New Mexico and Technology Nuclear Energy Research High Altitude Survival (Space Medicine) Rocket Tests And more… New Mexico Technology1 Ted Spitzmiller
New Mexico Technology2 Objective To understand more about New Mexico and its involvement with high technology… –Pioneers, engineers, and astronauts –Events that alter and illuminate our time
Who Am I? Aviation and Space Historian Graduate US Army Guided Missile School Taught Nuclear Weapons 3 years Flight Instructor for 40+ years Computer Guy for 50 years (MS/CIS) Invented the Internet (with Al Gore) Mrs. Kritter’s Dad New Mexico Technology3
Birth of the Bomb4 I started building models airplanes at the age of 7 4Aviation
Birth of the Bomb5 New Mexico’s role in the Birth of the Atomic Age World War II
Birth of the Bomb610/13/ A Bit of Background Certain isotopes of Uranium could be split (fission) to produce energy. Enough to make a bomb? War was raging in Europe. Germany had been in the forefront of the research. America build an atomic bomb… if one could be made.
Birth of the Bomb7 OSRD Creates Manhattan Project-1942 Directed by Brig Gen Leslie Groves Four secret laboratories: Los Alamos, New Mexico –Location chosen for its remoteness. –Physics and engineering "think-tank" –Final assembly of bombs, from materials/components Originally a few hundred people… required over 2,000. Lots of problems and secrecy.
Irony Many of the physicist who worked on the project were driven out of Europe by Nazi anti-Semitism. New Mexico Technology8
Find Los Alamos Birth of the Bomb9
10 J. Robert Oppenheimer UC Berkley physicist Chosen by Groves to lead bomb development effort Understood the problem, the resources available, and the people
Los Alamos 1945 New Mexico Technology11
Los Alamos Today New Mexico Technology12
Birth of the Bomb13 Bomb Required Enriched u235 Only 1 in 600 atoms of natural uranium is u-235 Bomb requires >90% u-235 Numerous methods to separate u235 from u238 –Gaseous diffusion & cyclotron best known Oakridge, Tenn
Birth of the Bomb14 Two Methods of Creating a Bomb Purity Density supercritical Mass
Birth of the Bomb15 Trinity Site Location to test the bomb!
To be detonated on Top of a Tower Avoid extensive fallout Take advantage of the Mach-Y effect Birth of the Bomb16
Birth of the Bomb17 Gadget Raised to the Top
Birth of the Bomb18 From the start of the laboratory at Los Alamos in March 1943 to the first test in July 1945 was only 2 years and four months. Explosive energy equivalent to 20,000 tons of TNT
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Birth of the Bomb21 Decision to use the weapon is another story
Birth of the Bomb22 Hiroshima 1945—Little Boy
Birth of the Bomb23 Hiroshima Today
Birth of the Bomb24 What about the German Effort? That’s another story.
Birth of the Bomb25 The Atom Spies—Yet another story
Trinity Site Today Open to visitors first weekend of October and April New Mexico Technology26
Birth of the Bomb27 Questions? Local Museums
New Mexico Technology28 Let’s Talk Rockets Robert Goddard Father of Modern Rocketry Experimentalist Launched first successful liquid fuel rocket March 16, 1926
Goddard Moves from Massachusetts to Roswell New Mexico Technology29
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New Mexico Technology35 V-2 – First Large Liquid Fuel Rocket Developed by Wernher von Braun in Germany during WWII. Surface to surface missile Send 2000 pound explosive warhead (payload) 200 miles
Wernher von Braun Operation Paperclip New Mexico Technology36 Technology Transfer
New Mexico Technology37 Launched From White Sands 46
Testing Moved to Cape Canaveral, Florida as Rockets Grew Larger New Mexico Technology38
New Mexico Technology39 V-2 Comparison of Saturn V & Shuttle Saturn V sent men to the moon Launched Skylab Space Station ,000 lbs. To earth orbit Shuttle 65,000 pounds to earth orbit Shuttle 4.4 million lbs. 6 million lbs. thrust Saturn V 6.0 million lbs. 7.5 million lbs. thrust
Space Medicine New Mexico Technology40
Dr. Randy Lovelace High Altitude Bailout from 40,200 feet New Mexico Technology41
Original Mercury Astronaut’s Medical Tests at Lovelace Clinic New Mexico Technology42
High Altitude Ballooning New Mexico Technology43
Using High Altitude Balloons to test Survival Equipment New Mexico Technology44
Lt. Joe Kittinger’s record parachute jump New Mexico Technology45
102,800 feet d o w n New Mexico Technology46
International Balloon Museum New Mexico Technology47
Rocket Sleds Test Effects of High Speed Ejection New Mexico Technology48
New Mexico Museum Of Space History New Mexico Technology49
And There is… Roswell New Mexico Technology50
Aliens! New Mexico Technology51
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New Mexico Technology53 Time Line to Space Tsiolkovsky Goddard Oberth Kittinger- Free Fall Stapp -Rocket Sled Von Braun V-2 Glenn Armstrong Space Shuttle Challenger Columbia Space Race ISS YWB
New Mexico… A Prominent Player in “Advanced Technologies” New Mexico Technology54
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