For fans of rocket science history...
 

At potential risk to my mental health, I spent a little time reading threads in the Unicorn Corral this morning, and it occurred to me to pass along a book recommendation. "Ignition! An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants" by John D. Clark was published in 1972 or thereabouts and is a fascinating book. It chronicles the rapid R&D into liquid-fueled rockets from their beginning, and covers the crazy chemistry and experiments that went into advancing the state of the art for ICBMs and the space program. Really, some bonkers stuff at times, and hilariously written. I get engrossed every time I open it, and it seems like something that more than a few EcoModders might get a kick out of as well.

Unfortunately, the book is out of print, but is easily available as a pdf. Here's a current link: http://www.sciencemadness.org/librar...s/ignition.pdf

- Scott

It's also to point out we pretty much just continued the nazi program but with less genocidal delusions of superiority and world domination in mind.
The whole idea was to take the thing we were going to drop on Japan and make a faster more reliable delivery system that is impossible to shoot down.

Thank you!

Thank who for what?

https://www.google.com/search?q=sex+and+rockets

It was more like Operation Paperclip imported the genocidal delusions of superiority and world domination, and was stabbed in the back on the rockets. The rocketeers in New Mexico were in contact with their counterparts on the other side and threw the first 'first' to the Soviets. Remember the rockets pin-wheeling off the launch pad at Vandenburg AFB?

It was John Kennedy paying Marshal Tito a few billion for the Hungarian space program, that allowed him to propose the Apollo program a few months later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_oQFplWs_g

The US, or should i say the ones with money are not always the heroes.

Your comment, while technically true (the best kind), doesn't touch the high strangeness (as Robert Anton Wilson would have put it) of Aliester Crowely or Marshal Tito being involved.

Sheesh, and I was just hoping you guys might be interested in the engineering challenges/solutions. :rolleyes:

It was that pesky word 'history'. But you can steer your own thread. Behold:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e5B7EKVg48

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcjXvjYRLRE

So — aerospike engine for single stage to orbit, and submarine launch to reduce the launch facility's cost.

Yeah, and I know threads take on a life of their own. It's the chemistry and dangerously-explody stuff that I found fun. (The history of the Nazi and Soviet programs do get some time in the book, naturally.) :)