144
3 A Brief History of Space Flight
the new types of weapons in a hurry, whose many technical problems have not
been solved completely, and their hit accuracy and reliability are relatively low, in
which only 44% of the missile fall point errors are less than 10 km. Some missiles
exploded in the rising flight sections, or in the air thousands of meters away from the
targets, or even after drilling into the ground. Due to the delay in the delivery and
use of telemetry units, the problems had not been thoroughly identified. Even so, in
general, the German liquid rocket technology was far ahead of other countries in the
world at that time and had entered the stage of weaponization application, whose
contribution is worthy of affirmation, purely technologically, to the development of
modern rockets.
In the late of the Second World War, Dornberger, von Braun and others also
worked out a top-secret “Group Program”, which aimed to design manned spaceship
and realize manned spaceflight. For this reason, on the basis of improving A-4 rockets,
they designed series of rockets from A-6 to A-11 to carry out the special tests on
rocket technology and manned flight. Von Braun once envisaged that the multi-stage
manned liquid rocket technology could be an application to the development of longrange commercial aircrafts and bombers, as well as to the construction of specific
space stations; the large-scale solar reflectors could be installed in space to gather
the Sun’s light and heat to the selected areas on the surface of the Earth for uses;
humanity could be sent to the planets in the solar system for travels, and of course, the
first step would go to the Moon. For all that, in wartime, it can only be an assumption.
In April 1945, Dornberger, von Braun and others carried a large number of test
equipment, V-2 missiles and technical documentation, and led a group of German
rocket specialists to surrender to the U.S. Army. These technical specialists were
interrogated by the U.S. Army after surrendering. As Dornberger was a senior
German officer, he was transferred to London for interrogation by the British War
Crimes Investigation Unit in connection with the use of slave labor in the production of V-2 rockets, subsequently detained for 2 years at Bridgend in South Wales,
and then released to the United States. According to the secret program “Operation Paperclip” formulated by the U.S. Department of Defense, hundreds of German
rocket scientists and engineers, including von Braun and his V-2 rocket team, were
allowed to the United States work for the Army, contributing to the development of
American aerospace industry.
In June 1945, the Soviet Red Army advanced from the East Line to occupy the
rocket base at Peenemünde, but the highly confidential base had been deserted, and
only some ordinary technicians and V-2 missile parts were seized. In addition, Britain
and France also obtained some rocket experts, equipment and technical information
from Germany. The German liquid rocket technology has been transferred to many
countries, laying a foundation for the development of space technology in the world.
3 A Brief History of Space Flight
the new types of weapons in a hurry, whose many technical problems have not
been solved completely, and their hit accuracy and reliability are relatively low, in
which only 44% of the missile fall point errors are less than 10 km. Some missiles
exploded in the rising flight sections, or in the air thousands of meters away from the
targets, or even after drilling into the ground. Due to the delay in the delivery and
use of telemetry units, the problems had not been thoroughly identified. Even so, in
general, the German liquid rocket technology was far ahead of other countries in the
world at that time and had entered the stage of weaponization application, whose
contribution is worthy of affirmation, purely technologically, to the development of
modern rockets.
In the late of the Second World War, Dornberger, von Braun and others also
worked out a top-secret “Group Program”, which aimed to design manned spaceship
and realize manned spaceflight. For this reason, on the basis of improving A-4 rockets,
they designed series of rockets from A-6 to A-11 to carry out the special tests on
rocket technology and manned flight. Von Braun once envisaged that the multi-stage
manned liquid rocket technology could be an application to the development of longrange commercial aircrafts and bombers, as well as to the construction of specific
space stations; the large-scale solar reflectors could be installed in space to gather
the Sun’s light and heat to the selected areas on the surface of the Earth for uses;
humanity could be sent to the planets in the solar system for travels, and of course, the
first step would go to the Moon. For all that, in wartime, it can only be an assumption.
In April 1945, Dornberger, von Braun and others carried a large number of test
equipment, V-2 missiles and technical documentation, and led a group of German
rocket specialists to surrender to the U.S. Army. These technical specialists were
interrogated by the U.S. Army after surrendering. As Dornberger was a senior
German officer, he was transferred to London for interrogation by the British War
Crimes Investigation Unit in connection with the use of slave labor in the production of V-2 rockets, subsequently detained for 2 years at Bridgend in South Wales,
and then released to the United States. According to the secret program “Operation Paperclip” formulated by the U.S. Department of Defense, hundreds of German
rocket scientists and engineers, including von Braun and his V-2 rocket team, were
allowed to the United States work for the Army, contributing to the development of
American aerospace industry.
In June 1945, the Soviet Red Army advanced from the East Line to occupy the
rocket base at Peenemünde, but the highly confidential base had been deserted, and
only some ordinary technicians and V-2 missile parts were seized. In addition, Britain
and France also obtained some rocket experts, equipment and technical information
from Germany. The German liquid rocket technology has been transferred to many
countries, laying a foundation for the development of space technology in the world.