With the knowledge gained from the research of Oberth and von Braun, the German military has built the V-1 and the V-2, which has been dubbed the "Vengeance Weapon" (Neal 19). During World War II, the American allies were closing in on the German stronghold, and Hitler was terrified, and he issued the manufacturing of notorious V-1 and V-2s.
Von Braun and Oberth unknowingly started a new era in history, the series of technological advances, that would change the world forever. When the Allies liberated much of Germany, von Braun surrendered to the Americans, and had a similar affect on the American Space Program, his knowledge of rockets went later to the design of the Saturn V, that powered many of the Apollo missions.
As the Germans were advancing in their knowledge, technology, and expertise in the field of rocketry, the purpose of rockets had shifted from military to a civilian project. The government had deemed the project unacceptable, and terminated it. .
When the Germans showed the world that reaching the stars was not a far-fetched idea, it was possible to do an unbelievable feat of science and engineering. Although the German rocket project was terminated, they had started the basis of modern day rocketry. The dream was growing to enormous proportions. Various nations were interested in this technology, especially the U.S.S.R. and later the United States of America (Snedden 9). .
At Approximately the same time the government terminated the rocket project World War II was coming to an end. The Soviets had captured Germany; and seized the technology, physicists, and engineers, who had been working on the rocket project and later forced to work for the Russians (Neal 39). With the material seized during World War II, the U.S.S.R. established a space program. Twelve years later Russia launched the first successful satellite, Sputnik 1.
Sputnik consisted of a sphere the size of a basket, with four antennae transmitting various amounts of information.
