Milford chronicle., 1947-09-12
Push Button
WarAhead?

TIME fantastic scope of military
! research confronting this ma
tons scientists was revealed this
week by predictions that it is
theoretically possible to arm
America with space ships Operat-
ing beyond the pull of gravity and
with projectiles navigating them
selves by the stars.
The predictions would seem utterly
} improbable were it not for the fact
that man already has tapped atomic
energy, the source from which the
sun draws its power.
Two Johns Hopkins scientists, DR..
Lawrence R. Hafstad and DR.. Daniel
T. Sigley, already are looking over
these possibilities of guided missile
development. National security die
tates, they say, that these be explored
ito the limit"
To Be Reckoned With
It may take years, they said, for
scientists to perfect mechanisms Of
propulsion, launching and guidance
but push button warfare is definitely
a technique to be reckoned with.
I'm the present international at
mosphere it should sbe obvious" said
DR.. Hafstad, 4that failure to solve the
guided missiles problem might prove
very expensive indeed. They foresee
as theoretically possible:
Space ships, circling beyond the
earth's gravitationa, pull like celestial
bodies, ready to plunge down and
spread destruction at tsthe bidding of
men or robots directed by remote
control.
Missiles, guided by built-in tele-
scopes and other instruments that
would automatically track course to
a target by reference to the stars, the
moon and planets.
Missiles ''homing" on a target as
Eoon as an area is televised exactly
matching picture of the area carried
v thin the missile.
12rojectiles following celestial' high
Ways of magnetic force which sur
I1und the earth.
Cn Leave to Gcyernment
DR. HafstSd, on leave as director of
TIE Hopkins Applied Physics Labora-
lily - cCtN4A4S 90 oClAC(dkT VI tAAlC
Armed Forces Joint Research and
development Board His report, how
ever, is not an official expression" of
the Joint Research and Development
Re ard
Dr. Hafstad declared that the guid-
cd missiles field is more complex and
c.fiicult than the fields ofradar, atomic
cnsrgy, proximity fuses and rockets
lin all Of which he played part
Researchers, he said, must solve
raajor problems in the completely
new field of Supersonic aerodynarnics,
E-opulsion and launching before guild
Cd missiles can become operational
Ncapons.
Another key problem, ne said, is
the shortage of technical manpower
1.-The need, for men able to use the
cries not yet devised to solve prob
lens that are going to arise in mech
5nisns as yet unknown but due to be
invented over the next several years. .
The problems of guidance, DR.. Haf-
sad declared. make other technical
problems "only Incidental nuisances0
by comparison.
There are three main types of guid-
re. systems:
l. "A preset system--hke that of
tie V-2-operates on time-cloclS
Lasis, with the missiles flight de-
tarmined in advance. It's weakness is
Gecuracy.
2. A command" system involves
guidance by remote control but it
+. Is with respect to countermeasures.
3. The "beam-rider" where mis-
sile tracks beam locked on target.
But radar beam spreads out like a
cone and the divergent beam intro
c'uces large possible errors unless
'noming" is added.