Journey into Space

(9 of 10)

One of Von Braun's bitterest critics, an important missile expert, says: "Look at this Von Braun! He is the man who lost the war for Hitler. His V-2 was a great engineering achievement, but it had almost no military effect and it drained German brains and material from more practical weapons. Von Braun has always wanted to be the Columbus of space. He was thinking of space flight, not weapons, when he sold the V-2 to Hitler. He says so himself. He is still thinking of space flight, not weapons, and he is trying to sell the U.S. a space flight project disguised as a means of dominating the world."

This opinion is seconded by a German-speaking U.S. Army officer who was sent to collapsing Germany in 1945 to gather technical information. He went into the fabulous underground factory at Nordhausen where the V-2s were assembled, and found the director still in his office.

The director broke down and wept when he talked of the V-2s. "For each V-2," he said, "we could have built at least one jet fighter, and each jet fighter would have shot down at least one of your bombers, that have destroyed our country." The feeling of many (though not all) practical missile men is that Von Braun's satellite proposal would fail and would leave the U.S. without the new weapons it needs. These men think that the best way to achieve space flight, whether for military or peaceful reasons, is to continue with the present guided missile pro gram. Every success in this field, they say, will be a step toward space flight.

Von Braun has answers for all his critics. What the U.S. needs, he believes, is a daring, inspiring program that has a real chance of controlling the world. Atom bombs carried by airplanes are nearly worn out as war preventers. Guided mis siles are important weapons, but the Russians are working on them too. He thinks that a satellite station would put the U.S. far ahead in the race for power, and that no other program offers as much promise.

He hopes that the Russians will not be the first to garrison an orbit. (Last week the Russian magazine Ogonek predicted that the Soviet flag will be raised on the moon within 50 years.) Von Braun admits that his writings have been deliberate attempts to arouse popular enthusiasm and warm the cold feet of timid military planners. In writing for the public, he has had to omit convincing details that would have made his plan sound much more practical. During the last few years, he says, behind the wall of military secrecy there has been great progress. He believes that the guided missile men have moved much closer to space than many of them think.

He could (if permitted), Von Braun claims, tell about tested methods of overcoming the obstacles pointed out by his opponents. He is sure that many "terrors of space" will evaporate like the "sonic barrier," which once was thought to limit the speed of airplanes.