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Robert Esnault-Pelterie

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Robert Esnault-Pelterie
Robert Esnault-Pelterie
Born(1881-11-08)8 November 1881
Paris,France
Died6 December 1957(1957-12-06)(aged 76)
Nice,France[1]
NationalityFrench
OccupationEngineer
Engineering career
Significant advance

Robert Albert Charles Esnault-Pelterie(8 November 1881 – 6 December 1957) was a Frenchaircraftdesigner and spaceflight theorist. He is referred to as being one of the founders of modernrocketryandastronautics,along with the RussianKonstantin Tsiolkovsky,the GermansHermann Oberth,Wernher Von Braunand the AmericanRobert H. Goddard.[2][3][4]

Biography[edit]

He was born on 8 November 1881 inParisto atextileindustrialist. He was educated at theFaculté des Sciences,studyingengineeringat theSorbonne.

He served inWorld War Iand was made anOfficier de la Légion d'Honneur.

In November 1928, on board theIle de Francewhile sailing toNew York City,he was married to Carmen Bernaldo de Quirós, the daughter of Don Antonio and Yvonne Cabarrus, and granddaughter of General Marquis of Santiago,Grandee of Spain,Head of the Military Household of QueenIsabella II.

He died on 6 December 1957 in Nice, France.

REP[edit]

Esnault-Pelterie developed and manufactured aeroplanes and aero engines under the name REP.

Aeroplanes[edit]

His first experiments in aviation were based on theWright brothers1902 glider. His first glider design was tested on a beach nearCalais,but was not successful. His glider was based upon an incomplete understanding of the Wright glider, and although using a version of the wing-warping which the Wright brothers had used to control their aircraft this did not work properly and was abandoned, since he considered it dangerous.[5]After condemning the Wright brothers' approach, he developed the concept of theaileron,fitting a pair of mid-gap control surfaces in front of the wings. This potentially "initial" example of the use of ailerons of any sort is believed to pre-date all others,[6]after their patent description in 1868 by British inventorM. P. W. Boultonwas approved in that year.

Esnault-Pelterie airplane 1908.

In 1906 he began his first experiments in towed flight. On 19 September 1906 he flew 500 m (1,600 ft). He made his first powered flight on 10 October 1907, a distance of 100 m (330 ft) with theREP 1.This was driven by a seven-cylinder, 30 hp air-cooled engine of his own design.

Avion Esnault-Pelterie, 1908

Trials of the monoplaneREP 2began on 8 June 1908. This aircraft set a record with a 1,200 m (3,900 ft) flight, reaching an altitude of 30 m (98 ft). After a modified version of this plane was flown for the last time in 1909 atRheims,Pelterie stopped flying and instead focused on the development and manufacture of aircraft.

TheVickers R.E.P. Type Monoplanewas based upon his designs, and marked the beginning of aircraft production at the laterVickers Limited.In 1912 he introduced theREP Type Nand in 1914 theREP Parasolmonoplane.

The wing structure of the R.E.P Type D Monoplane, 1911.

His family had invested heavily to fund his aircraft designs, and this had left them nearly financially ruined. However, he was the inventor of the "joystick"flight control, and owned a patent on the design. This would end up being integrated during 1908, into fellow French aviatorLouis Blériot'seighth design,setting the pattern for future "user interfaces" inaircraft flight control systemdesign.[7]Following the war, Esnault-Pelterie was involved in litigation over his joystick patent.[8]Many aircraft built during the war had used this design and the aircraft companies owed him royalties. The damages he won and subsequent royalties made him a wealthy man. This also allowed him to repay his father's significant investment.

