The rocket engineer

George Trimble, vice president of engineering for the Glenn L. Martin Company of Baltimore, discusses Project Vanguard, the U.S. contribution to the 1957-58 International Geophysical Year. He shows a three-stage rocket and a diagram of its launch and various stages. It will circle the earth in an elliptical orbit every 90 minutes for several weeks, sending back scientific data during that time. A film of White Sands Proving Grounds shows the Martin Company's Viking high altitude rocket, the first designed by the Naval Research Laboratory for scientific research and the Vanguard's first stage. A camera in its tail records the curvature of the earth and other information about its flight. The film also shows the fires and crashes of previous Viking failures as well as the launch of the first Viking from the deck of the U.S.S. Norton Sound while carrying instruments. Lynn Poole interviews three of the project's engineers: Elliott Felt, who explains how the automatic pilot works; Don Markarian, who explains the fins on the Viking rocket for roll control and other details on a model of the craft; and Leonard Arnowitz, who shows an actual Viking motor. Mr. Trimble says the qualities of a rocket engineer include a pioneering spirit and a desire to create something new. He also notes that an engineering degree is important, but 40% of his employees do not have one, taking current technical and science courses instead. He stresses that although a slide rule has become the sign of an engineer, imagination is just as critical.