Document title: The Editors of Collier's, "What Are We Waiting For?," and Dr. Wernher von Braun, "Crossing the Last Frontier," Collier's, March 22, 1952, pp. 23-29, 27-73. Document I-14 Document title: Dr. Wernher von Braun, "Man on the Moon: The Journey," Collier's, October 18, 1952, pp. 52-59. Document I-15 Document title: Dr. Fred L. Whipple, "Is There Life on Mars?," Collier's, April 30, 1954, p. 21. Document I-16 Document title: Dr. Wernher von Braun with Cornelius Ryan, "Can We Get to Mars?," Collier's, April 30, 1954, pp. 22-29. Collier's was a popular, family-oriented information magazine similar to Life and The Saturday Evening Post. Such magazines flourished in the post-war period until the advent of television and at its peak, Collier's had a circulation of over 3 million. On Columbus Day 1951, a Space Travel Symposium was held at the Hayden Planetarium of the New York, Museum of Natural History. The event had been organized by Willy Ley, a German emigré and author of the 1949 best-selling book, The Conquest of Space. Two journalists from Collier's were present at the symposium and notified their managing editor, Gordon Manning, about what was discussed there. His interest piqued, Manning sent associate editor Cornelius Ryan to a conference on space medicine held in San Antonio, Texas, in November 1951. After talking to Wernher von Braun, Fred Whipple, and Joseph Kaplan at the conference, Ryan became enthusiastic about the prospects of space travel. Ryan convinced Manning to hold an internal Collier's symposium on the subject. Based on this internal symposium, a series of eight feature articles appeared in the magazine from 1952 to 1954. The articles were authored by noted experts such as von Braun, James Van Allen, Fred Whipple, Fritz Haber, and Joseph Kaplan. The articles were accompanied by illustrations by Chesley Bonestell, who had illustrated Ley's book, as well as by Fred Freeman and Rolf Klep. These articles were the first to be published in a mainstream publication exposing the American public to the details of space exploration. They later led to a series of Disney animated films on the same subject and contributed to the popular historical image of space exploration. [23] Document I-13 What Are We Waiting For? On the following pages Collier's presents what may be one of the most important scientific symposiums ever published by an national magazine. It is the story of the inevitability of man's conquest of space. What you will read is not science fiction. It is serious fact. Moreover, it is an urgent warning that the U.S. must immediately embark on a long-range development program to secure for the West "space superiority." If we do not, somebody else will. That somebody else very probably would be the Soviet Union. The scientists of the Soviet Union, like those of the U.S., have reached the conclusion that it is now possible to establish an artificial satellite or "space station" in which man can live and work far beyond the earth's atmosphere. In the past it has been correctly said that the first nation to do this will control the earth. And it is too much to assume that Moscow's military planners have overlooked the military potentialities of such an instru ment. A ruthless foe established on a space station could actually subjugate the peoples of the world. Sweeping around the earth in a fixed orbit. Like a second moon, this man-made island in the heavens could be used as a platform from which to launch guided missiles. Armed with atomic war heads, radar-controlled projectiles could be aimed at any target on the earth's surface with devastating accuracy. Furthermore, because of the enormous speeds and relatively small size, it would be almost impossible to intercept them. In other words: whoever is the first to build a station in space can prevent any other nation from doing likewise. We know that the Soviet Union, like the U.S., has an extensive guided missile and rocket program under way. Recently, however the Soviets, intimated that they were investigating the development of huge rockets capable of leaving the earth's atmosphere. One of their top scientists, Dr. M. K. Tikhonravov, a member of the Red Army's Military Academy of Artillery, let it be known that on the basis of Soviet scientific development such rocket ships could be built and, also, that the creation of a space station was not only feasible but definitely probable. Soviet engineers could even now, he declared, calculate precisely the characteristics of such space vehicles; and be added that Soviet developments in this field equaled, if not exceeded, those of the Western World. We have already learned, to our sorrow, that Soviet scientists and engineers should never be underestimated. They produced the atomic bomb years earlier than was anticipated. Our air superiority over the Korean battlefields is being challenged by their excellent MIG-15 jet fighters which, at certain altitudes, have proved much faster than ours. And while it is not believed that the Soviet Union has actually begun work on a major project to capture space superiority, U.S. scientists point out that the basic knowledge for such a program has been available for the last 20 years. What is the U.S. doing, if anything, in this field? In December, 1948, the late James Forrestal, then Secretary of Defense, spoke of the existence of an "earth satellite vehicle program." But in the opinion of competent military observers this was little more than a preliminary study. And so far as is known today, little further progress has been made. Collier's feels justified in asking; What are we waiting for? We have the scientists and the engineers. We enjoy industrial superiority. We have the inventive genius. Why therefore, have we not embarked on a major space program equivalent to that which was undertaken in developing the atomic bomb? The issue is virtually the same. The atomic bomb was enabled the U.S. to buy time since the end of World War II. Speaking in Boston 1949, Winston Churchill put it this way: "Europe would have been communized and London under bombardment sometime ago but for the deterrent of the atomic bomb in the hands of the United States." The same could be said for a space station. In the hands of the West a space station, permanently established beyond the atmosphere, would be the greatest hope for peace the world has ever known. No nation could undertake preparations for war without