They laughed when Krafft Ehricke designed the world’s first real space vehicle in 1957.

They called it “the fat tank…”





…and they called Ehricke “the space cadet.”



But when his high energy upper stage Centaur kicked the first satellites into high Earth orbit… and then the first soft lander to Earth’s moon… and then the first and subsequent probes to every planet in our solar system… and then the biggest-ever scientific lab called Curiosity to Mars… and then flew its 200th mission and marked 50 years of service in 2012…

See the rest of the story at

www.krafftaehricke.com

And see the Atlas-Centaur-Curiosity launch here:

And see the Curiosity mission sequence here:

And see the Curiosity Mars “7 Minutes of Terror” explained here (after you get past the commercial)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/video/2012/aug/03/curiosity-terror-nasa-mars-video?newsfeed=true

Hotels in Space

Today when you hear of space tourism, vacations in space etc. you’re hearing of ideas rooted in Ehricke’s introduction of the first space resort in the 1960s. He called it Astropolis, and presented it in a paper entitled “Space Tourism” in 1966.

Designed in exquisite detail and including a complete cost analysis, Astropolis would accommodate 1100 vacationers in Earth orbit. By the late 1970s, if he could’ve had his way.

Now, two Russian firms believe they’ll have the world’s first space hotel in orbit by 2016. Read about it and Ehricke’s Astropolis here.

http://www.responscom.com/russians-plan-first-space-hotel/551602/

You can also see a picture of Astropolis at
http://www.krafftaehricke.com/astropolis_1.php

New Website Tells Unique Story of Space Visionary Krafft Ehricke and America in Space.

It's a story that must be told.

Known as father of the Centaur space launch vehicle and the concept of space industrialization, the late Krafft A. Ehricke was a leading pioneer of the American space program.

He dedicated his life to discovering and spreading a rational understanding of what he called "the extraterrestrial imperative:" the true global trends and dangers faced by mankind, and solutions that would be impossible without assistance from space. Often called "the Ambassador of Space," he made the case for space as no one has, before or since. So far-reaching and prophetic was his vision, it remains timeless today. The new website is designed as a "slide show" of over 200 bite-sized pages spanning seven decades up to 2010. Complementary PDF downloads of selected Ehricke writings, including what could be a master plan for what do next in space, are available at the conclusion.

http://www.krafftaehricke.com/