| Ehricke’s transplantation to America in 1945 would become an impelling force behind our entry into space and it would fuel towering spaceflight achievements: the first real space vehicle and with it, the first concrete application of liquid hydrogen (LH2) technology to spaceflight. The result would be our ability to launch Earth-serving satellites into high (geosynchronous) Earth orbit, scientific probes to Moon and planets, and humans to our moon. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Hermann Oberth and Walter Theil had long ago planted seeds in Ehricke’s fertile mind about the potential of LH2 as rocket propellant. |