,
ended the actual fighting, it took six months of the Allied negotiations at the Paris
Peace Conference to conclude the peace treaty. By the Treaty of Versailles, as the main
defeated country in the War, Germany was restricted to develop military equipment
such as combat aircrafts, tanks, artilleries and machine guns, especially the Army
equipment. Under such an international context, the German army had to develop a
new weapon system, liquid rocket weapon, which leaps over the conventional army
equipment.
Karl H. E. Becker, head of the ballistics and munitions section of the Weapons
Testing Division of the Reich Ministry of Defense, was a key early supporter of
German development of rockets as weapons. In 1929, Colonel Becker (later became
an Artillery General) got the permission of the Ministry of Defense, leading the
research on the possibility to jet propulsion rockets and their applications to the
delivery of bombs, in which he appointed Lieutenant Walter R. Dornberger to take
charge of the specific work. In December 1930, the Ministry of the Army held a
special conference on the development of rocket weapons, indicating that German
officials began to support the liquid-fueled rocket research program. At the end of
1932, Dornberger selected some standouts from the VfR, including Wernher von
Braun, Walter Riedel, Arthur Rudolph and Heinrich Grünow, to formally establish
a liquid rocket research group. The 21-year-old von Braun was responsible for the
design and development of the first small liquid rocket with a thrust of 270 kgf,