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How a 1929 Silent Film Created the Countdown to Launch

submitted by Aard Vark

(oritteropo)
6 years 5 months 2 weeks ago

YouTube description:

Fritz Lang directed an extremely innovated film in 1929 called Woman in the Moon. (Frau Im Mond in German). He hired rocket pioneer Hermann Oberth to be his technical director, and the film was a huge success. The film heavily influenced Wernher von Braun on how he saw the future of spaceflight.

Special Thanks to Amy Shira Teitel for her support and great write-up about this story in here book, Breaking the Chains of Gravity: https://www.space.com/32192-breaking-...

Another special thanks to my brother, Seamus, who speaks German and helped me struggle through those names.

If you would like to watch the film, here is the best english version I could find: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHcazI9PgNg

(via laughingsquid)

2 Comments

eric3579

says...

Today i learned the water used during a launch is used to dampen sound waves.

BSR

says...

Before the space shuttle would launch, the main engine would ignite first. After six seconds the two solid rocket boosters would ignite and the shuttle would launch.

The six second delay was necessary because the main engine ignition would rock the "stack" or the entire assembly of the shuttle, fuel tank and boosters forward. It took 6 seconds for the stack to return to the upright position.

This 6 second period of sway was referred to as "twang."

Figured I'd pass that little bit of info on to you in case you're ever asked about twang on a radio quiz show.

eric3579

said:

Today i learned the water used during a launch is used to dampen sound waves.