Scientists Testing Sprinkler Technique Science Daily "We're a little surprised at how much this material is clumping together when we dig into it," said Doug Ming a Phoenix science team member from NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston.
Mars Lander Scientists to Try One Last Soil Shake Associated Press Scientists troubleshooting the Phoenix lander said Monday they will try one last shake to get a scoopful of Martian dirt inside a tiny oven in hopes of jump-starting their study of Mars' north pole region.
NASA Pioneer Ernst Stuhlinger Dies Boston Herald Ernst Stuhlinger, one of the last surviving German rocket scientists who came to America after World War II and formed the engineering foundation of the nation’s space program, has died. He was 94. Stuhlinger, who died Sunday, had
June 24, 2008
I see where the Mars Lander is having a bit of mechanical trouble. Of course, we wouldn't be anywhere near Mars if it hadn't been for Operation Paperclip.
Never heard of it? It was the secret plan at the end of World War II to bring many of the best Nazi scientists - especially the ones who'd worked on Hitler's V-2 rocket program -- to the U.S.
Of course, because some of them had worked in places like Dachau, it took a bit of OSS skullduggery to get them into the country. But, frankly, I think it was worth it.
Thanks to the top-secret mission - the complete details of which weren't even divulged to President Harry Truman - we got guys like Ernst Stuhlinger. He developed the guidance and navigation system for the Saturn 5, the powerful rocket that eventually took the Apollo astronauts to the moon.
But Stuhlinger's greatest contribution was perhaps when we were racing the Soviets to simply launch something - anything - into space. They beat us, of course. Launching Sputnik 1 on Oct. 4, 1957, it's now-familiar "beep, beep, beep" tormenting us from space.
It took Stuhlinger and his former Nazi collaborators 84 days to design and built Explorer 1, which launched on Jan. 31, 1958. The rocket combined the technology used by the Germans for their V-2 rockets with American upper stages. The second stage of the rocket was particularly critical, as it had to be fired at precisely the right time to put the satellite into orbit.
There was so much pressure to launch the satellite quickly - and match the Soviets - that Stuhlinger worked in his garage at home. In a matter of hours, he came up with an ingenious and unsophisticated timing device.
Equally valuable to the U.S. space program was Bernhard Tessmanm. He also worked in the V-2 production facility at Peenemunde, developing thrust-measuring devices for the rockets. While he also came to the U.S. and worked with Stuhlinger and others, Tessmann's most valuable work was done in 1945.
Afraid that the Nazis would destroy all the V-2 rocket research, as they had other scientific data, he and Dieter Huzel loaded 14 tons of research material into three Opel trucks and hid them in an abandoned iron mine outside Dornten. When they surrendered to the U.S. Army's 44th Division a few months later, they lead them to the rocket data, which was quickly brought back to the U.S.
Did these guys do some horrible things during the war? Certainly. Stuhlinger's advanced guidance systems for the V-2 rockets were killing more civilians in London in June 1944 than the Allies were killing Nazis in Normandy. And, of course, we now know that the U.S. - the CIA in particular - was complicit in helping former Nazis flee to South America after the war.
But I'll close with this simple question: Were we better off bringing the Nazi scientists here, or should they - on principle - have spent the rest of their lives in a prison cell?
Awaiting your vigorous discussion here at Peterman's Eye.
The V2 www.v2rocket.com The V2 was an unmanned, guided, ballistic missile. It was guided by an advanced gyroscopic system that sent signals to aerodynamic steering tabs on the fins and vanes in the exhaust.
Military Origins of the Space Race www.nasm.si.edu After World War II, the rocket foreshadowed a new style of warfare in which nuclear bombs could be delivered quickly across the world. War might begin--and end--suddenly, decisively, without warning.
The OSS in Europe history.sandiego.edu The Office of the Strategic Services, or the (OSS), played an important and sometimes overlooked role in bringing victory to the allies in World War II.
Who's your favorite Nazi scientist?
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DPR: RE Yesterdays (and the day before) post. Hey, I was wondering the same thing. I was afraid I ran everybody off. If you are in a herd, just make sure you're not the weak Zebra.
My favorite Nazi scientest? Oh brother, here we go.
In 1933, Adolf Hitler met with Ferdinand Porsche to discuss Hitler's idea of a volkswagen. Hitler proposed a people's car that could carry 5 people, cruise up to 62mph, return 33mpg, and cost only 1000 Reich Marks. This was an opportunity for Porsche to push his idea of a small car foward, as was it to help Hitler get a real people's car for the citizens of Germany.
