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Theproblemofspacetravel II_{G|NAL,(:uHTL_$_ tf '$-_tOR,ILLgSTr,ATI6HS.' THEPROBLEMOFSPACETRAVEL THEROCKETMOTOR Hermann Noordung (Herman Poto6nik) Edited by Ernst Stuhlinger and J. D. Htmley with.Jennifer Garland Foreword by Frederick I. Ordway III Preface by J. D. Hunley The NASA History Series NASA SP°4026 National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA History Office Washington, D.C. 1995 Translation from German to English of "Das Problem der Befahrung des Weltraums, Der Raketen-Motor," Richard Carl Schmidt & Co.: Berlin, 1929, 188 pp., by: SCITRAN 1482 East Valley Road Santa Barbara, California 93108 Library of Congress Cataloglng-in-Publication Data Noordung, Hermann, 1892-1929. [Problem der Befahrung des Wehraums. Engtish] The problem of space travel: the rocket motor/Hermann Noordung (Herman Poto/_nik) ; edited by Ernst Stuhlinger andJ.D. Hunley with Jennifer Garland; foreword by Frederick I. Ordway lII; preface by J.D. Hunley. p. cm. --(The NASA history series) (NASA SP; 4026) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Space flight. 2. Space stations. 3. Astronautics. I. Stuhlinger, Ernst, 1913- . If. Hunley.J.D., 1941- III. Garland,Jennifer, 1968- . Iv'. Title. V. Series. Xrl. Series: NASA SP; 4026. TL790.N613 1995 629.4_dc20 94-36645 CIP For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-9328 ISBN 0-16-045462-X Table of Contents Page Foreword ............................................................................................... ix Preface ................................................................................................... xv Introduction .......................................................................................... 1 The Power of Gravity ............................................................................ 3 The Practical Gravitational Boundary of the Earth ........................... 5 The Free Orbit ...................................................................................... 6 Maneuvering in the Gravitational Fields of Outer Space ................. 8 The Armor Barrier of the Earth's Atmosphere ................................. 9 The Highest Altitudes Reached to Date ............................................. 10 The Cannon Shot into Outer Space ................................................... 11 The Reactive Force ............................................................................... 12 The Reaction Vehicle ........................................................................... 14 The Rocket ............................................................................................ 15 Previous Researchers Addressing the Problem of Space Flight ....... 16 The Travel Velocity and the Efficiency of Rocket Vehicles ............... 17 The Ascent ............................................................................................ 25 General Comments about the Structure of the Space Rocket ......... 32 Proposals To Date ................................................................................. 40 Comments Regarding Previous Design Recommendations ............. 51 The Return to Earth ............................................................................ 53 Hohmann's Landing Maneuver .......................................................... 55 Landing in a Forced Circular Motion ................................................ 57 Landing in Braking Ellipses ................................................................ 59 Oberth's Landing Maneuver ............................................................... 61 The Result To Date .............................................................................. 61 Two Other Important Questions ........................................................ 62 The Space Rocket in an Inclined Trajectory ..................................... 62 The Space Rocket as an Airplane ....................................................... 65 The Space Station in Empty Space ..................................................... 72 The Nature of Gravity and How it can be Influenced ....................... 75 The Effect of Weightlessness on the Human Organism ................... 78 The Physical Behavior of Objects when Gravity is Missing ............... 80 Without Air ........................................................................................... 88 Perpetual Silence Prevails in Empty Space ........................................ 89 Sunshine during Nighttime Darkness ................................................ 89 Unlimited Visibility .............................................................................. 90 Without Heat ........................................................................................ 91 Designing the Space Station ................................................................ 93 The Solar Power Plant ......................................................................... 95 iv Supplying Light .................................................................................... 96 Supplying Air and Heat ....................................................................... 97 Water Supply ......................................................................................... 98 Long Distance Communications ......................................................... 98 Means of Controlling the Space Station ............................................. 99 Partitioning the Space Station into Three Entities ........................... 101 The Habitat _qleel ............................................................................... 102 The Observatory and the Machine Room ......................................... 108 Providing for Long-Distance Communications and Safety ............... 112 Partitioning the Space Station into Two Entities ............................... 112 The Space Suit ...................................................................................... 113 The Trip to the Space Station ............................................................. 115 Special Physical Experiments .............................................................. 118 Telescopes of Enormous Size .............................................................. 119 Observing and Researching the Earth's Surface ............................... 119 Exploring tire Stars ............................................................................... 120 A Giant Floating Mirror ....................................................................... 121 The Most Dreadful Weapon ................................................................ 122 To Distant Celestial Bodies .................................................................. 123 The Technolog3, of Space Travel ......................................................... 125 I,aunching from the Earth's Surface .................................................. 128 The Space Station as a Base for Travel into Deep Space .................. 128 The Attainability of the Neighboring Planets .................................... 129 Distant Worlds ...................................................................................... 131 Will It Ever be Possible to Reach Fixed Stars? ................................... 134 The Expected Course of Development of Space Travel ................... 137 Final Remarks ....................................................................................... 140 Index ..................................................................................................... 141 List of Illustrations Figure l, Force of Gravity. ......................................................................... 3 Figure 2, Inertial Force ............................................................................. 4 Figure 3, Centrifllgal Force ........................................................................ 4 Figure 4, Gravitational Effects ................................................................... 5 Figure 5, Circular Free Orbit ..................................................................... 6 Figure 6, Various Free Orbits ................................................................... 7 Figure 7, Orbiting Velocity. ....................................................................... 8 Figalre 8, Earth's Atmosphere .................................................................. 9 Figure 9, Altitude and Air Density .......................................................... 10 Figure 10, Giant Cannon fi:_r Firing at the Moon .................................. 11 Figure 11, Reactive Force ....................................................................... 12 Figure 12, Action and Reaction .............................................................. 13 Figure 13, Center of Gravity of a Rifle and Projectile ............................ 13 Figure 14, Reaction Vehicle ................................................................... 14 Figure 15, Fireworks Rocket .................................................................. 15 Figure 16, Velocity of Expulsion ............................................................ 18 Figure 17, Travel Velocity. ..................................................................... 18 Figure 18, Travel and Exhaust Velocity. ................................................. 21 Figure 19, Vertical Ascent .................................................................... 25 Figure 20, Flat Ascent .........................................................................
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