Pedro Paulet | |
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| Born | Pedro Eleodoro Paulet Mostajo (1874-07-02)July 2, 1874 |
| Died | January 30, 1945(1945-01-30) (aged 70) |
| Resting place | Presbyter Matías Maestro Cemetery, Peru |
| Alma mater | National University of Saint Augustine (BSA) University of Paris |
| Occupations |
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| Relatives | Francisco Mostajo Miranda (cousin) |
Pedro Eleodoro Paulet Mostajo (2 July 1874 or 4 July 1875 – 30 January 1945) was a Peruviandiplomat andengineer. Some early rocket experts described him as a pioneer inaeronautics, saying that he was the first person to build aliquid-propellant rocket engine and modern rocket propulsion system, but his experiments were never independently verified.
Pedro Eleodoro Paulet Mostajo was born on 2 July 1874, to the well-esteemed family of Pedro Paulet and Antonia Mostajo y Quiroz inTiabaya,Arequipa, Peru; his father died three years later.[1][2] As a child, Paulet was fascinated with flight and combustion.[3][4] With thesteam locomotives traveling through Arequipa, Paulet would try to learn how the large machines were propelled as a child.[3] He was sent to the San Vicente de Paul School by his mother, with the school being founded by theLazarist French priest Hippolyte Duhamel.[2] After Duhamel gifted Paulet the 1865 French novelFrom the Earth to the Moon, an inspired Paulet would reportedly launch homemade rockets as a youth.[4] His family reported that Paulet would make rockets by using leftover gunpowder from festivals, filling reeds coated with wax from his family's candles with the gunpowder and then tying it together with hemp string.[3] Sometimes he would tie the rockets to stones or pieces of metal to gauge their strength or have the rockets travel with live animals placed inside, observing the effects rocket travel had on them.[3][5][6] Despite being scolded by his family due to bothering his neighborhood, Paulet would instead go to open fields where he would experiment on his own.[3]
By the age of fifteen, Paulet would begin to work with localpyrotechnicians, working with them to larger rockets with longer burn times.[3] He enrolled at theNational University of Saint Augustine when he was seventeen, founding the Patriotic Society and the Artistic Center.[7] Paulet would show interest in the arts, being recognized as a skilled sculptor and painter, winning awards for his work.[7] He would and Paulet would graduate with aBachelor of Science and Arts.[7] In late 1893, Paulet's mother would die.[7] Despite his interests in the arts, Paulet would continue to be fixated on the power of rockets and how they could be used for transportation.[7]
PresidentRemigio Morales Bermúdez, who was personally impressed by the intellect of Paulet, provided ascholarship to him in 1894 to begin studies for a degree in engineering and architecture at theUniversity of Paris.[7] In 1895, Paulet reportedly began to experiment with his rocket engine, usingPanclastite for propulsion, as recommended byMarcellin Berthelot.[8][9] When experimenting with combustible chemicals, Paulet reported he had to do so in secret due to prohibitions enforced by the police due toanarchist attacks in Paris.[4] In one incident, he ruptured the eardrum in his left ear due to an explosion and was temporarily arrested upon suspicions of being an anarchist, though Berthelot was able to explain that Paulet was a student.[9] After explosive experiments were prohibited in university laboratories, Paulet was forced to perform experiments in the outskirts of Paris, seeking to find a cheaper and safer alternatives for fueling rockets.[9] In 1897, he became a member of theSociété astronomique de France and reportedly began to experiment with the "Girándula Motriz", or "Power Gyro".[4][9] The same year, he reportedly made a more stable rocket engine fueled bynitrogen peroxide andgasoline.[9] Due to the use of an oxidizing agent, the engine would have had the ability to function in the vacuum environment ofouter space where oxygen is not present for combustion.[9]
Due to his fluency in English, French, German and Spanish, he served as a correspondent for various newspapers, includingLe Figaro andLa Petite République.[7] With these funds, Paulet was able to continue his studies and to travel toNorthern Africa, theMiddle East,Russia and theUnited States in search of ideas on rocketry.[7] In 1898, Paulet began his studies of industrial engineering at the Institute of Applied Chemistry at the University of Paris.[10][7][11] While attending the university, he would study underCharles Friedel,Pierre Curie andHenri Becquerel, exchanging ideas with them on the best methods to provide rocket propulsion.[12][7] Due to funding issues, loss of laboratory access and concerns with neighbors, Paulet ceased his experiments.[8][7]
