Wings of Fire: An Autobiography by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam & Arun Tiwari

Author:A. P. J. Abdul Kalam & Arun Tiwari [Kalam, A. P. J. Abdul & Tiwari, Arun]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography
ISBN: 9788173711466
Amazon: 8173711461
Goodreads: 634583
Publisher: Sangam Books Ltd
Published: 1998-12-31T18:30:00+00:00

von Braun was given a top position in the rocketry

programme at NASA. Working for the US Army, von Braun

produced the landmark Jupiter missile, which was the first

IRBM with a 3000 km range. When I was asked by Dr

Brahm Prakash to receive von Braun at Madras and escort

him to Thumba, I was natural y excited.

The V-2 missile (an abbreviation of the German word

Vergeltungswaffe) was by far the greatest single

achievement in the history of rockets and missiles. It was

the culmination of the efforts made by von Braun and his

team in the VFR (Society for Space Flight) in the 1920s.

What had begun as a civilian effort soon became an official

army one, and von Braun became the technical director of

the German Missile Laboratory at Kummersdorf. The first

V-2 missile was first tested unsuccessful y in June 1942. It

toppled over on to its side and exploded. But on 16 August

1942, it became the first missile to exceed the speed of

sound. Under the supervision of von Braun, more than

10,000 V-2 missiles were produced between April and

October 1944 at the gigantic underground production unit

near Nordhausen in Germany. That I would be travel ing

with this man—a scientist, a designer, a production

engineer, an administrator, a technology manager al rol ed

into one—what more could I have asked for?

We flew in an Avro aircraft which took around ninety

minutes from Madras to Trivandrum. von Braun asked me

about our work and listened as if he was just another

student of rocketry. I never expected the father of modern

rocketry to be so humble, receptive and encouraging. He

made me feel comfortable right through the flight. It was

hard to imagine that I was talking to a giant of missile

systems, as he was so self-effacing.

He observed that the length to diameter L/D ratio of the

SLV3, which was designed to be 22 was on the higher side

and cautioned me about the aero-elastic problems which

must be avoided during flight.

Having spent the major part of his working life in

Germany, how did he feel in America? I asked this of von

Braun who had become a cult figure in the States after

creating the Saturn rocket in the Apol o mission which put

man on the moon. “America is a country of great

possibilities, but they look upon everything un-American

with suspicion and contempt. They suffer from a deep-

rooted NIH—Not Invented Here—complex and look down

on alien technologies. If you want to do anything in rocketry,

do it yourself,” von Braun advised me. He commented,

“SLV-3 is a genuine Indian design and you may be having

your own troubles. But you should always remember that we

don’t just build on successes, we also build on failures.”

On the topic of the inevitable hard work that goes with

rocket development and the degree of commitment

involved, he smiled and said with a glint of mischief in his

eyes, “Hard work is not enough in rocketry. It is not a sport

where mere hard work can fetch you honours. Here, not

only do you have to have a goal but you have to have

strategies to achieve it as fast as possible.”

“Total commitment is not just hard work, it is total

involvement. Building a rock wal is back-breaking work.

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