Initially, Porsche designated this design the Type 60, but it was soon changed to the V1 (experimental 1). Hitler also proposed to have a convertible version produced: it was designated V2. They were completed and driving by 1935. Soon, the V1 design was updated, and three cars were produced. This new design was the VW3. These cars were put through rigorous testing in 1936. Several engines were tested, and eventually a flat four cylinder aircooled four stroke engine was chosen. Surprisingly, the engine that was chosen was cheaper and more reliable than some of the four cylinder two stroke engines that were tested. This 22.5 hp four cylinder "boxer" engine was roughly the same as the engines that would later be incorporated into Volkswagen Beetles that are still produced today.
Due to Hitler's regime, control of the company and testing of the VW30 was given to a government organization called the DAF. Now, members of the SS were required to drive the VW30s to confirm that all the problems of the V3s were fixed. For the most part, these tests showed that most of the problems in earlier cars had been fixed.
When the V38s were introduced, Hitler abruptly changed the name of the car to KdF Wagen. KdF stood for "Kraft durch Freude" which meant "Strength through Joy." This upset Porsche, as he was not a member of the Nazi party, and he didn't support Hitler's use of propaganda when advertising the car.
These cars changed automotive history. Just for grins, check on what a pre 1968 VW sells for today, not to mention the VW Bus. 20 to 60K for a "nice" one.
I think another way of asking Mr. Peterman's, or perhaps it is how I would answer his question; would be to ask "if it was more important to win, or to be right".
We were, I believe, in a critical race to get to these scientists before the Soviets. I don't believe either party intended to mothball their scientific and engineering breakthroughs while they spent their time pointlessly in prison. Unless they were "war criminals", they were doing the same thing that the allied scientists and engineers were doing, trying to build the better rocket/weapon, but obviously for the wrong side.
I would take the leap of faith that we harnessed their skills and developments for the betterment of our country's scientific advancement and security. We were in a race we could not afford to fall to far behind in or lose.
Perhaps we could look at this from the other side to get a bit of perspective. My father in law was one of those scientists who had worked on the V2 and was brought to this country as part of Operation Paperclip. (He had also been given the opportunity to go to the Soviet Union but chose the US.) He loved this country, became a citizen and worked on numerous projects that provided us with a viable space program. For his efforts, he was investigated by the FBI and treated with suspicion by our citizens and, in the end, returned home to work for the ESA. When he died, he was still an American citizen and a subscriber to The New Yorker. This was Nazi Germany but I wonder if we have treated the scientists from Viet Nam or from Iraq any better?
tajar, Your point is well taken.
The tremendous physical and mental toll wrought by wars on all sides continue to mount long after the last shot is fired. Trust and faith in humanity are wounds that always take the longest to heal.
If a scientist is good at his/her work, I have no objection to his working for me simply because he had worked for my enemy in the past. I am far more concerned about a scientist who worked in a place like Dachau. Dachau had nothing to do with the war but, rather, with the Holocaust. It was not used to detain allied soldiers but, rather, to torture and kill innocent Germans. This is a very different issue.
The question seems to me to be one of redemption. Can a scientist, by aiding the noble cause of human improvement and exploration in a comparatively free nation, atone for the sins of his past? The families of those who were murdered in Dachau and other such places might disagree with me, but I am tempted to say yes.
Some years ago, I was troubled with a guilty conscience and was pouring my heart out to a friend who insisted that I was a better man than I believed because she had only seen better behavior from me than what was haunting me at the time. I insisted that no good that I did could UNdo my earlier transgressions. While acknowledging the truth of this statement, my friend then said something that changed my outlook, "We are the SUM of our actions." That little sentence applies to everyone. All the good and evil that men do is lumped together in a sum total and that measures who and what we are. Those who contributed to the atrocities of Dachau have a long road to travel but it CAN be traveled. As evil as they have been, the harm they perpetrated was finite. The number of lives destroyed was, likewise, finite. It makes sense that the path to atonement is also finite.
If you revisit (or visit for the first time) the masterful film, "Judgment at Nuremberg", you will see the story of a Nazi judge racked with guilt over his corruption. He seems sympathetic due to his clear attempts to redeem himself. One might ask, "Can you achieve redeption merely by seeking it?" Again, I would say yes, at least to a degree if not entirely. But the movie makes its case far better than I can.