During theExposition Universelle in 1900, Paulet would serve as the Deputy Commissioner for the Peruvian delegation, designing the pavilion used at the exposition.[4][13] He would become a member of theSociété chimique de France and be bestowed the title ofOfficier de l'Instruction Publique of theOrdre des Palmes académiques by France the same year.[4][1] The Peruvian government would also commission to create a plan to bringwireless telegraphy toPeruvian Amazonia in 1900, with his recommendations being utilized during the project.[1] In 1901, he would graduate with High Distinction in industrial engineering from the University of Paris.[1]
Paulet first served as chancellor of the Consulate of Peru in Paris.[14] He was named as the Peruvian Counsel inAntwerp in 1902, and served in the role for a few years.[10][13] Paulet designed a liquid-fueled "rocket engine" for theAvión Torpedo aircraft, with the proposal being in complete contrast to the intellectual interest ingunpowder rockets at the time.[5] He would spend decades seeking funds for the project, though he ultimately did not find donors.[5][14]
In 1904, he became the first director of the Escuela Nacional de Artes y Oficios, later known as theInstituto Superior Tecnológico Público José Pardo, after returning to Peru.[4][15] He would review European institutions to develop a curriculum and purchase equipment for the school.[15] PresidentJosé Pardo y Barreda would also task Paulet with constructing the Goyeneche Hospital, directing theEl Peruano newspaper and reviewing new ships for thePeruvian Navy.[4][1] He wrote about a proposed militarysubmarine in September 1909.[16][11] Encouraging Minister of War Pedro Muñíz to create an aviation organization after observing the feats of aircraft in Europe, Paulet would help found the National Pro-Aviation League, which would later be developed into thePeruvian Air Force.[17][18] Paulet would provide a framework to head of the National Pro-Aviation League, Juan Bielovucic, focusing on providing aircraft to defend Peru.[18]
After knowing that he would not attain his dream of making a space vehicle while living in Peru, he decided to return to Europe.[19] Leaving Peru in 1910, Paulet married Louise Constance Wilquet Genion, inBrussels after returning to Europe to serve as the Counsel of Peru inAmsterdam.[19][16] Paulet and Louise would later have seven children together; Margarita, José, Héctor, Pedro, Cecilia, Luis and Megan.[19] DuringWorld War I, Paulet would mainly live in Paris and the health of his family would struggle due to the war, with two of his children, Margarita and José, dying due to ailments.[19]
The Paulet family would move toLondon in 1920 following the deaths of their children in an effort to recover from the tragedy, with Paulet opening a successful toy factory with funding from friends.[19] PresidentAugusto B. Leguía would then appoint him as the counsel inDresden,Germany in 1921, with Louise selling all the family's shares for the you company.[19] He would be moved toAmsterdam in 1923 and a year later in 1924, he was named the Counsel of Peru in Stavanger andChargé d'Affaires in Oslo.[20]
Paulet's work was unknown prior to 27 October 1927, when the Peruvian newspaperEl Comercio published a letter he wrote, in which he said that he conceived a "rocket airplane project" nearly 30 years prior.[21] Paulet said that his rocket motor was made ofvanadium, weighed 2.5 kilos, was fueled bynitrogen peroxide andgasoline, which produced three hundred explosions per minute and had ninety kilograms of thrust.[22][23]
Replying to comments in 1927 by Austrian inventorMax Valier discussing a rocket powered aircraft crossing theAtlantic Ocean faster thanCharles Lindbergh, Paulet – the Peruvian counsel inRotterdam at the time – criticized Valier's proposal and recommended an aircraft powered byliquid-propellant rockets, stating that he had made plans for a rocket-propelled aircraft thirty years prior.[24] Paulet's recommendation occurred at a time when news ofRobert H. Goddard's 1926 liquid-propellant rocket launch was not notable, details about Goddard's work had not reached Europe and in fact, no liquid-propelled rockets had been launched yet in Europe.[25] A unique feature of Paulet's rocket design was its difference from Goddard's; unlike Goddard's rocket, Paulet's rocket utilized an intermittent fuel injection process that provided more efficiency and stability.[26] Paulet's description of past experiments would have made him the first person to create a liquid-propelled rocket, nearly three decades ahead of Goddard.[22] Paulet stated that his experiments were "made, truly, without witnesses" and called on former classmates to defend his work.[10][22]
