Ernst Stuhlinger facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dr. Ernst Stuhlinger
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Ernst Stuhlinger holds a model of the Juno I rocket used to launch the first U.S. satellite, Explorer I.
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| Born | December 19, 1913 Niederrimbach, Germany
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| Died | May 25, 2008 (aged 94) Huntsville, Alabama, United States
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| Nationality | German, American |
| Spouse(s) | Irmgard Lotze Stuhlinger |
| Children | Tilman, of Tucson, Arizona, and Christoph, of Monticello, Arkansas; and a daughter, Susanne Schmidt of Heidenheim, Germany. |
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Ernst Stuhlinger (born December 19, 1913 – died May 25, 2008) was a brilliant German-American scientist. He was an expert in atomic energy, electricity, and rockets. He became famous for his work on rocket guidance systems and for helping to create the ion engine. This special engine helps spacecraft travel long distances in space.
Dr. Stuhlinger came to the United States after World War II as part of Operation Paperclip. He worked with Wernher von Braun's team to develop rockets for the U.S. Army. Later, he joined NASA and helped with many important space projects.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Ernst Stuhlinger was born in a small town called Niederrimbach in Germany. He was very smart and loved science from a young age.
Becoming a Physicist
When he was 23, in 1936, he earned his doctorate degree in physics. He studied at the University of Tübingen in Germany. He worked with famous scientists like Hans Geiger, who helped invent the Geiger counter.
From 1939 to 1941, Dr. Stuhlinger worked in Berlin. He studied cosmic rays and nuclear physics. He was an assistant professor at the Berlin Institute of Technology. There, he helped develop new tools for detecting nuclear particles.
War and Rocket Science
In 1941, Dr. Stuhlinger had to join the German Army. He was sent to fight on the Russian front, where he was injured. He also survived the very difficult Battle of Stalingrad. He was one of the few from his unit to make it back to Germany.
Joining Von Braun's Team
In 1943, Dr. Stuhlinger was sent to Peenemünde. This was a secret rocket development center. Here, he joined Dr. Wernher von Braun's team. For the rest of the war, he worked on guiding systems for rockets.
After the war, in 1945, Dr. Stuhlinger was one of 126 scientists who moved to the United States. This was part of Operation Paperclip.
Building Rockets in America
From 1945 to 1950, he worked on missile programs for the U.S. Army in Fort Bliss, Texas. In 1950, his team, led by von Braun, moved to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.
For the next ten years, Dr. Stuhlinger and his team worked on Army missiles. But they also secretly worked on building rockets for space travel. Dr. Stuhlinger became the director of the Advanced Research Projects Division for the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. On April 14, 1955, he became a citizen of the United States.
In the 1950s, Dr. Stuhlinger and von Braun even worked with Walt Disney Pictures. They helped make three films about space: Man in Space (1955), Man and the Moon (1955), and Mars and Beyond (1957). Dr. Stuhlinger was a technical advisor for these movies.
Space Exploration and Discoveries
Dr. Stuhlinger played a key role in the race to launch the first U.S. satellite. After the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the U.S. needed to launch its own satellite quickly. There wasn't much time to build complex systems.
The "Golden Finger"
Dr. Stuhlinger came up with a simple, spring-powered timer. This timer was triggered from the ground. On January 31, 1958, he was at the controls of this timer. He triggered it at the perfect moment, launching the Explorer 1 satellite! Because of this, he became known as "the man with the golden finger."
The Explorer 1 satellite made an important discovery. It found the Van Allen radiation belt using a cosmic ray sensor. This was a perfect match for Dr. Stuhlinger's early work in physics.
In 1960, most of the Army's missile team moved to NASA. They formed the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama. Dr. Stuhlinger led the Space Science Laboratory at MSFC from 1960 to 1968. Then, he was the associate director for science until 1975.
Contributions to NASA
At Marshall, he helped plan early missions to the Moon. He also worked on the Apollo Telescope Mount, which studied the Sun. He helped plan for the High Energy Astronomical Observatories and the early stages of what became the Hubble Space Telescope.
In 1970, after the first Moon landing, Dr. Stuhlinger received a letter from a nun in Africa. She asked why so much money was spent on space when children on Earth were starving. Dr. Stuhlinger wrote a thoughtful reply. His answer is often used to explain why space exploration is important.
Ion Propulsion and Later Years
Dr. Stuhlinger spent much of his free time designing spacecraft that would use solar power. His most famous designs used ion thrusters. These engines use electricity to push a spacecraft forward. He called his idea a "sunship."
He is known as one of the first people to work on electric propulsion for space travel. He even wrote a classic book about it called Ion Propulsion for Space Flight. In 2005, he received a top award for his work, which was later renamed the Stuhlinger Medal in his honor.
After leaving NASA in 1976, Dr. Stuhlinger became a professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). He taught there for 20 years. He also worked as a research associate for Teledyne Brown Engineering from 1984 to 1989.
Remembering History
Starting in 1990, Dr. Stuhlinger worked with Frederick I. Ordway III on a two-volume book about Wernher von Braun. The book was called Wernher von Braun: Crusader for Space.
Dr. Stuhlinger was interviewed in 1984 about his experiences in the early space programs. In 2004, when he was 90 years old, he helped raise money to save a Saturn V rocket display in Huntsville, Alabama.
Ernst Stuhlinger passed away in Huntsville at the age of 94.
Images for kids
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Ernst Stuhlinger's signature.
See also
In Spanish: Ernst Stuhlinger para niños