All in all, I would answer yes to both sides of Mr. Peterman's question: Yes, on principle, the Nazi scientists should have rotted in jail for the rest of their lives. BUT we are, indeed, better off for having brought them here... and SO ARE THEY.
drdgscott said...
Guilt and complicity are two ungainly dance partners. I keep wondering what price we will pay as Americans for our relative silence in regards to the actions of the current administration. The rights of Americans disappear under the guise of security, the earth is savaged in the name of progress, and the government, sporting hubris like designer clothing, clings tenaciously to an "end justifies the means" mentality. "Nazi" used to be the dirtiest word in the human lexicon. America come dangerously close to taking the number one spot.
America, like all nations, like all things human, has it's flaws. America also has many, many strengths that it has, does, and always shall benefit it's citizens as well as the rest of the world. We are still a symbol of freedom to much of the world. The comments made on these pages are but one example of those freedoms. To say that "our" America is close to replacing the atrocities of Nazism and close to becoming the "dirtiest word in the human lexicon" because of one's dislike of the current administration is misguided arrogance at the best.
the last phrase should read "misguided arrogance at best", not at the best. Sorry, it was a heated moment.
Wernher von Braun was always my favorite, partly due to the parody song written about him by Tom Lehrer. Say what you want about the Nazis, but you can't deny that they were an efficient people. Snappy dressers as well. Nothing in the Allied wardrobe came close to the SS black and silver. Hugo Boss was a major designer of Nazi uniforms, so it's no surprise they exhibited such sartorial splendor.
SSJ:
As always, you recognize the flaw of judging things solely according to their worst standards.
If America were truly limited to the perspective drdgscott expresses (and, please understand, I DO feel his pain), we would be afraid to say so. If America were really to descend into a Nazi state, the first sign of it would be the fearful unwillingness to say so. The fact that someone is perfectly content to type "America is descending into a Nazi state" (or words to similar effect) without any fear of being shot for such action inherently disproves the content of the statement.
As a Vietnam veteran, I've done business with my former enemies, the North Vietnamese. I've found them to be as honorable as anyone else. Besides, the war has been over a long time. Perhaps it's disrespectful to my fellow veterans, perhaps I'm not appropriately bitter, but I've found by offering the hand of friendship and professional honesty and integrity I've gained more than 11 years of fighting ever got us.
As someone who has relatives killed by the Germans in two world wars and specifically the Nazis in the last world war, I feel the right choice was made to bring those scientists here to work on our own defense and space programs.
Perhaps some of them might have been like the Peter Seller's former Nazi scientist character in Dr. Strangelove, but it was the right thing to do.
Think about it: we are on the edge of going to Mars and the universe beyond, the Germans are not!
And I'll leave you with this one last bit of history. My father's ship was sunk in the Battle of the Atlantic, he lost half his stomach. The ship was sunk by a German submarine. Many years later my father met the submarine commander whose orders cost my father his stomach and most of his crew members their lives. I remember the meeting. It was a dinner party in Hollywood. There was no hatred, only respect tinged with sadness. They spoke about life at sea and the fury of North Atlantic storms. They spoke about their lives and how they both ended up in America.
Forgiveness is, no doubt, the key that opens the door to personal redemption.
DPR, Thanks for the feedback. Just another of the seemingly infinite number of reasons why we should be sure to vote. No doubt there will be changes made, I hope they are for the better.
ExPat, Very well said. Your story is a touching one that provides an excellent perspective to the original question.
Note to Self, . . . gotta keep working on those "just listen and either chill a bit or just shut your cakehole" skills..
SSJ:
I've never been very good with those skills either. I think we are members of an enormous club.
ExPat:
Your story (like so many you have shared) is lovely and moving. Until that final paragraph, though, we were talking about very different things. You spoke of doing business with "the" North Vietnamese and having lost family members at the hands of "the" Germans. But this is all very general. Your father's forgiveness of the actual individual commander who cost him so much is much more along the lines of what I was describing.
You may do business with many North Vietnamese. But have you ever done business with former members of the Viet Cong? With anyone who personally tortured one of your comrades to death? With anyone you personally recognized from being in country? This may still present opportunities for forgiveness and redemption and I have no doubt that a gentleman of your sensibilities would aquit himself honorably (just as your father had). But surely the nature of the feelings involved in such an encounter would be different from a simple countryman who just happened to be born within the same geographical boundaries.
Dutchman said...
Sort of like the Yankees getting someone from the Red Sox who can help them.
All's fair in love, baseball and science.