Aero engines[edit]

Esnault-Pelterie designed and built his own aero engines. He also sold them under the name R.E.P. They were all of an unusual multiple-banked fan or half-radial type. The first design featured seven cylinders double-banked, with four in one bank and three in the other, and was rated at 30 horsepower (22 kW). A later model doubled them up to create a 14 cylinder quadruple-banked engine giving 60 horsepower (45 kW).[9][10]

Rocketry[edit]

He became interested inspace travel,and, not knowing ofTsiolkovsky's 1903 work, in 1913 produced a paper that presented therocket equationand calculated the energies required to reach the Moon and nearby planets.[11]In this talk, he proposed the use of atomic energy, using 400 kg ofradiumto power an interplanetary vehicle. His culminating work wasL'Astronautique,published in 1930. A later version published in 1934 included details oninterplanetary traveland applications ofnuclear power.

On 8 June 1927 Esnault-Pelterie gave a symposium for theSociété astronomique de France(French Astronomical Society) titledL'exploration par fusées de la très haute atmosphère et la possibilité des voyages interplanétaires,concerning the exploration of outer space using rocket propulsion.Jean-Jacques Barréattended this lecture, and developed a correspondence with Esnault-Pelterie on the topic of rockets.

In 1929 Esnault-Pelterie proposed the idea of theballistic missilefor military bombardment. By 1930, Esnault-Pelterie and Barré had persuaded the French War Department to fund a study of the concept. In 1931, the two began experimenting with various types of rocket propulsion systems, including liquid propellants. The same year he ran a demonstration of a rocket engine powered with gasoline and liquid oxygen. During an experiment with a rocket design usingtetra-nitromethanehe lost four fingers from his right hand during an explosion. Ultimately, their work failed to create an interest in rocketry within France.

Prix REP-Hirsch[edit]

ThePrix REP-Hirschwas an international award of theSociété astronomique de Francegiven in recognition of the study ofinterplanetary travelandastronautics.[12]Established by Esnault-Pelterie and André-Louis Hirsch,[13]a Parisian banker and science enthusiast, it was the first prize for astronautics in the world.[14]The award was given "to recognize the best original scientific work, theoretical or experimental, that is able to advance one of the questions related to the realisation of space travel, or to increase human understanding of one of the branches related to the science of astronautics."[15]The idea for establishing the prize originated during a dinner Hirsch and Esnault-Pelterie organised in Paris on 26 December 1927. The guests discussed the emerging science of space travel, which they called “astronautics” at the suggestion of science fiction writerJ.H. Rosny the elder.[16]Hirsch and Esnault-Pelterie provided funds – 5,000 francs annually for 1928, 1929, and 1930 – to the Société astronomique de France, for an annual award in astronautics in their names.[17]A Comité d'Astronautique was established to manage the prize. In addition to Esnault-Pelterie, Hirsch, and Rosny the elder, it included GeneralGustave-Auguste Ferrié(President),Jean PerrinandEugène Fichot(Vice-Presidents) and other expert members.[18][19][20]The prize was awarded for 10 years. In 1936, the name of the award changed from thePrix REP-Hirschto thePrix International d'Astronautique(International Astronautics Prize).[21] The laureates were:

  • 1929 —Hermann Oberth,for his overall contributions to the field.[22][23]
  • 1931 — Pierre Montagne, for his theoretical work on the equilibrium of gas temperatures inside combustion chambers.[24]
  • 1934 — Pierre Montagne, for his work on chemical equilibria in chemical reactions and their application to rockets, andAry Sternfeld(Prix d'Encouragement), for his bookInitiation à la Cosmonautique.[25]
  • 1935 —Louis Damblanc,for his innovations insolid propellantsfor rockets.[26]
  • 1936 —American Rocket Societyand Alfred Africano,[27][28]
  • 1938 — Giovanni Serragli, for his publicationRecherches sur les poudres lentes et leur usage pour l'exploration de la haute atmosphère.[29]
  • 1939 —Frank J. Malina(Médaille de vermeil) and Nathan Carver (Médaille d'argent).[30]

Though the award was short-lived, it helped stimulate interest in the new science of astronautics and encouraged early pioneers in the field.[31]

Legacy[edit]

Robert Esnault-Pelterie

Among his interests were horseback riding, playing golf, camping and driving cars. During his lifetime he filed about 120 patents in a variety of fields ranging frommetallurgyto automobile suspension. He was the inventor of the "center stick"aircraft control and of a new type offuel pump.He also developed the idea of rocket maneuver by means of vectored thrust.

