Science: V-3?

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The consensus: V-2 is probably propelled by alcohol or gasoline and liquid oxygen. It has a warhead with about a ton of explosive, a supply of compressed gas (perhaps nitrogen) to force the fuel into the combustion chamber, and fins to keep it on a set course. It is believed to carry at least seven times the weight of its explosive in fuel. It probably has a series of jets, operated in succession to keep the rocket going on its long course (and perhaps helpful also in steering). One plausible reconstruction, by Martial & Scull, Manhattan industrial designers, indicated a steering mechanism in the tail. It seems unlikely that V-2 is steered by radio, since V-111s not and, at the heights to which V-2 climbs (60 miles or more), accurate observation to correct its deviations from the set course would be difficult. With a trajectory like that of a long-range shell, dropping sharply from its peak height, V-2 is probably launched at about a 30° angle from the ground for its 250-300 mile flight.

Glimpses of the Moon. Last week Britain's famed jack-of-all-sciences, J. B. S. Haldane, philosophically predicted a big postwar future for V2, which he thought could rise to 200 miles if fired vertically. Mused Haldane: "it could take photographs . . . [of] the sun and perhaps other heavenly bodies. . . . For the cost of a day of war, it should be practicable to send a series of rockets round the moon and photograph its far side."