Wasn't it ridiculously hot Up East yesterday?
I heard it was 100 in DC.
Not fit weather for anything, ugh.
Not really a dig, but I hadn't seen it before. Werner von Braun's 1977 obituary in the NYT.
https://www.nytimes.com/1977/06/18/archives/wernher-von-braun-rocket-pioneer-dies-wernher-von-braun-pioneer-in.html
Highlights:
:: He was Prussian (now Poland) nobility, son of Baron Magnus von Braun
:: Was a prodigy who became German Army's top civilian specialist in rocketry
:: Married his 18 year old second cousin, Maria Louise von Quistrop in 1947, to whom he had proposed by letter. Received special permission from US gov't to travel back to Germany to fetch her.
:: Three children - two daughters, Iris and Margrit, and son Peter
:: Left NASA in early 70's after the public & gov't bored of moon landings meant budget cuts. Joined contractor Fairchild Industries.
Interesting transcript of talk given by former Fairchild executive, discussing von Braun's viewpoint on weaponization of space using extraterrestrial hoax.
https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/exopolitica/esp_exopolitics_ZCab.htm
"What was most interesting to me was a repetitive sentence that he said to me over and over again during the approximately four years that I had the opportunity to work with him. He said the strategy that was being used to educate the public and decision makers was to use scare tactics That was how we identify an enemy.
The strategy that Wernher Von Braun taught me was that first the Russians are going to be considered to be the enemy. In fact, in 1974, they were the enemy, the identified enemy. We were told that they had "killer satellites". We were told that they were coming to get us and control us – that they were "Commies."
Then terrorists would be identified, and that was soon to follow. We heard a lot about terrorism. Then we were going to identify third-world country "crazies." We now call them Nations of Concern. But he said that would be the third enemy against whom we would build space-based weapons.
The next enemy was asteroids. Now, at this point he kind of chuckled the first time he said it. Asteroids-against asteroids we are going to build space-based weapons.
And the funniest one of all was what he called aliens, extraterrestrials. That would be the final scare.
And over and over and over during the four years that I knew him and was giving speeches for him, he would bring up that last card.
"And remember Carol, the last card is the alien card. We are going to have to build space-based weapons against aliens and all of it is a lie."