Rocket Girl
Page 30
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
meets with Khrushchev, 204
name becomes a state secret, 158
other imprisonments, 155
R-7 rocket, 208, 211
regains freedom, 156
secret plans for a satellite, 159, 169, 248–249
worked at Tyuratam Rocket Base, 155
Kraemer, Robert S.
as author, 12–13
published book on Rocketdyne
comments on aerospace record keeping, 12–13
credits hydyne to Irving Kanarek, 189–190
hydyne formulation error, 190
refutes Silverman claim, 190
research source for this book, 189
Kummersdorf
Adolf Hitler visits, 67–68
attracts military funding, 44
successor to the Raketenflugplatz, 44
LaJoie, Ida (Mary's aunt)
mentioned in Hegstad e-mails, 268
provided lodging for Mary in Ohio, 70
Ley, Willy
close friend of von Braun, 43
immigrates to America, 43
liquid oxygen. See LOX
LOX
acronym for liquid oxygen, 163
combined with alcohol, 239
combined with “bagel,” 218
combined with diethylamine, 210–211
combined with fluorine, 164, 192, 200
combined with hydyne, 218, 235–238, 285
combined with pentaborane, 263
North American Aviation proposes replacing, 192
potential fuel partners for, 200
properties and characteristics of, 163
Redstone oxidizer, 173, 192
specific impulse with alcohol, 173
V-2 oxidizer, 173
von Braun's preference for, 173
Luftwaffe
existence violated Treaty of Versailles, 43
rebuilt German air force, 43
Marneus, Shirley
author receives letter from, 45
Caltech finds replacement for, 206
director of TACIT, 45
retires from Caltech, 206
Medaris, General Bruce
demands orbital progress report, 275
Eisenhower declines his request, 254
initiates Redstone propellant contract, 172–173, 181, 183
lobbied by von Braun, 254
orders von Braun to put 2,000 lbs. of ballast into Redstone, 209–210
orders von Braun to Washington, DC, 273
oversees launch of Explorer 1, 275
seeks satellite launch vehicle, 172–173, 180–181
Meyers, Tom
advice to Mary on contract, 205
approves hydyne for testing, 218–219
author's discussion of, 296
discusses assigning Mary to propellant contract, 182–184
hiring Mary, 142–143, 152
introduces Mary to her future husband, 164
meets Mary for first time, 151
North American Aviation engineering department supervisor, 140–143, 154, 284
oversees hydyne instability problem, 262
receives notice of hydyne success, 265
receives US Army contract, 176–177, 179
receives visit from Kindelberger, 257–262
restricts Mary's access to Santa Susanna Field Laboratory test, 228
Minot State College
author's search for Mary's transcripts, 47, 270
mentioned in Hegstad e-mails, 268
Mittelwerk
Colonel Toftoy retrieves V-2 components, 124–125
Private Galione discovers, 124
supported by slave labor, 124
Morgan, G. Richard
bridge player, 164–165
Caltech graduate, 162, 164
love of cars, 176, 276, 284
marriage of, 47
nicknamed “Red,” 161
on the Hill, 285, 287, 291
played football for Caltech, 162
present during Mary's death, 11
research resource, 298, 300n11, 302n6, 306n7
specialized in heat-transfer problems, 162, 164, 194–195
worked at North American Aviation, 162–165, 193–194
Morgan, George Douglas (author)
attends Mary's funeral
, 12–14, 280–281
boyhood recollections of Mary, 35–36
conversations with Caltech, 206–207
corrects Wikipedia article on Mary, 187–190
creates May Sherman Morgan blog, 267–272
deals with elderly parents, 95–97
decides to write a play about Mary, 15–16
deliver's Mary's eulogy, 13
discovers secret sibling, 267–271
discussions and interviews with Mary's former coworkers, 13–14, 35, 37, 39–41, 188
flies liquid-propellant rocket, 280
grade-school experience, 131–134
high-school years, 279
investigates sister's birth, 107–108
