Franz von Hoefft

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Franz von Hoefft (born April 5, 1882 in Vienna , † December 13, 1954 in Linz ) was an Austrian space scientist and pioneer in the field of rocket and space research .

Life

Franz von Hoefft was born in Vienna in 1882. He graduated from secondary school in 1900 and then studied chemistry in Vienna and Göttingen . Von Hoefft had his doctorate in chemistry in 1907. At first he worked as a renowned heating engineer, as an examiner at the Austrian patent office and as a consultant .

19 years later, he and Guido von Pirquet founded the first space-related society in Europe ( Scientific Society for Height Research ). Von Hoefft was a rocket fuel expert. The first step was to advance the development of a liquid propellant missile, called the RH-1 (RH stands for Recoil Hoefft). This RH-1 rocket was supposed to be transported by balloons up to a height of ten kilometers and launched there. It should be used for the photographic recording of space observations and the earth's atmosphere. The carrying capacity of these rockets should be continuously expanded up to the last stage of development, the spacecraft RH-7. However, Franz von Hoefft never had the opportunity to implement his visionary program, because in 1938 Austria became a part of what was then the German Reich, and rocket science was used for military purposes. He died in Linz , Austria in 1954 .

List of RH missiles

  • RH-1, a rocket that is launched at an altitude of 5–10 kilometers in order to then explore the earth's atmosphere and space.
  • RH-2, a single-stage missile. It would cover distances on a ballistic trajectory at an altitude of 1,500 kilometers and photograph the earth and space with automatic cameras.
  • RH-3 would be a two-stage missile. An expanded form of the RH-2, so to speak. Von Hoefft hoped to use two combined RH-3 rockets to bring "bright powder" to the moon, which would ignite on impact, to prove the success of the mission.
  • RH-4 was supposed to be a spacecraft that could transport passengers from the earth to the moon.
  • RH-5, -6 and -7 would have advanced features from the RH-4. He hoped that RH-7 would be able to travel to distant planets and even leave our solar system. He would have had RH-7 built in space so as not to launch such a large vehicle on the surface of our earth.

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personal data
SURNAME Hoefft, Franz von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian space scientist and pioneer in the field of rocket and space research
DATE OF BIRTH April 5, 1882
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna , Austria-Hungary
DATE OF DEATH December 13, 1954
Place of death Linz , Austria