The Complete Book of Spaceflight: From Apollo 1 to Zero Gravity

Venera
See article, pages 467–468. See also Vega 1 and 2.
VentureStar
See X-33.
Venus, unmanned exploration
See Venera 1–16, Zond 1, Mariner 1, 2, 5, and 10, Pioneer
Venus 1 and 2, and Magellan. (See table, “Chronology
of Venus Exploration,” on page 466.)
Venus Surface Sample Return
A potential mission beyond 2007 identified in NASA’s
Office of Space Science Strategic Plan. It remains in the
early concept definition phase.
Verein für Raumschiffahrt (VfR)
Society for Space Travel. An association of German enthusiasts,
formed in 1927, that carried out important development
work on liquid-fueled rockets. The stimulus for the
society was the publication of Hermann Oberth’s 1923
book, Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen (The Rocket into
Interplanetary Space). Impressed by Oberth’s mathematically
sound theories that space travel was achievable, the
founders of VfR set out to build the types of rockets he
described. The group grew in size to about 500 members,
produced its own journal, Die Rakete (The Rocket), and
obtained permission to use an abandoned ammunition
dump in Reinickendorf, a suburb of Berlin, as test site for
its projects. The facility soon became known as the
Raketenflugplatz (rocket airfield) and served as an early proving
ground for several men who would go on to play a key
role in the German army’s World War II rocket program.
One of the brightest young people involved at the
Raketenflugplatz was 19-year-old Wernher von Braun,
later chosen to head the army’s rocket development program.
By 1932, VfR had fallen on hard times and tried to
secure funds from the army for further testing. After a
demonstration launch failed to impress attending officers,
society members knew their days at the Raketenflugplatz
were numbered. Still, the army was impressed by von
Braun, and he was invited to write his graduate thesis on
rocket combustion at Kummersdorf. After Hitler came to
power, Nazi Germany banned all rocket experimentation
or rocket discussion outside of the German military. The
rocket enthusiasts who had populated the Raketenflugplatz
had to abandon their work or continue it in the
military. Hauptmann Dornberger was now able to successfully
recruit former members of the VfR, many of whom
joined the army organization at Kummersdorf.
Verne, Jules (1828–1905)
A French novelist and playwright, considered one of the
founding fathers of science fiction. He launched three
Viking (launch vehicle) 465
travelers on a lunar journey in From the Earth to the
Moon 299 (1865) and brought them back safely to Earth in
the sequel Around the Moon 300 (1870). These tales formed
the basis of one of the first science fiction films, Le Voyage
dans la Lune (1902), produced by Georges Méliès.
vernier engine
A very small rocket engine used for fine adjustments of a
spacecraft’s velocity and trajectory.
VHO (very high orbit)
A category that includes all orbits with perigees at or
above geosynchronous orbit (GEO) and apogees above
GEO, yet remain in orbit around the Earth or Earth-
Moon system. Such orbits are often highly elliptical,
with apogees several hundred thousand kilometers in
altitude.
Victory, John F. (1893–1975)
An influential administrator with NACA (National
Advisory Committee for Aeronautics). Victory began
work for the government in 1908 as a messenger for the
patent office. After becoming the first employee of
NACA in 1915, he became its secretary in 1921 and its
executive secretary in 1948, in general charge of its
administration. When NASA came into being, he
served as a special assistant to T. Keith Glennan until
his retirement at the end of July 1960. Over the years,
he became known as “Mr. Aviation” to his friends, who
ranged from Orville Wright to the builders of the fastest
jet fighters. Although not an engineer or a technician,
he helped NACA achieve working relationships with
Congress, where he frequently testified, and with the
military services, aerospace industry, and related groups
engaged in government-sponsored research and development.
Viking (launch vehicle)
A U.S. Navy–developed rocket that formed the basis of
the Vanguard launch vehicle. Viking started out as a
sounding rocket program in 1946 led by Ernst Krause
and Milton Rosen and drawing initially upon V-2 technology.
From 1949 through 1957, 14 Vikings were built
to test innovative features in control, structure, and
propulsion, and to launch increasingly large instrument
payloads. No two Vikings were identical. The Navy used
the rockets to probe the region of the upper atmosphere
that affects long-range radio communication and also to
examine their potential as a tactical ballistic missile.
When deciding which of several options, including the
Atlas and the Jupiter C, to use for launching its first artificial
satellite, the U.S. government chose the Navy
Viking-based Vanguard. 248