According to the Paulet family, American businessmanHenry Ford would also contact Paulet to discuss purchasing his inventions asrocket cars were popular at the time, though Paulet would refuse as he wanted to continue to pursue spaceflight.[27] Visiting the German rocket associationVerein für Raumschiffahrt (VfR), Paulet's liquid-propelled rocket design was applauded by Valier for its strength.[28] The VfR would use Paulet's research throughout their publications in Germany[22] and he would finally gain interest in his work fromNazi Germany.[5] TheAstronomische Gesellschaft invited Paulet to join the society in order to progress research in rocketry, though once he discovered that the program was primarily for a weapon, he refused to work with the government and never shared the formula to his liquid propellant.[5]
In 1929, he was named Counsel General of Peru inRotterdam and would continue work on his rocket designs with two Dutch engineers; Hans Doerr and a man named Philip.[20] Into the 1930s, Paulet promoted the development of Peru on the international stage, publishing an outline on how Germans could migrate to the nation and assist with its development.[29] He would continue to experiment on aircraft designs, formulating ideas ofthermoelectric generators being placed on the exterior aircraft in 1930, focusing on the temperature difference between the cold exterior in thestratosphere and the warm interior of the vehicle.[14] In 1932, he was named Counsel General inYokohama where he would writeModern Japan and its Economic Bases.[20]
He would return to Peru in 1935 with his family, all except for his oldest child Hector who had married a woman in Japan, with Paulet helping with the creation of the Commercial Department of the Chancellery.[30] He sought funding for creating ajet engine in Peru and theUnited Kingdom, although he was unsuccessful.[1] Paulet would be named Counsel General inBuenos Aires in 1941.[1] When Peru broke diplomatic relations with Japan duringWorld War II, Paulet's engine was lost while in transit between Japan and Peru.[30] In 1944, Paulet stated that his rocket could fly up to 600 miles per hour in the outer atmosphere.[31]
Towards the end of his life, Paulet would experiencetinnitus and dizziness due to previous damage to his ears, causing him great stress.[32] On 30 January 1945, upon receiving a telegram from Peru saying that he had reached the age limit of his diplomatic service, Paulet became upset and died ofcardiac arrest in Buenos Aires,Argentina; he was found still clutching the telegram according to Ambassador Jacinto Rada.[5][8][32]
Paulet's work was accepted by some prominent experts in rocketry, but it was not independently verified.[33] Russian aviation writer[34] Aleksander B. Sherschevsky supported Paulet, saying "The advent of thespace age became a reality with the development of the propulsion engine and spacecraft designed and built by the Peruvian Pedro Paulet between 1899 and 1903."[22][35]Max Valier stated that Paulet's rocket engine had "amazing power" and that "the work of the Peruvian Paulet is most important for present projects leading to rocket ships, for it proved for the first time, in contrast to powder rockets burning only a few seconds, that by using liquid propellants, the construction of a rocket motor functioning for periods of hours would be feasible."[36] Some of the principal founders ofNASA recognized Paulet as an inspiration according toBBC News.[37] In 1965,Hermann Oberth would describe Paulet as a pioneer in rocketry.[38]Frederick I. Ordway III andWernher von Braun studied the veracity of Paulet's work during the 1960s.[10] Von Braun wrote that Paulet "is reputed to have experimented with a small, 5-pound rocket motor between 1895 and 1897", though von Braun noted that Paulet "would probably have gone unnoticed" without Scherschevsky's support.[8]
