This is REALLY Cool, at Least to Me

[KASASpace]

Space, by 1950.

Wait, wait, hear me out here.

Okay, so, in the mid 1940s, the Germans had ballistic missiles. However, they were short-ranged, and couldn't really do much.

The A-9 is essentially an A-4 with wings, and then with shingles (aircraft shingles, like on the SR-71).

Now, one of the craziest ideas, which is actually kind of cool and stupid at the same time, (not to mention a wee bit kerbal) was to launch an A-9 on top of an A-10. This stack could have hit the USA, and would have caused widespread panic. It would have been manned, as there was no guiding system that was fairly accurate (for the day) that worked for crossing an ocean.

The Germans cancelled it in the early 40s, but restarted it in the mid 40s. And then they lost.

However, von Braun also came up with other designs of particular interest.......

For example, the A-9/A-10/A-11 could have been used as an even greater ranged ICBM, or a small payload to orbit could be launched.

Keep in mind this was still the early to mid 1940s when this was designed.

If the USA had decided to build it, they could have beaten the Russians, and improve on the design over time.

However, something even bigger was on von Braun's mind........

The A-9/A-10/A-11/A-12 was effectively an orbital rocket. It could have put TONS into orbit, albeit not many.

It was truly gargantuan, but it could have been amazing if the feat could have been done.

Perhaps like this:

Americans get von Braun who shows them space tech

A-9 test flight, dropped from B-29 (akin to X-1 drop) ~1947

A-10 test with static upper stage ~late 1947

A-9/A-10 test flight ~mid 1948

A-11 test, with static stages ~mid 1949

A-9/A-10/A-11 *all up* test, ~mid 1950

Now, that is just an approximation.

Edited March 31, 2014 by Specialist290

[Tex]

I've always loved pre-60's methods for space travel. Of course it's laughable today, now that we know it's impossible, but it was still just funny to think that somebody had the idea to ride a huge cannonball (fired from an actual cannon, mind you) and just get into orbit that way!

Technically, this is what Newton's Cannon demonstrates, but you and I both know that there's no such cannon yet in existence that has that kind of power. Yet.

[vger]

Technically, this is what Newton's Cannon demonstrates, but you and I both know that there's no such cannon yet in existence that has that kind of power. Yet.

It's also how the Martians reached Earth in the original War of the Worlds. Massive cannon aimed at Earth, loaded with a cylindrical 'drop ship,' along with three war vehicles and crew/engineers.

Bigger problem than making a cannon with enough power is figuring out how to survive the G's.

[Scotius]

I like old-school sci-fi too There is something adorable in the idea of couple of guys building atomic(!) spaceship in a shed, taking it to orbit, and then interplanetary - all without rows and rows of supercomputers, ground support, often without means of communicating with Earth. We might shake our heads smiling, but it is endearing. Though some early ideas were pretty terrifying Like nuclear powered rocket lifting of Earth's surface under main thrust, leaving behind huge swath of the desert turned into radioactive glass - not to mention irradiated contrail over half of a continent.

[vger]

Heh, Scotius, this is why the movie, "Explorers," regardless of how ridiculous it is, is one of my favorite films, ever.

[KASASpace]

Heh, Scotius, this is why the movie, "Explorers," regardless of how ridiculous it is, is one of my favorite films, ever.

That one where kids go interstellar? With a "space bubble?"

Edited March 31, 2014 by Specialist290

[KASASpace]

I've always loved pre-60's methods for space travel. Of course it's laughable today, now that we know it's impossible, but it was still just funny to think that somebody had the idea to ride a huge cannonball (fired from an actual cannon, mind you) and just get into orbit that way!

Technically, this is what Newton's Cannon demonstrates, but you and I both know that there's no such cannon yet in existence that has that kind of power. Yet.

These were legitimate designs, the A-4 came from von Braun and his team, and the A-9 design did, as well.

Imagine, rather than "red moon",

Dark moon, because the Germans of that time had a dark thing going on.......

[Accelerando]

Indeed, pre-60s is amazing stuff. Before liquid fuel rockets were developed, the British Interplanetary Society design team including Arthur C. Clarke developed a proposal for a crewed lunar lander using thousands of solid rocket motors in dozens of stages. Prior to photovoltaic solar panels, solar thermal collectors drove turbines powering spacecraft of then-science fiction.

[KASASpace]

Before liquid fuel rockets were developed

1926, Goddarad and his liquid rocket.

What you are talking about, is the late 1930s moon design from BIS, right?

[Accelerando]

1926, Goddarad and his liquid rocket.

What you are talking about, is the late 1930s moon design from BIS, right?

truth, not LF rockets in general, LF rockets for space use rather, in Britain. of course it's the 1930s BIS design, i linked you to two articles that say exactly that thing, and that's what i wrote, sans timeframe...

[Seret]

It's also how the Martians reached Earth in the original War of the Worlds. Massive cannon aimed at Earth, loaded with a cylindrical 'drop ship,' along with three war vehicles and crew.

They actually weren't vehicles, those were the Martians' bodies. Wells was talking about cyborgs. The invaders were a vision of us from a future where or technological and biological evolution had become linked.

It always disappoints me that this idea, to me the most interesting and impressive part of the book, gets left out of film adaptations.

[Winter Man]

I like old-school sci-fi too There is something adorable in the idea of couple of guys building atomic(!) spaceship in a shed, taking it to orbit, and then interplanetary - all without rows and rows of supercomputers, ground support, often without means of communicating with Earth.

Pretty much Wallace and Gromit, then!

[vger]

That one where kids go interstellar? With a "space bubble?"

Yep.

They actually weren't vehicles, those were the Martians' bodies. Wells was talking about cyborgs. The invaders were a vision of us from a future where or technological and biological evolution had become linked. It always disappoints me that this idea, to me the most interesting and impressive part of the book, gets left out of film adaptations.

In Chapter 4, a Martian crawls out of the cylinder to take a peek at the surroundings, without any augmentation (the poor thing can also barely stand up). Later on, before the tripods mobilize, there's talk about jets of green plumes of gas shooting skywards, and industrial noise, implying that the tripods only get assembled after landing.

But yeah, the symbiotic relationship between man and machine didn't fly over my head. Or the overall de-evolved bodies no longer being capable of digestion, leading to the Martians having to get their food intravenously.

Wells wrote an article called 'The Man of the Year Million' which plainly spells out the human future that he hints at in WotW. I've never been able to find a copy of it anywhere though.

Edited March 31, 2014 by vger

[Specialist290]

Temporarily closed for maintenance. Stand by

EDIT: I've cleaned up a fair bit of off-topic discussion of things that are against forum rules to discuss anyway. As long as you all can stay on the topic of whether or not another space program could have feasibly gotten us into space or put a man on the Moon well before those things happened historically, this discussion can continue. (While I've allowed the discussion of classic science fiction movies to stay, I'd highly recommend that y'all start another thread for that, so that we can keep this one on scope.)

Edited March 31, 2014 by Specialist290