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The years 1945–1960 were seminal in the United States space program. In these years, Professor Fred L. Whipple at Harvard University was the foremost space advocate from the astronomical community. Starting in 1946, the US Army made experimental V-2 launches from White Sands, and Fred Whipple was a participant in these activities. He formed a strong relationship with Wernher von Braun. Both promoted an understanding of space matters by the public, resulting in a series of magazine articles in Collier's. A noteworthy meeting on June 25, 1954 at the Office of Naval Research in Washington, DC, was hosted by Commander George Hoover. Frederick C. Durant III, Wernher von Braun, S. Fred Singer, David Young and Fred Whipple were present. This was the first meeting of what became Project Orbiter, and ultimately Explorer 1. Thus Fred Whipple was one of a half-dozen individuals responsible for jump-starting the US satellite program. Project Orbiter included a subproject directed by Whipple to optically observe satellites and to compute their orbits. Dr. Whipple died August 30, 2004 at age 97. |
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