FIRST STEPS TOWARD SPACE - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

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measurements and to complement his experiments
by theoretical study within the scope of dimensional
analysis. Since he was unable to find the
necessary information in existing publications, he
undertook the work himself. His findings, which he
communicated to the Acad^mie des Sciences in
1933, included notably the discovery of a particular
type of constant pressure drop flow ("isozemique")
that, as demonstrated by dimensional analysis, is
independent of viscosity. 59 The tests described
above with petroleum ether and liquid oxygen,
using orifices determined by these calculations, confirmed
his forecasts exactly.
The final result was the publication at Lausanne
in 1948 of his book on dimensional analysis,
VAnalyse dimensionnelle, the preliminary manuscript
of which was written between September 1945
and April 1946. 60
Since we are conducting a symposium on the
history of astronautics, I should like to draw attention
to the fact that in an appendix to this book,
REP had proposed creating in each faculty a Chair
in the History of Science for the purpose of promoting
a study of the errors in judgment which have
had to be overcome in order to make progress possible
and for comparing the various hypotheses that
had to be abandoned with those that have survived;
for he said that knowledge of the reasons for these
choices is frequently much more useful in the training
of a scientific mind than the study of texts in
their definitive form, which leaves the student
under the illusion that "all came about by itself."
Last Years
After the war, REP, who had retired to Switzerland
unknown and misunderstood, abandoned
space research. This extremely unfortunate decision
was a great loss for astronautics, particularly since
almost all his unpublished work was lost. Moreover,
many documents in the possession of certain colleagues
had to be destroyed at the time our country
was occupied.
However, on 9 May 1947, in a lecture given at the
Aero-Club de France, REP returned to the results
of his calculations and conclusions concerning the
mixtures previously studied (solid propellants and
petroleum ether/liquid oxygen) and added to these
mixtures of liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen and
uranium 235 and plutonium. 61
FIGURE 13.—REP's apartment at 43 Boulevard Lannes, in
Paris, after attachment of his furniture by the Tax
Department.
In his last years, REP experienced many trying
days. He who could have made a fortune thanks to
his inventions, was harassed by the tax department
and his furniture was attached (Figure 13)—this on
top of the indifference, the lack of understanding,
and the sarcasm he had suffered all his life.
After participating in the exciting development
of aviation, REP, as a space pioneer had the somewhat
bitter consolation, before his death on 6 December
1957, of seeing his ideas confirmed abroad,
first by the V-2 and later by the launching of the
first earth satellite, Sputnik I, in the USSR.
On the day of his death, a Vanguard rocket was
launched at Cape Canaveral (now Cape Kennedy)
like a salute in his honor.
After looking into the laborious life of this ingenious
pioneer, we salute the memory of this universal
man, hardly knowing what to praise the most
—the researcher's rich imagination; the theortician's
rigorous reasoning; the experimentalist's
capability, boldness, and intrepidity; or the engineer's
concern for perfection.
I should like to express my appreciation to all
those who helped me in my library research on
Robert Esnault-Pelterie and in particular, Gaston
Palewski, former Minister of Scientific Research;
Ingenieur General J.-J. Barre; Pierre Montagne;
Alexandre Ananoff; and George S. James.
NOTES
The author of this paper, Lise Blosset, is (1973) Directeur
Adjoint, Charge de Mission aupres du Directeur General
Centre National d'Ltudes Spatiales, 129 rue de l'Universite,
Paris, France.—Ed.
1. Robert Esnault-Pelterie, Vie et travaux scientifiques
(Orleans, France: Henri Tessier, 1931), pp. 3-5 (hereafter
cited as REP, Vie et travaux).—Ed.
2. REP, Vie et travaux, pp. 5-6.—Ed.
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