Verein für Raumschiffahrt
Encyclopedia
The Verein für Raumschiffahrt ("VfR", Society for Space Travel) was a German amateur rocket
association prior to World War II
that included members outside of Germany. The (five minutes) was at the Heylandt Works
on January 25, 1930; and additional rocket experiments were conducted at a farm near Bernstadt
, Saxony.
Space travel and rocketry gained popularity in Germany, following the June 1923 publication of the Transylvanian Saxon-Romania
n Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen (By Rocket into Planetary Space) and the expanded 1929 work Wege zur Raumschiffahrt (Ways to Spaceflight).
The VfR was founded by Johannes Winkler
, with Max Valier
and Willy Ley
following participation as expert advisers for Fritz Lang
's early science fiction
film Frau im Mond
(The Woman in the Moon). Ley and Oberth had hoped to receive funding from Lang for a real life experimental rocket launch coinciding with the movie's premier. Valier had assisted in Fritz von Opel
's rocket-powered publicity stunt
s for the Opel
company.
In September 1930, before Hitler came to power, the VfR contacted the German army for funding. Rockets where one of the few fields of military development not restricted by the Versailles treaty at the end of the world war
, 11 years earlier. They received permission from the municipality to use an abandoned ammunition dump at Reinickendorf
,http://greyfalcon.us/restored/History%20of%20German%20Rocketry.htm the Berlin rocket launching site http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/german/highlights.html. For three years the VfR fired increasingly powerful rockets of their own design from this location. Following the unsuccessful Mirak rockets, the most powerful rocket of the Repulsor
series (named for a spaceship in a German novel) reached altitudes over 1 km (3,000 ft).
In the Spring of 1932; Capt Walter Dornberger
, his commander (Captain Ritter von Horstig), and Col Karl Heinrich Emil Becker
viewed a (failed) VfR firing; and Dornberger subsequently issued a contract for a demonstration launch. Wernher Von Braun
who was then a young student and had joined the group two years earlier was in favor of the contract The group eventually rejected the proposal and the dissension caused during its consideration contributed to the society dissolving itself the following year.
The society's demise was also the result of an inability to find funding, and Berlin's civic authorities becoming concerned with rocketry experiments so close to the city.
The only known VfR rocket artifact is a rejected aluminum Repulsor nozzle which member Herbert Schaefer took to the US when he emigrated in 1935 and which he donated to the Smithsonian Institution in 1978.
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
association prior to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
that included members outside of Germany. The (five minutes) was at the Heylandt Works
The Linde Group
The Linde Group, registered as Linde AG is an international industrial gases and engineering company founded in Germany in 1879. Linde shares are traded on all the German stock exchanges and also in Zürich, and the Linde share price is included in the DAX 30 index...
on January 25, 1930; and additional rocket experiments were conducted at a farm near Bernstadt
Bernstadt
Bernstadt may refer to:*Bernstadt auf dem Eigen, a town in Saxony, Germany*Bernstadt , a municipality in Baden-Württemberg, Germany*East Bernstadt, Kentucky, a place in Kentucky, United States...
, Saxony.
Space travel and rocketry gained popularity in Germany, following the June 1923 publication of the Transylvanian Saxon-Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen (By Rocket into Planetary Space) and the expanded 1929 work Wege zur Raumschiffahrt (Ways to Spaceflight).
The VfR was founded by Johannes Winkler
Johannes Winkler
Johannes Winkler was a German rocket pioneer who founded the first German rocket society and launched the first successful liquid-fuelled rocket in Europe....
, with Max Valier
Max Valier
Max Valier was an Austrian rocketry pioneer. He helped found the German Verein für Raumschiffahrt that would bring together many of the minds that would later make spaceflight a reality in the 20th century.-Biography:Valier was born in Bozen , South Tyrol and in 1913 enrolled to study Physics at...
and Willy Ley
Willy Ley
Willy Ley was a German-American science writer and space advocate who helped popularize rocketry and spaceflight in both Germany and the United States. The crater Ley on the far side of the Moon is named in his honor.-Life:...
following participation as expert advisers for Fritz Lang
Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang was an Austrian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute...
's early science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
film Frau im Mond
Frau im Mond
Woman in the Moon is a science fiction silent film that premiered October 15, 1929. It is often considered to be one of the first "serious" science fiction films...
(The Woman in the Moon). Ley and Oberth had hoped to receive funding from Lang for a real life experimental rocket launch coinciding with the movie's premier. Valier had assisted in Fritz von Opel
Fritz von Opel
Fritz Adam Hermann Opel, since 1918 von Opel , was the only child of Wilhelm von Opel, and a grandson of Adam Opel, founder of the Opel Company...
's rocket-powered publicity stunt
Publicity stunt
A publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract the public's attention to the event's organizers or their cause. Publicity stunts can be professionally organized or set up by amateurs...
s for the Opel
Opel
Adam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929...
company.
In September 1930, before Hitler came to power, the VfR contacted the German army for funding. Rockets where one of the few fields of military development not restricted by the Versailles treaty at the end of the world war
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, 11 years earlier. They received permission from the municipality to use an abandoned ammunition dump at Reinickendorf
Reinickendorf
Reinickendorf is the twelfth borough of Berlin. It encompasses the northwest of the city area, including the Berlin-Tegel Airport, Lake Tegel, spacious settlements of detached houses as well as housing estates like Märkisches Viertel.-Subdivision:...
,http://greyfalcon.us/restored/History%20of%20German%20Rocketry.htm the Berlin rocket launching site http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/german/highlights.html. For three years the VfR fired increasingly powerful rockets of their own design from this location. Following the unsuccessful Mirak rockets, the most powerful rocket of the Repulsor
Klaus Riedel
Klaus Riedel was a German rocket pioneer. He was involved in many early liquid-fuelled rocket experiments, and eventually worked on the V-2 missile programme at Peenemünde....
series (named for a spaceship in a German novel) reached altitudes over 1 km (3,000 ft).
In the Spring of 1932; Capt Walter Dornberger
Walter Dornberger
Major-General Dr Walter Robert Dornberger was a German Army artillery officer whose career spanned World Wars I and II. He was a leader of Germany's V-2 rocket program and other projects at the Peenemünde Army Research Center....
, his commander (Captain Ritter von Horstig), and Col Karl Heinrich Emil Becker
Karl Heinrich Emil Becker
Karl Heinrich Emil Becker was a German weapons engineer and artillery general. He advocated and implemented close ties of the military to science for purposes of advanced weapons development...
viewed a (failed) VfR firing; and Dornberger subsequently issued a contract for a demonstration launch. Wernher Von Braun
Wernher von Braun
Wernher Magnus Maximilian, Freiherr von Braun was a German rocket scientist, aerospace engineer, space architect, and one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany during World War II and in the United States after that.A former member of the Nazi party,...
who was then a young student and had joined the group two years earlier was in favor of the contract The group eventually rejected the proposal and the dissension caused during its consideration contributed to the society dissolving itself the following year.
The society's demise was also the result of an inability to find funding, and Berlin's civic authorities becoming concerned with rocketry experiments so close to the city.
The only known VfR rocket artifact is a rejected aluminum Repulsor nozzle which member Herbert Schaefer took to the US when he emigrated in 1935 and which he donated to the Smithsonian Institution in 1978.