The principle behind the Deep Space 1 engine is much the same as what you experience when you pull hot socks out of the clothes dryer on a cold winter day. An attractive (or repellant) idea for propulsion Stuhlinger argued that lighter-weight electric propulsion systems would make such planetary trips more feasible than they were with chemical propulsion. In von Braun's proposal, Stuhlinger noted that the ratio of take-off weight to final weight after propellant consumption was 25-to-1. Studies in electric propulsion became more frequent following WWII, and in 1955 Stuhlinger presented a paper at the International Astronautical Congress in Vienna entitled, 'Possibilities of Electrical Space Ship Propulsion.' During his presentation, Stuhlinger discussed a proposal made by von Braun two years earlier, to use chemical propulsion to send a spaceship to Mars. Goddard had mentioned the possibility of accelerating electrically charged particles to very high velocities without the need for high temperatures. Robert Goddard, had examined the subject as early as 1906. In studying the origins of interest in electric propulsion, Stuhlinger learned that the American rocket pioneer, Dr. He found a copy of Oberth's book, 'Possibilities of Space Flight.' Published in 1939, Oberth devoted a chapter to the various problems of electric propulsion systems, envisioning one design that might carry a 150-ton payload. Stuhlinger immersed himself in electric propulsion theory. 'Professor Oberth has been right with so many of his early proposals,' von Braun told Stuhlinger in 1947, 'I wouldn't be a bit surprised if we flew to Mars electrically.' Von Braun asked Stuhlinger to review the research by von Braun's mentor, Oberth. With that thought in mind, he approached Ernst Stuhlinger, a member of the original 'Rocket Team' that had emigrated to Fort Bliss. While von Braun and his team continued to work on the V-2 rocket at Fort Bliss, von Braun dreamed about developing a rocket that could travel to other planets. They were sent to Fort Bliss, Texas, to develop rocket technology for U.S. Two years later, they relocated to Huntsville, Ala.Īt the end of WWII in 1945, von Braun and hundreds of other German rocket experts surrendered to the Americans. Ernst Stuhlinger is circled to the left of center.

In 1948, the orginal 'German Rocket Team' posed for a group portrait at Fort Bliss, Texas.

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