The amount of stuff the allies appropriated from the Nazis after the war was also astounding. I’ve read a few books on WW2 science / technical espionage, the war accelerated so much technical stuff on all sides it was astounding. OK I was too young to understand the psycho-social meaning of the word, but still surprised at it’s historical technical usage today. So it was obviously used in the military in 1947. Wow, I never knew they were real!ġ6:45 Rendezvous – the first time I heard this words was part of the Gemini space program, the capsule connecting with an Agena upper stage rocket as practice for Apollo– a big deal at the time. This seems right out of lame SiFi movies. Was a manual count and “fire” button really used?ġ5:03 A panel of electronic controls CRT displays of weird Lissajous patterns. I guess it evaporates?ġ4:05 Precursor to the KSC display– a guy with hand signals triggers another guy to write on a chalkboard for countdown.ġ4:35 A guy pushed a button for launch? I would have figured a washing machine type controller to time all the events prior to automatic launch, with a “hold” button. Some interesting things I noticed (besides the above):ġ0:44 Last minute adjustments on the data recording devices- with a metal file, as if the cable run opening was not right.ġ1:06 Pumping ethanol into the rocket with leaking connections. We just hear about the V2 parts made in Germany, but what about all the ground equipment– transport, launch pads, gantry, etc. Posted in Hackaday Columns, Retrotechtacular Tagged high altitude research, high-altitude, operation paperclip, rocket, V2 rockets, wwii Post navigation Help keep it fresh by sending in your ideas for future installments. Retrotechtacular is a weekly column featuring hacks, technology, and kitsch from ages of yore. Once the rocket has returned to Earth, they track down the pieces using radar, scouting planes, and jeeps to recover the instruments. The launch crew assembles in a blockhouse with a 27-foot-thick roof of reinforced concrete and runs through the protocol. It will be filled with nine tons of fuel once it is erected and unclamped.Īt the launch site, a gantry crane is used to add the alcohol, the liquid oxygen, and the steam turbine fuels after the controls are wired up. Prior to launch, the rocket’s tare weight is roughly five tons. Instead of explosives, the warhead is packed with instruments to report on high altitude conditions. The centrifugal fuel pump is powered by steam, which is generated separately by the reaction between hydrogen peroxide and sodium permanganate.Ī series of antennas are affixed to the rocket’s fins. In the course of operation, alcohol and liquid oxygen are pumped through a series of eighteen jets to the combustion chamber. Now the rocket is ready for its propulsion unit. Once the hull is in place around the fuel tanks, the ends are packed with more glass wool. The alcohol and liquid oxygen tanks are connected together, and skins are fitted around them to keep fuel from leaking out. Here, V-2 rockets are assembled from 98% German-made parts constructed before V-E day. The hull of each rocket is lined with glass wool insulation by men without masks. This 1947 War Department Film Bulletin takes a look inside the activities at White Sands. The destination for these rockets? White Sands Proving Grounds in the New Mexico desert, where they would be launched 100 miles above the Earth for the purpose of high altitude research. At the end of World War II, the United States engaged in Operation Paperclip to round up German V-2 rockets and their engineers.
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