the certain knowledge that it was being observed by the ever-watching eyes aboard the "sentinel in space." It would be the end of Iron Curtains wherever they might be. Furthermore, the establishment of a space station would mean the dawning of a new era for mankind. For the first time, exploration of the heavens would be possible, and the great secrets of the universe would be revealed. When the atomic bomb program-the Manhattan Project-was initiated, nobody really knew whether such a weapon could actually be made. The famous Smyth Report on atomic energy tells us that among the scientists where were many who had grave and fundamental doubts of the success of the undertaking. It was a two-billion-dollar technical gamble. Such would not be the case with a space program. The claim that huge rocket shops can be built and a space station created still stands unchallenged by any serious scientist. Our engineers can spell out right now (as you will see) the technical specifications for the rocket ship and space station in cut-and-dried figures. And they detail the design features. All they need is time (about 10 years), money and authority. Even the cost has been estimated: $4,000,000,000. And when one considers that we have spent nearly $54,000,000,000 on rearmament since the Korean war began, the expenditure of $4,000,000,000 to produce an instrument which would guarantee the peace of the world seems negligible. Collier's became interested in this whole program last October when members of our editorial staff attended the First Annual Symposium on Space Travel, held at New York's Hayden Planetarium. On the basis of their findings. Collier's invited the top scientists in the field of space research to New York for a series of discussions. The magazine symposium on these pages was born of these round table sessions. The scientists who have worked with us over the last five months on this project and whose views are presented in succeeding pages are: • Dr. Wernher von Braun, Technical Director of the Army Ordnance Guided Missiles Development Group. At forty, he is considered the foremost rocket engineer in the world today. He was brought to this country from Germany by the U.S. government in 1945. Dr. Fred L. Whipple, Chairman Department of Astronomy, Harvard University. One of the nations outstanding astronomers, he has spent most of his forty-five years studying the behavior of meteorites. •Dr. Joseph Kaplan, Professor of Physics at UCLA. One of the nation's top physicists and a world renowned authority on the upper atmosphere, the forty-nine-year-old scientists was decorated in 1947 for work in connection with B-29 bomber operations. • Dr. Heinz Haber, of the U.S. Air Force's Department of Space Medicine. Author of more than 25 scientific papers since our government brought him to this country from Germany in 1947. Dr. Haber, thirty-eight, is one of a small group of scientists working on the medical aspects of man in space. • Willy Ley, who acted as adviser to Collier's in the preparation of this project. Mr. Ley, forty-six is perhaps the best-known magazine science writer in the U.S. today. Originally a paleontologist, he was one of the founders of the German Rocket Society in 1927 and was Dr. Wernher von Braun's first tutor in rocket research. Others who made outstanding contributions to this issue include: • Oscar Schachter, Deputy Director of the UN Legal department. A recognized authority on international law, this thirty-six-year-old lawyer has frequently given legal advice on matters pertaining to international scientific questions, which lately have included the problems of space travel. • Chesley Bonestell, whose art has appeared in the pages of Collier's many times before. Famous for his astronomical painting, Mr. Bonestell began his career as an architect, but has spent most of his life painting for magazines and lately for Hollywood. • Artists Fred Freeman and Rolf Klep. Both spent many months working in conjunction with the scientists. For Collier's, associate editor Cornelius Ryan supervised assembly of the material for the symposium. The views expressed by the contributors are necessarily their own and in no way reflect those of the organizations to which they are attached. Collier's believes that the time has come for Washington to give priority of attention to the matter of space superiority. The rearmament gap between the East and West has been steadily closing. And nothing, in our opinion, should be left undone that might guarantee the peace of the world. It's as simple as that. THE EDITORS [25] Crossing the Last Frontier By Dr. Wernher von Braun Technical Director, Army Ordnance Guided Missiles Scientists and engineers now how to build a station in Space that would circle the earth 1,075 miles up. The job would take 10 years, and cost twice as much as the atom bomb. If we do it, we can not only preserve the peace but we can take a long step toward uniting mankind. [26] Within the next 10 or 15 years, the Earth will have a new companion in the skies, a man-made satellite that could be either the greatest force for peace ever devised, or one of the most terrible weapons of war-depending on who makes and controls it. Inhabited by humans, and visible from the ground as a fast-moving star, it will sweep around the earth at an incredible rate of speed in that dark void beyond the atmosphere which is known as "space." In the opinion of many top experts, this artificial moon-which will be carried into space, piece by piece, by rocket ships-will travel along a celestial route 1,075 miles above the earth, completing a trip around the globe every two hours. Nature will provide the motive power; a neat balance between its speed and the earth's gravitational pull will keep it on course (just as the moon is fixed in its orbit by the same two factors). The speed at which the 250 foot-wide, "wheel"-shaped satellite will move will be an almost unbelievable 4.4 miles per second, or 15,840 miles per hour-20 time the speed of sound. However, this terrific velocity will not be apparent to its occupants. To them, the space station will appear to be a perfectly steady platform. From this platform, a trip to the moon itself will be just a step, as scientists reckon distance in space. The choice of the so-called "two-hour" orbit-in preference to a faster one, closer to the earth or a slower one like the 29-day orbit of the moon-has one major advantage: |