From German Tunnels to Space, Part 3–Mittelwerk and Dora

This series started with my experience growing up and appreciating the beauty of Germany, its land and people. But with that experience came an understanding of Germany’s darker history, a history that country would rather forget. This is why Mittelwerk is important, especially for space. There aren’t many people in the world who know about […]

What’s Old Is New Again

From childhood, I’ve had this weird fascination with dirigibles. Not blimps, but dirigibles. The kind of airships people associate with the words, “Oh, the humanity!!” In spite of the horrific Hindenburg episode, I always thought the zeppelins produced in Friedrichshafen, Germany, were always majestic in movement. It also looked like a relaxing and luxurious way […]

“Frau Im Mond:” A SciFi Movie By Fritz Lang

This is a short movie review, but one concerning space. I happened upon this silent film as I was researching the Mittelwerk series. The English name of the film is “The Woman in the Moon.” It’s available in the US on Netflix streaming, so the wife and I watched it. The director’s last name, Lang, […]

From German Tunnels to Space, Part 2–Peenemuende

In the first post to this series, I established my impressions of the German countryside and the Germans themselves: pretty, green country full of great, hospitable people (some are still friends). My family lived at the edge of the Ardennes in an area of hills and forests full of bunkers, pillboxes, etc. All of these […]

From German Tunnels to Space, Part 1

Stay with me here, this will eventually lead to space-related topics. When I was much younger, I was privileged to live overseas twice. Both times my Dad moved us to the Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland Pfalz for German speakers)/Eifel region of Germany. It was very pretty—forested and hilly with networks of small, curvy roads. The first time […]