Mary rebuffs his attempt to tell her story, 15
Mary's OCD, 36–38, 131–133
problems with Mary's photographic record, 48–49
daughter Carley assists, 48
sisters offer partial explanation, 49
receives birthday present from Kanarek, 39–41
requests copies of Silverman files from NASA, 189
requests Mary's transcripts from Minot State, 47
submits Mary's obit to the Los Angeles Times, 11–16
submits Rocket Girl to MIT and Caltech, 45
production problems with, 46–47
receives response from TACIT, 45
tracks down Irving Kanarek, 38–40
wife and, as foster parents, 35
Morgan, Mary Sherman
attended college (see DeSales College)
background, 7
birth, 11
birth of son Stephen, 36
blog, 16, 267–268
bridge player, 23, 101, 154, 179–180
character of, 8, 11, 34, 50, 53, 55–56, 58, 64, 99–100, 139–140
death, 11
first pregnancy, 98–108, 268–269
gives child up for adoption, 106
letter to adoptive mother, 108–110
Patrick (boyfriend), 103
given horse by North Dakota, 21
Hegstad e-mails, 268–270
high-school years (see Ray High School)
hydyne, invention of, 212–218
naming, 218–219
tested at Santa Susanna Field Laboratory, 219, 224–236, 237–241, 245–246, 264–265
interest in chemistry, 56–57, 73, 80–82, 97, 99
Los Angeles Times refuses to publish obit of, 12, 15–16
love of nature, 49–50, 81
marriage of, 49, 165
meets future husband, 164–165
moves to Los Angeles, 136
OCD symptoms, 36–38
prevented from attending school, 18–20
problems with historical record, 47–49
religion, 13, 69, 79, 105–108, 131
secretive nature, 14–16, 35–36, 47–49, 70, 267–268, 281
stage play of (see Rocket Girl [play])
Webber and Shimizu assigned to, 196–197
Wikipedia page on, 187–190
worked as chemist, 23 (see also Plum Brook Ordnance)
worked at North American Aviation
chosen to head propellant contract, 182–184, 186–187
coworkers (see Amenhoff, Carl; Friedman, Joe; Kanarek, Irving; Meyers, Tom; Morgan, G. Richard; Huzel, Dieter; Shimizu, Toru; Webber, Bill)
first day of work, 152
last day of work, 283–292
NALAR, 154, 177, 186, 280
NAVAHO, 177, 186, 202
retires from, 36
theoretical performance specialist, 121, 153–154, 182–183, 261
worked at Plum Brook (see Plum Brook Ordnance)
worked on family farm (see Sherman farm)
See also hydyne; North American Aviation (NAA)
Morgan, Stephen
birth of, 36
Mary pregnant with, 285
notified of mother's death, 11–12
occupation of, 12
part of liquid-fuel-rocket team, 280
MUPP (Mysterious Unknown Propellant Project)
Mary's name for propellant contract, 196
Webber and Shimizu contributions to, 199–212
NAA. See North American Aviation (NAA)
NALAR
definition and design, 154
full name of, 154
Mary worked on, 177, 186, 280
similarities to author's project, 280
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
creation of, 213
gaps in historical record, 15
Green and Lomask book on, 253
inspired by Russian innovations, 250
Silverman, Jack, files at
author requests copy of files, 189
errors with, 189–190
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. See NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
NAVAHO rocket engine
G. Richard Morgan's comment on, 237
Mary worked on, 177, 186
tested conducted at Santa Susanna Field Laboratory, 226
use of hydrazine caused explosion, 202
Nebel, Rudolf
helped create the Raketenflugplatz, 25
student friend of von Braun, 25–26
Newe, Karen (Morgan)
assists at parents’ garage sale, 96
assists with interviews, 297–298
occupation of, 12
relation to author, 12
Sherman family recollections, 49
North American Aviation (NAA)
attracted WWII veterans, 136
bridge culture, 14
builder of NALAR, 154, 280
builder of Santa Susanna Field Laboratory, 232
employee termination, 38
history of, 12
