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Krafft Ehricke (1917-1984) was a visionary space scientist and a pioneer of aerospace technology. Ehricke was educated at the Technical University of Berlin and at the University of Berlin. He worked at the Peenemunde V-2 Factory, and after the war moved to the United States where he worked at the U.S. Army missile program with Werner von Braun. At Fort Bliss, Texas, and later at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, Ehricke worked primarily on ramjet engines for missiles. In 1952, Ehricke left to join Walter Dornberger at Bell Aircraft Company. In 1954 Ehricke moved to Convair in San Diego where he worked most notably on the Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile project and the Centaur Program, which featured the first liquid-hydrogen rocket stage that was the basis for the Saturn V rocket. In 1965, Ehricke moved to North American Aviation (later Rockwell International) where he eventually became chief scientist in the Space Systems Division. In 1979, he founded his own consulting firm, Space Global, to pursue full time his advocacy of colonizing and industrializing the solar system. Ehricke was awarded the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics prestigious Goddard Astronautics Award in 1984 for his contributions.

Identifier

NASM.2004.0016

Creator

Ehricke, Krafft, 1917-1984

Date

bulk 1978-1980

Provenance

Dr. B. J. Bluth, Gift, 2003

Extent

0.28 Cubic feet ((2 boxes))

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of nineteen audio cassette tapes of Dr. Kraft Ehricke lectures, circa 1978-1980, at California State University, Northridge.

Rights

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests

Restrictions

No restrictions on access.

Citation

Krafft Ehricke Lecture Tapes, Accession 2004-0016, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Topics

Space colonies

Space industrialization

Interplanetary voyages

Astronautics

Type

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Audiocassettes