Was America's Top Rocketeer a Communist Spy? The FBI Thought So 165
New submitter IMissAlexChilton (3748631) writes Frank Malina masterfully led the World War II effort to build U.S. rockets for jet-assisted takeoff and guided missiles. As described in IEEE Spectrum, Malina's motley crew of engineers and enthusiasts (including occultist Jack Parsons) founded the Jet Propulsion Lab and made critical breakthroughs in solid fuels, hypergolics, and high-altitude sounding rockets, laying the groundwork for NASA's future successes. And yet, under suspicion by the Feds at the war's end, Malina gave up his research career, and his team's efforts sank into obscurity. Taking his place: the former Nazi Wernher von Braun. Read "Frank Malina: America's Forgotten Rocketeer". Includes cool vintage footage of early JPL rocket tests.
Re:Lessons for today's world (Score:0, Funny)
Paranoia over communism? At a time when the most iconic proponent of communism was a country that would glass the entire US if there wasn't a mutual threat of the same, and attempted to implement totalitarianism across the entire world?
You are aware that the implementation of communism is a breach of fundamental human rights?
Re:White Werhner von Braun may be many things... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:White Werhner von Braun may be many things... (Score:4, Funny)
o/~ "Once the rockets go up, who cares where they come down? [youtube.com]
That's not my department", says Werner von Braun o/~
Re:White Werhner von Braun may be many things... (Score:0, Funny)
Which shows what is inheritly wrong with communism: Communism without a strong government to enforce it can not happen. Communism with a strong government to enforce it will always create a corrupt seat of power.
Thus communism itself is flawed, evil and will ruin any society that tries to implement it.