Huzel, Dieter, worked at, 131, 264
Jet Propulsion Laboratory and, 274
Kanarek, Irving, worked at, 38–39, 303n4
Kindelberger, Dutch, president of, 222, 256, 258
liquid-rocket pioneer, 135, 222
location of (1940s), 136
Mary at, 39, 136, 139, 177, 199, 216, 280, 285
Mary offered position at, 151
Medaris sends contract to, 174–175, 181, 296
Morgan, G. Richard, at, 162–164, 272
Riedel, Walther, hired by, 264
Shimizu, Toru, at, 196–197
Silverman, Jack, at, 188
stage play replication of, 207
testing of hydyne, 237
von Braun congratulates, 278
von Braun visits, 203, 204
Webber, Bill, at, 196–197, 298
World War II work, 256
Peenemünde
Allied bombing of, 123
conditions at, 146–147
Dornberger at, 67
evacuation and destruction, 118
personnel murdered, 118
Russians advance on, 117
slave labor used at 117
von Braun at, 67
pentaborane
Mary's work with, 185
poisons two technicians, 263–265, 296
Redstone propellant candidate, 200
Plum Brook Ordnance
construction of, 123
land seizures, 122–123
Mary employed at, 86–93, 99, 103, 106
opens door for North American Aviation job, 139, 140, 143
recruited by, 82–85
takes maternity leave, 106
post-war decline of, 128
production capacity, 123
products produced, 89, 122
relationship with US government, 122
wartime purpose of, 92
R-1 rocket
early Korolev project, 155
failure of, 155
R-7 rocket
as ICBM, 208
as satellite launch vehicle, 208
assembly and launch procedure, 250–251
first success of, 211
> historical significance, 248
maiden flight, 208
Raketenflugplatz
location of, 25–26
translation and definition, 26
uses for, 25–27
Ray, North Dakota
elementary school, 23–24, 53, 235
location of, 16, 70
Mary born and raised in, 225
Mary leaves, 76, 78
Ray High School
diploma from, 70, 74, 183, 300n11
density experiment at, 199
economic conditions of, 22
Mary as valedictorian, 48, 69, 74
Mary's freshman year at, 99
pregnant girls sent away, 102, 107
PTA scholarship from, 105
Red. See Morgan, G. Richard
Redstone rocket
America's first satellite booster, 273–277
as ICBM, 180, 277
as satellite launch vehicle, 181
engine static tested at Santa Susanna Field Laboratory 236–240, 265
flight-tested at Cape Canaveral, 213
loaded with ballast, 147
North America Aviation designed and built, 174, 180
performance limitations, 172, 174
political ramifications, 147
propellants used in, 173
challenges with changing, 191–196, 199–200
contract requirements and benchmarks, 204–205
Mary's name for, 218
Mary works on changing, 186–187, 190–200
specific impulse with alcohol, 173
required enhancements, 173, 174, 180, 181, 307n4
tank pressure limit, 208
used as booster for Jupiter C, 210
von Braun's involvement with, 276, 296
Rocketdyne
declined to assist in this book, 297
descendent of North American Aviation, 14
Mary retired from, 284–285
subject of Robert Kraemer book, 189
Rocket Girl (play)
50th anniversary of Explorer 1, 46
Ashley Stroupe's comments on, 8
Brian Brophy to direct, 206
Caltech premiere, 16, 46
genesis of, 15, 37
G. Richard Morgan's comment on, 207
marketing of, 45
Marneus, Shirley, agrees to produce, 45
media attention, 16
roadblocks to production, 46–47
unforeseen results of, 16, 39
Ruttle, Dan
aerospace engineer, 280
assists with research for this book, 298
builds liquid-fuel rocket with author, 280
Santa Su Bus, 229
Santa Susanna Field Laboratory (SSFL)
abbreviated SSFL, 224
author visits, 298
description of, 229, 231
geology of, 174, 175
hydyne tested at, 235–236
location of, 224–226
Mary visits, 229–236, 285–292
technicians poisoned at, 263–265
Sheinwold, Alfred
coworkers study, 154
Mary learns bridge from radio show, 101
Sherman, Amy
author's babysitter, 136