GALCIT_Rocket_Research_Group_and_the_Kynette_trial:_1934.E2.80.9338 Jack_Parsons_(rocket_engineer)

parsons (center) , galcit colleagues in arroyo seco, halloween 1936. jpl marks experiment foundation.

in hope of gaining access state-of-the-art resources of caltech rocketry research, parsons , forman attended lecture on work of austrian rocket engineer eugen sänger , hypothetical above-stratospheric aircraft institute s william bollay— phd student specializing in rocket-powered aircraft—and approached him express interest in designing liquid-fuel rocket motor. bollay redirected them phd student named frank malina, mathematician , mechanical engineer composing thesis on rocket propulsion shared interests , befriended pair. parsons, forman, , malina applied funding caltech together; did not mention ultimate objective develop rockets space exploration, realizing of scientific establishment relegated such ideas science fiction. while caltech s clark blanchard millikan rebuffed them, malina s doctoral advisor theodore von kármán saw more promise in proposal , agreed allow them operate under auspices of university s guggenheim aeronautical laboratory (galcit). naming galcit rocket research group, gained access caltech s specialist equipment, though economics of great depression left von kármán unable finance them.

the trio focused distinct skills on collaborative rocket development; parsons chemist, forman machinist, , malina technical theoretician. malina wrote in 1968 self-educated parsons lacked discipline of formal higher education, [but] had uninhibited , fruitful imagination. informally trained parsons , forman who, described geoffrey a. landis, eager try whatever idea happened spring mind , contrasted approach of malina, insisted on need scientific discipline informed von kármán. landis writes creativity kept malina focused toward building actual rocket engines, not solving equations on paper . sharing socialist values, operated on egalitarian basis; malina taught others scientific procedure , taught him practical elements of rocketry. socialized, smoking marijuana , drinking, while malina , parsons set writing semiautobiographical science fiction screenplay planned pitch hollywood strong anti-capitalist , pacifist themes.

galcit group members in arroyo seco, november 1936. left foreground right: rudolph schott, amo smith, frank malina, ed forman, , jack parsons.

parsons met helen northrup @ local church dance , proposed marriage in july 1934. accepted , married in april 1935 @ little church of flowers in forest lawn memorial park, glendale, before undertaking brief honeymoon in san diego. moved house on south terrace drive, pasadena, while parsons gained employment explosives manufacturer halifax powder company @ facility in saugus. helen s dismay, parsons spent of wages funding galcit rocket research group. money manufactured nitroglycerin in home, constructing home laboratory on front porch. @ 1 point pawned helen s engagement ring, , asked family loans.

malina recounted parsons , forman not pleased austere program did not include @ least launching of model rockets , group reached consensus of developing working static rocket motor before embarking on more complex research. contacted liquid-fuel rocket pioneer robert h. goddard , invited malina facility in roswell, new mexico, not interested in cooperating—reticent sharing research , having been subjected widespread derision work in rocketry. instead joined caltech graduate students apollo m. o. amo smith, carlos c. wood, mark muir mills, fred s. miller, william c. rockefeller, , rudolph schott; schott relied upon use of pickup truck transport equipment. first liquid-fuel motor test took place near devil s gate dam in arroyo seco on halloween 1936. parsons biographer john carter described layout of contraption showing

three attempts fire rocket failed; on fourth oxygen line accidentally ignited , perilously billowed fire @ group, viewed experience formative. continued experiments throughout last quarter of 1936; after final test completed in january 1937 von kármán agreed perform future experiments @ exclusive rocket testing facility on campus.

parsons in 1938, holding replica car bomb used in murder trial of police officer captain earl kynette

in april 1937 caltech mathematician qian xuesen (a chinese citizen) joined group. several months later weld arnold, caltech laboratory assistant worked group s official photographer, joined. main reason arnold s appointment position provision of donation group on behalf of anonymous benefactor. became known on campus, earning moniker of suicide squad dangerous nature of of experiments , attracting attention local press. parsons himself gained further media publicity when appeared expert explosives witness in trial of captain earl kynette, head of police intelligence in los angeles accused of conspiring set car bomb in attempted murder of private investigator harry raymond, former lapd detective fired after whistleblowing against police corruption. when kynette convicted largely on parsons testimony, included forensic reconstruction of car bomb , explosion, identity expert scientist in public eye established despite lack of university education. while working @ caltech, parsons admitted evening courses in chemistry @ university of southern california (usc), distracted galcit workload attended sporadically , received unexceptional grades.

by 1938 group had made static rocket motor, burned 3 seconds, run on minute. in may year, parsons invited forrest j ackerman lecture on rocketry work @ chapter number 4 of los angeles science fiction league (lasfl). although never joined society, attended talks, on 1 occasion conversing teenage ray bradbury. scientist become involved in galcit project sidney weinbaum, jewish refugee europe vocal marxist; led parsons, malina, , qian in creation of largely secretive communist discussion group @ caltech, became known professional unit 122 of pasadena communist party. although parsons subscribed people s daily world , joined american civil liberties union (aclu), refused join american communist party, causing break in , weinbaum s friendship. this, coupled need focus on paid employment, led disintegration of of rocket research group, leaving 3 founding members late 1938.