h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ok Keith.

Clue......

The German guy designed the V2....



GT

Hmm, von Braun is already thought of as the V2 man isn't he and I think someone has already mentioned the other guys involved in it as well?

I'll have to reread the thread I think

The person that mentioned von Braun has already found it was a klaxon......

von Braun's boss is who I am looking for...



GT

Any more takers before I close????



GT

Sorry to be a johnnie come lately, but...

Von Braun's 'boss' at NASA was Assistant administrator George Mueller who effectively took over the program after the Apollo 1 fire and introduced 'all-up' testing to help get the Apollo program back on track.

During von Braun's years in Germany he worked with Hermann Oberth, but I don't know if he was his 'boss' exactly.

The Russian might have been the Soviet 'Chief designer' whose name was a state secret until after his death. That was Sergei Korolev who was responsible for the design of most of the early Soviet space 'firsts'.

Deke

Hello Deke!!

Not Sergei Korolev, I'm afraid.....

But right on the money with Herman Oberth!!!

Correct, collect +3!!!!


GT

Closedown time on this thread friends...


Here we go, with discovered and missing answers..

Most of it was covered including what I thought would be the most difficult, namely the accelorometer, which is a cube containing a very dense liquid, just a little less dense than iron. In the middle of the cube, a sphere of iron is kept exactly in the centre, by electromagnets. If a force acts on the sphere of iron, any drift is detected by the electromagnets that are keeping the iron sphere in place. Signals are then sent to attitude jets to keep the spacecraft on its intended course...

The easiest problem was picked upon quite quickly, namely solving the problem of how to contain the liquid gasses required for propulsion fuel. We quickly came to Donald Dewar, and his vacuum flask. Rocketry pioneers simply enlarged the Dewar flask to provide fuel tanks.

We then turned our minds to rocketry pioneers...

Of course Taff hit the obvious by mentioning Werner von Braun, and collected a deserved -5!!

The persons I was looking for there were Robert Goddard, which Keith hit in Post 88, Hermen Oberth, hit by Deke in post 125.

The missing points scorer was Konstantin Tsolkiovski, who was largely ignored by the Soviet Powers that be until the UK was being hit by V2 rockets...

Thread is now dead.

Scores to follow....

Thanx to all who participated!!


GT

Thanks for your effort and an interesting subject.

Deke

>>...namely the accelorometer, which is a cube containing a very dense liquid, just a little less dense than iron. In the middle of the cube, a sphere of iron is kept exactly in the centre, by electromagnets. If a force acts on the sphere of iron, any drift is detected by the electromagnets that are keeping the iron sphere in place. Signals are then sent to attitude jets to keep the spacecraft on its intended course... <<

Wow! I'd always wondered how that worked. Your elegantly simple
explanation has fixed a permanent image in my mind that is quite
satisfying to my mechanical intuitions. It's right up there with
those cutaway animations of a working internal combustion engine.
I can 'see' it. It works.

Thanks!
~jwf~

Scores on the Boards!!!!


Post 41. hygenicdispenser. Thermos flask. +1QI
Post 64. ekky99. Liquid Oxygen carried in vacuum flask. Correct, +3
Post 66. hygenicdispenser. Attitude jets and what controls them. +1QI
Post 74. Taff. Werner Von Braun. Sorry, -5
Post 75. Malabarista. For info on Jules Verne. +1DGI
Post 88. Keith Miller. Robert Goddard. Correct, +3
Post 91. Taff. Rockets Chinese invention. +1DGI
Post 92. Keith Miller. Further info on Goddard. DGI+1
Post 98. RodtheBrit. Accellerometer. Correct, +3
Post 103. Keith Miller. For data on SS officers. DGI +1
Post 125. Deke. Hermann Oberth. Correct, +3



GT

QI -Moondust

41. hygenicdispenser. Thermos flask. +1QI
64. ekky99. Liquid Oxygen carried in vacuum flask. Correct, +3
66. hygenicdispenser. Attitude jets and what controls them. +1QI
74. Taff. Werner Von Braun. Sorry, bluelight -5
75. Malabarista. For info on Jules Verne. +1DGI
88. Keith Miller. Robert Goddard. Correct, +3
91. Taff. Rockets Chinese invention. +1DGI
92. Keith Miller. Further info on Goddard. DGI+1
98. RodtheBrit. Accellerometer. Correct, +3
103. Keith Miller. For data on SS officers. DGI +1
125. Deke. Hermann Oberth. Correct, +3


GT +2


SCORE POSTED 08/02/2010