 Krafft Ehricke's Extraterrestrial Imperative ISBN 978-1894959-91-9 |
Krafft Ehricke's
Readers of this book will gain an insight into one of the most creative minds in the history of space exploration. Krafft Ehricke's contributions encompassed details of new and innovative ideas, but he also taught us how to think about the importance and value of space exploration to our society. This book provides an understanding of the early history of the space pioneers, what they helped to accomplish, and how Ehricke's vision of where we should be going can shape the future. At this difficult time, when there are questions about the future path of America’s space program, Krafft Ehricke’s vision-his Extraterrestial Imperative-lays out the philosophical framework for why space exploration must be pursued. Readers will find it an imaginative work, and an up-lifting story that contains a vast array of reasons why the human race needs to get off planet Earth and explore space. Krafft Ehricke's Extraterrestrial Imperative is the summation of a lifetime of work encouraging the exploration and development of space. About Krafft Ehricke Dr. Krafft Arnold Ehricke (March 24, 1917 - December 11, 1984) was a space visionary. A German-born rocket-propulsion engineer who was the chief designer of the Centaur and who produced many other ideas for the development of space including a space plane design and a strategy for lunar colonization. As a child, he was influenced by Fritz Lang’s film Woman in the Moon and formed a rocket society at age 12. He studied celestial mechanics and nuclear physics at Berlin Technical University. Injured during World War II, he was transferred to Peenemünde where he served as a propulsion engineer from 1942 to 1945. Upon moving to the United States, he became an American citizen (1954) and during the 1950s with General Dynamics helped develop the Atlas missile and then the Centaur upper stage. Later, he carried out advanced studies at Rockwell International while also working independently on schemes for the commercialization and colonization of space. |
