George Morgan - Rocket Girl

hired by Caltech Arts Department, 206

played Commander Maddox on Star Trek , 206

Caltech

author meets Brian Brophy at, 206

Bing, Delores, 206

Brophy, Brian, hired by, 206

Marneus, Shirley

director of TACIT, 45

retires from Caltech, 46

Morgan, G. Richard

attended, 161

freshman antics, 162

graduated from, 164

played football at, 162

play script sent to, 45

produces Rocket Girl (play), 8, 16, 46, 187–188

TACIT, 45, 47, 206

top research university, 304n1

Webber, Bill, graduated from, 197

Chief Designer. See Korolev, Sergei

Collier’s Weekly

increased circulation, 213

influenced Walt Disney, 167

published von Braun articles, 167, 213

DeSales College

closing of, 48

founded by Sisters of Notre Dame, 79

Mary

attends, 74, 80

drops out, 103, 183

receives scholarship, 80, 105

relationships, 101

runs away from home to attend, 70–78

studies chemistry, 82, 89, 93, 97, 183

naming of, 79

diethylenetriamine

introduced, 186

Mary considers use of, 215–219

miscibility with UDMH, 227

mixture ratio with UDMH, 190

Disney, Walt

infatuated with space, 167

influence on Mary, 229–230

TV show features von Braun, 167, 168, 203, 273, 304n2

Dornberger, Walter

arranged Kummersdorf visit for Hitler, 67–68

collaborates with von Braun, 67–68, 121, 126

occupation and military rank, 67, 121

surrenders to Allied forces, 128–129

worked at Peenemünde, 67

Eisenhower, President Dwight D.

dismissed von Braun warnings, 253–254

political fallout from Sputnik , 168, 253

pressures Kindelberger, 259

ethyl alcohol (as rocket fuel)

density of, 205

eliminated as a contract candidate, 195

hydyne superior to, 219

Santa Susanna Field Laboratory technician inebriated by, 239–240, 245

specific impulse with LOX, 173

used as a fuel in German V-2, 163

used as a fuel in Redstone, 192, 195

used at Santa Susanna Field Laboratory, 239

FLOX

considered for Redstone, 192, 200

drawbacks of, 200

formulation and definition, 164

fluorine

drawbacks and challenges of, 164, 192

mixed with LOX, 164, 192, 200

potential fuel partners, 200

Fort Bliss

conditions at, 146–147

gateway to White Sands Proving Grounds, 147

German rocket scientists sent to, 146, 169

Huzel, Dieter, hired from, 302n6

US Army base, 146

Francis, Sister Robert

author’s 7th grade teacher, 134

Friedman, Joe

fires George Toumey

member of Mary’s bridge group, 178

North American Aviation supervisor, 239

promoted to senior engineer, 283

worked on hydyne instability, 264

Galione, John

character of, 111–116, 118–124

discovers death train, 112–113

discovers Dora death camp, 124

discovers V-2 hiding place, 123–124

follows rail track, 113–116, 118–124

place in history, 124

US Army rank, 111

Harz Mountains

Galione’s journey in, 111–116, 118–120, 123–124

hiding place of V-2 blueprints and records, 121

hiding place of V-2 components, 124

Hegstad, Dorothy

author learns he has a secret sibling, 268–271

e-mails from, 268–270

member of Sherman family, 308n1

provides Sherman genealogy, 298

Hibbard, Dudley Irving and Mary Grace

discussed with Ruth Fichter, 271

errors contained in e-mails, 270

from Huron, Ohio, 301n1

mentioned in Hegstad e-mails, 269

preservation of records, 301n4

Hibbs, Al

assigned to track Explorer 1 , 275

declares satellite launch a success, 275–276

Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer, 275

Hill, the. See Santa Susanna Field Laboratory (SSFL)

Hitler, Adolf

Alpine Redoubt, 126

commits suicide, 112, 128

envisions the ICBM, 145–146

murders his enemies, 43

orders destruction of rocket technology, 118

post-WWI armament strategy, 43

von Braun pleased with Hitler’s death, 128

Huntsville

climate compared to Washington, DC, 278

General Medaris stationed at, 172

German scientists become naturalized citizens, 203

Huzel, Dieter, worked at, 262

Redstone project directed from, 208, 254

satellite listening station, 274

Huzel, Dieter

employed by North American Aviation, 121, 262, 264

Fort Bliss, 302n6

hid rocket blueprints in gold mine, 121, 126

von Braun’s close associate, 262

White Sands, 302n6

worked on hydyne instability problem, 262, 264

worked with Mary, 302n6

hydrogen

drawbacks of, 201

Redstone propellant candidate, 200

part of MUPP chemical strategy, 195

as water-molecule component, 80

hydyne

author requests NASA files on, 189

combustion instability, 262

dispute over invention of, 187–189, 296

formulation and mixture ratio, 190

historical significance, 12

Kraemer’s discussion of, 189–190

naming of, 218–219

need for, 172–175

testing of, 228, 235, 237–240, 264–265

von Braun acknowledges importance of, 278

Wikipedia mentions, 189

ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile)

convertible to satellite booster, 181, 205, 208, 277

envisioned by Hitler, 146

Mary instrumental in inventing, 134

R-7 as, 208

Redstone as, 174, 180, 205, 277

Stalin’s interest in, 253

Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. See ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile)

Jesuits

building became site of DeSales College, 79

closed down St. John University, 79

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), 7, 9, 274, 275

JPL. See Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

Kammler, SS General Hans

built Mittelwerk with slave labor, 117

orders Peenemünde to be destroyed, 118

orders rocket records to be destroyed, 121

outfoxed by von Braun, 126–127

sends SS to fetch von Braun, 117

uses rocket scientists as bargaining chips, 120, 125–126

von Braun and Huzel defy his orders, 121

Kanarek, Irving

aerospace career

chemical engineer, 38, 182

close colleague and supervisor of Mary, 39, 181, 185, 190, 192

considered for propellant contract, 181–183

credited as hydyne inventor by Kraemer, 189–190

dispute over North American Aviation firing, 303n4

inventor of IRFNA, 181, 305n2

North American Aviation application, 135–136

at the Santa Susanna Field Laboratory, 237, 288–291

attorney for Charles Manson, 38

author’s search for, 38–40

birth, 134

parents born in USSR, 135

Khrushchev, Nikita

declares Korolev’s name a state secret, 158

lobbied by Korolev, 169

succeeds Joseph Stalin, 203

supports Korolev, 204, 249

Tyuratam Rocket Base, 204

Kindelberger, James Howard “Dutch”

birth of, 255

5 percent rule, 191, 258, 308n17

nicknamed “Dutch,” 256

president of North American Aviation

employment history, 256

entered rocket business, 222

salesmanship, 256–357

visits North American Aviation engineering department, 258–262

WWII aircraft supplier, 222, 259

Korolev, Sergei

arrested, 68

comparisons with von Braun, 158, 159, 167–169, 249–250, 279

divorce, 247

imprisoned at Kolyma, 69

invited to IGY meeting, 248, 250

KGB assists, 248–250

known as Chief Designer, 151

launch of Sputnik 1 , 250–251

marriage to Ksenia, 157