Honors[edit]

Works by Esnault-Pelterie[edit]

  • L'Astronautique,Paris, A. Lahure, 1930.
  • L'Astronautique-Complément,Paris, Société des Ingénieurs Civils de France, 1935.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Encyclopédie Larousse / Robert Esnault-Pelterie".Retrieved21 April2017.
  2. ^"International Space Hall of Fame:: New Mexico Museum of Space History:: Inductee Profile".
  3. ^"Robert Esnault-Pelterie | French aviation pioneer".2 December 2023.
  4. ^"Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky".Aeronautics Learning Laboratory for Science Technology, and Research (ALLSTAR) Network. 12 March 2004. Archived fromthe originalon 7 September 2017.Retrieved1 February2017.
  5. ^Gibbs-Smith 1974 p.128
  6. ^Harrison, James P.Mastering the Sky: A History of Aviation from Ancient Times to the Present,Da Capo Press, 2000, p. 48,ISBN1885119682,ISBN978-1885119681.
  7. ^Crouch, Tom (1982).Blériot XI: The Story of a Classic Aircraft.Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 22.
  8. ^"The French" Manche A Balai "Action".Flight.15(753): 297. 31 May 1923.Retrieved25 Aug2013.
  9. ^Gunston, W;World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines,4th Edition, Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1998.
  10. ^Jane, F.T.;Jane's All the World's Airships 1909, Sampson Low Marston, 1909, pp.346-347.
  11. ^"Considerations sur les resultats d'un allegement indefini des moteurs", Journal de physique theorique et appliquee, Paris, 1913
  12. ^International Academy of Astronautics.First steps toward space: proceedings of the first and second History Symposia of the International Academy of Astronautics at Belgrade, Yugoslavia, 26 September 1967, and New York, U.S.A., 16 October 1968(Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974), p. 11.
  13. ^Pierre-François Mouriaux and Dr. Philippe Varnoteaux, “André-Louis Hirsch (1899-1962) - A sponsor for Early Astronautics in France,”64th International Astronautical Congress 2013,Paper number IAC-13, E4,1,1, x16495
  14. ^l'Astronomie, 1929, p. 354.
  15. ^l'Astronomie, 1928, p. 140.
  16. ^Pierre-François Mouriaux and Dr. Philippe Varnoteaux,“André-Louis Hirsch (1899-1962) - A sponsor for Early Astronautics in France,”64th International Astronautical Congress 2013, Paper number IAC-13, E4,1,1, x16495
  17. ^l'Astronomie, 1935, p. 434
  18. ^"The History of the Rep-Hirsch Award".Astronautics.6(34): 6–7. 1936.doi:10.2514/8.10156.
  19. ^l'Astronomie, 1928, p. 59.
  20. ^l'Astronomie, 1928, p. 140.
  21. ^l'Astronomie, 1936, p. 316.
  22. ^l'Astronomie, 1929, p. 301
  23. ^Dutry, F. Le Prix Rep-Hirsch pour 1929. Ciel et Terre, Volume 46. Bulletin of the Société Belge d'Astronomie, Brussels, 1930, p. 44
  24. ^l'Astronomie, 1931, p. 312.
  25. ^l'Astronomie, 1934, p. 325.
  26. ^l'Astronomie, 1935, p. 344.
  27. ^l'Astronomie, 1936, p. 313.for their tests withliquid fueled rockets.
  28. ^"Rocketry News",Astronautics,Vol. 6, No. 35 (1936), pp. 17-18
  29. ^l'Astronomie, 1938, p. 290.
  30. ^l'Astronomie, 1939, p. 296.
  31. ^Francis French, Colin Burgess. Into That Silent Sea: Trailblazers of the Space Era, 1961-1965 (University of Nebraska Press, 2007), p. 55.
  32. ^Locke, Robert (October 6, 1976)."Space Pioneers Enshrined".Las Vegas Optic.Las Vegas, New Mexico. Associated Press. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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