As early as the 1860’s photographers had. gone up In balloons to make detailed records of cities, landscapes and battlefronts; small cameras had also been attached with sorne success to high-flying kites and even to the breasts of trained pigeons.
By 1903 a still more startling form of aerial photography was in the offing. In that year a German engineer, Alfred Maul,patented a rocket camera that caught the interest of the Kaiser's generals for its potential usefulness in military reconnaissance. After nine years of work and many experimental models Maul successfully launched the device shown at right. The camera,shot skyward by a rocket and returned to earth by parachute, made a single exposure automatically as it reached the apex of' its flight. To test its durability in warfare, soldiers were ordered to fire at the descendinq camera to see if they could effectively knock it out. Although Maul's invention survived the test and produced good pictures, it was never used in combat: Airplanes and dirigibles, both invented in the early 1900’s, provided superior camera platforms. Not until after World War II did rocketborne cameras come into their own as superb instruments for space studies.
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With the rocket in place, all is ready for the launch, and the camera blasts off in a billow of smoke.
When the rocket burned out at 2,600 feet the camera made a single exposure, like the one shown above, and floated back to earth.
Propellant Chamber
Camera Compartment
Nose Cone
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