James H. Wyld would state that "the validity of his claim may be rather doubtful, but it is interesting, nevertheless, ... Paulet's device appears to have been the earliest example of a so-calledbipropellant rocket motor ... His use ofnitrogen peroxide asoxidizer also foreshadowed certain modern propellants such asnitric acid, and the set-up of his test stand was quite similar to types used in later years."[33] German science writerWilly Ley was one of the first people to express skepticism of Paulet and stated that "The doubts are obviously correct" inGrundriss einer Geschichte der Rakete, strongly criticizing Scherschevsky, calling him "lazy by nature" and "in favor of the Soviet government", stating that he "uncritically put hearsay into some of his articles, and into his one and only book."[36] Liquid propellant chemistJohn D. Clark also raised doubts about Paulet's nineteenth century experiments.[39]
El Comercio published several artist's interpretations[40] of the Paulet's designs on 10 March 1965, in the articleA Peruvian Engineer is the World Forerunner of Jet Propulsion Aircraft.[41] Another article byEl Comercio on 12 December cited Manuel del Castillo, president of the Organismo Nacional de Investigacions Espaciales, said to prove Paulet's work, citing Wyld June 1947 article, while admitting Wyld was simply translating A. B. Scherschevsky'sDie Rakete für Fahrt und Flug.[40] Noting that Paulet did not publish an account of his work until 1927 in the Lima newspaper, Wyld reiterated that "the validity of his [Paulet] claim is rather doubtful."[40]
A statue of Paulet is present in his home district of Tiabaya and in the Parque Domodossola of theMalecón de Miraflores.[4][1] In 1995, the Peruvian Air Force constructs a mausoleum for Paulet at theCementerio Presbítero Matías Maestro.[1] Paulet's Avión Torpedo was featured in aGoogle Doodle to commemorate the birthday of Pedro Paulet in 2011.[42] In Peru, theNational Commission for Aerospace Research and Development launched a series ofrockets bearing Paulet's name.[43] Beginning in 2016, he was prominently featured on the 100 soles banknote of thePeruvian Nuevo Sol.[5]
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TrujilloVon Braun reconoció el aporte del arequipeño en el alunizaje. 'Paulet debe ser considerado como el pionero del motor a propulsión con combustible líquido'
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Peru holds a special place among Latin America's EMSAs because the country was home to Pedro Paulet, who invented the world's first liquid-propelled rocket engine in 1895 and the first modern rocket propulsion system in 1900. ... According to Wernher von Braun, 'Paulet should be considered the pioneer of the liquid fuel propulsion motor ... by his efforts, Paulet helped man reach the moon.' Paulet went on to found Peru's National Pro-Aviation League, a precursor of the Peruvian Air Force.
Pedro Paulet, a Peruvian scientist, made the only known claim to liquid propellant rocket engine experiments in the nineteenth century, but he was slow in publishing his work. Finally, in 1927, Paulet wrote a letter to a newspaper in Lima ...
Alexander Scherschevsky, an assistant to the German rocket pioneer Hermann Oberth, was convinced of the truth of Paulet's claims. ... He experimented with an engine made from vanadium steel and fuelled by a mixture of nitrogen peroxide and petrol. There is no doubt that the members of the VfR (Verein für Raumschiffarht - Society for Space Travel) regarded Paulet as a serious researcher and many of their books and magazines from the late 1920s make considerable reference to his work. Contemporary Soviet scientists were also aware of him and made use of his researches.
"El advenimiento de la era espacial se hizo realidad con el desarrollo del motor a propulsión y de la nave espacial diseñados y construidos por el peruano Pedro Paulet en- tre 1899 y 1903". Alexander Boris Scherschevski
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)His formulas and experiments served as a reference point for the main designers of the American space agency NASA and, therefore, the Peruvian is considered the father of astronautics and pioneer of the special era.
Paulet was clearly a pioneer in the field of rocketry and it is unsurprising that the Nazis were keen to recruit him to assist their efforts. The German Astronautical Society invited him to Germany to become part of a team of researchers into rocket propulsion and he was initially interested, but when he discovered that the intention was to construct a weapon that would be used for military purposes he declined the invitation. As late as 1965, Oberth described him as one of the true pioneers of rocket science.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| International | |
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