This black & white educational film is about the challenges we face in outer space. This film was made in 1955.

Opening credits: The Office of Armed Forces Information and Education, Department of Defense, is privileged to present Dr. Wernher Von Braun, an authority on rockets and space who will explain the challenge of space to us. The Dr. is currently the director of guided missiles in Huntsville, AL. Title: CHALLENGE OF OUTER SPACE (:09-1:34). A group of enlisted officers sit and listen as Dr. Wernher Von Braun talks about space being mankind’s greatest technological challenge (1:35-3:06). Dr. Wernher Von Braun shows some slides featuring prototype rockets. He explains what is needed to reach space and how, including speeds. The rocket is broken down into stages (3:07-4:34). Dr. Von Braun continues to speak about leaving the atmosphere. He shows how an airplane type unit could be attached to the head of the rocketship. He gets into how stages of the ship taking off and leaving occur (4:35-8:29). Scientific talk about the apogee – the point in the orbit of the moon or a satellite at which it is furthest from the earth, and the perigee – the point in the orbit of the moon or a satellite at which it is nearest to the earth (8:30-11:03). Fuel consumption on the ship as it is going is discussed by the doctor. There will be harsh acceleration to the ship and it will be tough for people to work as a team under such conditions. A centrifuge test which tests endurance under acceleration is shown in a slide and film clip. Weightlessness is discussed (11:04-15:23). The trajectory of an airplane is shown in a diagram and explained about its correlation to space travel (15:24-17:59). What will happen to those men who fly horizontally? This is discussed (18:00-19:57). What happens when the ship gets into its orbit? A diagram shows the ship on its course. Having a space station in space just outside the earth’s orbit is an option for our space travelers as well. The space station could also help with bombs for our military. A pressurized suit is required. A futuristic contraption is shown as a substitute for the space suit (19:58-25:24). A slide that shows an animated space station. A space station is discussed. How it is segmented and where things are placed within it are shown. The doctor mentions that the space station can be used for bombing as well as a jumping off platform to reach deeper into space for other ships (25:25-30:18). The film then cuts off at 30:18-it says end of reel 3 at the end (30:18-30:22).

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com