Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-08-14

Try 10 SeHo SotStiIeS INTO space. put
O new security regulation now burs
him from getting neor o rocket. Here's
the story Of mon who soys he won't
become O Second Gloss citizen" even
| il it keeps him from o field in which
he's one Of the worlds greet experts.
.ects that are forbidden to DR..
Zwicky.
The Defense Department.
ruling cannot be appealed. but
DR.. Ewicky hopes that it may be
reviewed and an amendment
made in time.
| Meanwhile he intends to con-
tinue inventing and contributing
ideas.
Revised Jet Concept
"a man isn't worth his salt if
he quits" he said. MY job. as
I see it, is to present the United
States with my inventions"
/ Perhaps DR.. zwicky's biggest
contribution thus far is the COM
Iplete revision of the concept of
Jet engines. He has shown that
theoretically there are SIS pos
sible types of jet, engines for
propulsion in the air, under
water. through interplanetary
space, or even for burrowing un-
foreground.
| He claims he began working. on
the Nays xvi before the Ger
mans got into production with
their Vel and va missiles in
World War II.
| But in the light Of President
EiSenhower's recent announce
ment of United States plans to
launch a space satellite, the most
interesting Of DR.. Zwicky's
achievements took place at
White Sands on the starless
night of December II. 1916.
DR.. Zwicky pioneered a test
rocket of the W. type carrying
space projectiles. but technical
failure Of the triggering device
prevented the discharge OF six
tiny experimental satellites.
| The luminous particles of
molten metal, each weighing
about two pounds but only
slightly larger than dime. were
arranged to be shot from the
nose Of the rocket. They were
set to be slugged out further in
to space as the rocket climbed
steadily into the ionosphere.
Their rate of discharge. it was
hoped, would be so fast that the
particles would escape earth's
gravity and become the first
man made moons.
Efforts Frustrated
But the firing mechanism
operating somewhat on the
shaped-charge principle of the
Ibazooka and high-velocity guns
apparently damned. Months Of
work by DR.. Zwicky and his COL
leagues were frustrated.
There was some consolation
however, in the fact that the Va
rocket reached the height Of ia
miles, a record at that time, and
instruments aboard it obtained
valuable cosmic ray data.
/ Since then a two-stage rocket
has attained a height of Csc
miles, adding hope to the theory
that basketball satellites can be
slung into orbits that far out.
/ Before turning his attention
to propulsion for this and-who
can tell?-perhaps other worlds,
DR.. Zwicky was known at Cal
tech as an expert on cosmic
rays and star galaxies. AS pro-
fessor of astrophysics, he is
credited with discovering a
score of supernovae-giant ex-
Iploding stars or cosmic atom
bombs-while sweeping the skies
with the huge telescopes OF
Mount Wilson and Mount Palo-
mar.
He has completed experiments
indicating small chunks Of
metal, such as were in the nose
Iof the 1916 rocket, can be fired
at speeds of so miles per second.
1t takes only 7 miles per second,
he says, to overcome gravity
and escape the earth's pull.
/ v Key to Space Travel
"In trying to find a master
key to space travel" he declares,
1--WE must first throw little
something into the skies, then
a little more, then a shipload
Iof instruments-and finally our
selves"
zwick meteors. as some have
called them, presumably would
,Irevolve around the earth in reg
! ular orbits. "Or escape into in
Iterplanetary space, never to re-
turn" he adds with a grin.
| His imagination is as lofty as
the Swiss Alps where he learned
to ski. They still tell the story
of his arrival at Caltech. He
Immediately asked DR.. Robert A
Millikan II there we're good
mountains nearby. DR.. Millikar
pointed out Mount Wilson tow.