Page 60 - All About History - Issue 08-14

Hitler’s astronauts

V-2 rocket with fins on the side that enabled it
to strike targets over 800 kilometres (500 miles) “ Hitler was infatuated with ‘miracle
away after crossing the boundary into space, weapons’, advanced tech threatening to
later known as the Kármán line, 100 kilometres
(62 miles) high. The A-9 and subsequent rocket sway the war in Germany’s favour”
designs would ultimately never leave the ground,
but their potential was plain to see. In 1940 and 1941, Hermann Oberth worked on the rocket and have them manually fly it to its
Building upon this work was the A-10, which the design. Oberth and his fellow engineers destination. An ejection seat would enable the
can be regarded as one of the world’s first multi- encountered a key problem, though. In attempting pilot to escape shortly before the impact. In doing
stage rockets. About 20 metres (65 feet) tall to design a rocket that could travel over 5,000 so, with the rocket crossing the boundary into
and weighing over 16,000 kilograms (35,000 kilometres (3,100 miles) to the US, they were space, the team at Peenemünde were unwittingly
pounds), this was a modified V-2 rocket with unable to perfect a guiding system that would designing the first spacecraft that would take the
multiple engines, on top of which would be the enable the rocket to accurately hit its target. The world’s first astronaut into space.
A-9 rocket. The two-stage rocket would separate suggestion to use a string of radio beacons on both The design, of course, was hugely ambitious. At
once it reached space, leaving the A-9 to deliver its sea and land was considered, but would require the time nothing was known of human spaceflight
payload to a target over 500 kilometres (310 miles) men on the ground in the US to ‘paint’ targets and it was not until 1951 that the Soviet Union
away. After launching, the A-10 would descend with such beacons. sent animals into space. If such an endeavour were
back to Earth via parachutes, allowing it to be Instead they came up with a radical design, one to be successful, it’s likely any early pilots would
recovered and re-used for further launches. that had not been seriously considered before. almost certainly be throwing their lives away
The ultimate goal of the A-9 and A-10 was to be If they could modify the A-9 rocket to include a before the technology was perfected. Analysis
able to attack the US with launches from Europe. pressurised cockpit, they could place a pilot in of von Braun and his team’s plans after the war

US troops view a V-2 in Nordhausen after Germany’s surrender in WWII

The 10-step Nazi space plan

● 1. Peenemünde ● 2. Getting into space ● 3. Multi-stage rocket ● 4. Rocket plane ● 5. Launch satellites
Von Braun and his The first goal to prove Von Braun and his To satiate the need for Many of the scientists
compatriots needed space travel was team at Peenemünde weaponry to secure at Peenemünde
a dedicated centre possible was to build recognised the need funding, a rocket understood the need
from which they a rocket that could for a multi-stage rocket, plane was devised that to launch unmanned
could research and launch beyond the called the A-9, that would launch atop satellites into orbit to
develop rockets; they boundary of space, could propel itself to a larger rocket, not study exactly what
got it in 1937 with which was successfully much greater heights in unlike a space shuttle, effects the vacuum of
the construction of shown with the A-4 order to reach further delivering a warhead to space would have on a
Peenemünde. (V-2) rocket. into space. a distant target. human astronaut.

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