Dec 12

Space Rocket History #42 – Satellite Killer – Polyot-1

The Space Age had barely begun when Soviet engineers started planning ways to destroy enemy satellites. Some Western analysts have speculated that a design for an anti-satellite weapon system was started at Korolev’s OKB-1 bureau as early as 1956…

polyot1

Polyot-1

Credit: © Dietrich Haeseler

Credit: © Dietrich Haeseler

poletdh2

Credit: © Dietrich Haeseler

space rocket history pic45

By Dave

Apr 11

Space Rocket History #7 – Inter-service Rivalries

It’s important to understand that in the late 1940s within the United States there were three concurrent programs for military rocket development. This was due to continuing inter-service rivalry between the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

v2Wac Corporal

Bumper-WAC

270px-Hermes_A-1_Test_Rockets_-_GPN-2000-000063

A-1

Aerobee

Aerobee

WAC_Corporal

WAC Corporal

Viking

Viking

 

MX-774

MX-774

 

Apr 04

Space Rocket History #6 – The Competition

“The Americans have unified their forces into a single thrust, and make no secret of their plans to dominate outer space. But we keep our plans secret even to ourselves…”  Sergei Korolev the Founder of the Soviet Space Program.

Korolevr7cut

Mar 27

Space Rocket History #5 – Escaping the Reich

“In 1937, I was officially demanded to join the National Socialist Party. At this time I was already Technical Director at the Army Rocket Center at Peenemünde. The technical work carried out there had, in the meantime, attracted more and more attention in higher levels. Thus, my refusal to join the party would have meant that I would have to abandon the work of my life. Therefore, I decided to join. My membership in the party did not involve any political activity.”  Werner von Braun, 1947.

Peenemünde, Dornberger, Olbricht, Leeb, v. Braun

Werner von Braun at Peenedmunde