Chronology - Quarter 4 1929 home
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1929 October 15 - Launch Vehicle: Oberth.
  • Frau im Mond (The Girl in the Moon) premieres in Berlin. Nation: Germany. The film, directed by Fritz Lang, with Hermann Oberth as technical consultant, provided a realistic portrayal of the rollout and launch of a liquid-propellant booster sending a manned expedition to the moon. Lang provided Oberth with funds to build and launch a liquid-propellant rocket to publicise the film. Oberth's rocket, using a conical combustion chamber to mix liquid oxygen and gasoline, was 1.8 m tall and was to have been launched to an altitude of 64 km over the Baltic Sea from Greifswalder Oie. One of the assistants hired by Oberth to fabricate the rocket was Rudolph Nebel, a World War I fighter pilot with (unfortunately) little actual engineering experience. Oberth also had no practical engineering or organizational ability, and was unable to produce the liquid rocket in the four months allotted. He then turned to an 11-m tall hybrid rocket that was to burn a to-be-determined carbon compound with liquid oxygen. This also proved impossible, and Oberth simply gave up and left town - returning, however, for the film's premiere. Ufa studios took ownership of the unfinished rockets. References: 47.
December 1929 - Launch Vehicle: Mirak, Oberth.
  • VfR regroups Nation: Germany. Winkler had resigned as president. Oberth is back in Berlin, and a meeting is held, with Nebel, Wurm, Oberth, Klaus Riedel, Winkler, and Willy Ley in attendance. It was decided to try and get the Oberth rocket materials back from Ufa and press on to demonstrate flight of a liquid propellant rocket. For this purpose the Oberth rocket was much too ambitious and probably wouldn't work anyway. Nebel proposes building a new 'Minimum Rakete' or 'Mirak' to demonstrate that it could be done. Work begins to obtain funds to ground test and perfect Oberth's 'Kegelduese' conical rocket motor. References: 47.
1929 December 3 - 1930 June 30 - Launch Vehicle: Goddard. Model: Goddard 4.
  • Goddard rockets tests at Camp Devens Nation: USA. Goddard conducts tests at the artillery range at Camp Devens, 25 miles from Worcester, for the improvement of liquid-fuel rocket-motor efficiency, particularly the 'curtain cooling.' Sixteen proving-stand tests were made; there were no flight tests. A few special tests were made with rocket-operated propellers. References: 482.

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