The 1950's saw more than its share of UFO-mania thanks in large part to the visions of Alex Tremulis. His illustrations were perhaps the first to capture the imaginations of the public on a mass scale. His first drawings of flying saucers and little space martians appeared around the world and would subsequently influence the public's perception of what aliens from another planet might look like. But not only did Tremulis visualize these possibilities, he also described the feasibility of space travel in layman's terms such that anyone could relate to the possibility that Earth had been or was being visited by martians.
Tremulis clearly foresaw future space travel two decades before Man ever set foot on the moon, and in an uncanny conclusion to his story, he accurately predicted the dangers of re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. This post is dedicated to those brave explorers who perished in the Space Shuttle disasters, as today, February 1, marks the tenth anniversary of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
The following article was written by Alex Tremulis shortly after the first descriptions of UFO crash landings in both Roswell, New Mexico and another report Mexico. Coincidentally, the Roswell incident just happened to occur less than three weeks after the June 19, 1947 unveiling of the Tucker automobile!
Tremulis clearly foresaw future space travel two decades before Man ever set foot on the moon, and in an uncanny conclusion to his story, he accurately predicted the dangers of re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. This post is dedicated to those brave explorers who perished in the Space Shuttle disasters, as today, February 1, marks the tenth anniversary of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
The following article was written by Alex Tremulis shortly after the first descriptions of UFO crash landings in both Roswell, New Mexico and another report Mexico. Coincidentally, the Roswell incident just happened to occur less than three weeks after the June 19, 1947 unveiling of the Tucker automobile!
MAYBE WE ARE BEING SHOT AT - WHO KNOWS?
Personally I have never seen a flying saucer, disk or any semblance of a space craft. I was one of many fascinated the night of March 9th [1950] when the radio blared forth the story of the crash landing of a strange object and it’s midget pilot in Mexico. In spite of Mr. Gimmick, the dynamite salesman later backing off of his original story, there were still left traces of evidence by his story substantiated by other rumors that there was some still unexplained happenings that might lend credence to his original story.
I, for one, have never been of the opinion that we earthlings enjoyed a monopoly of all the brains in the solar system. Many strange happenings dating back as far as 1870 have not been thoroughly explained to my satisfaction. As an example, mysterious formations of lights apparently from visiting space craft flying in strange formation were observed by ships at sea. The mysterious light signals from Mars as observed by Professor Lowell of the Lowell Observatory in the year 1900. Many thousands of people in Englandare said to have viewed a strange motorized object in the sky for a period of hours several years before man made his first conquest of the air. Also the strange formation of air craft, more in number than any amount based in the United States, were observed by thousands of witnesses in 1914 at Ottawa Canada cannot be taken lightly. These strange visitations are a matter of record in the official astronomical records of their respective years and can be inspected by anyone desiring to do so.
Personally I have never seen a flying saucer, disk or any semblance of a space craft. I was one of many fascinated the night of March 9th [1950] when the radio blared forth the story of the crash landing of a strange object and it’s midget pilot in Mexico. In spite of Mr. Gimmick, the dynamite salesman later backing off of his original story, there were still left traces of evidence by his story substantiated by other rumors that there was some still unexplained happenings that might lend credence to his original story.
I, for one, have never been of the opinion that we earthlings enjoyed a monopoly of all the brains in the solar system. Many strange happenings dating back as far as 1870 have not been thoroughly explained to my satisfaction. As an example, mysterious formations of lights apparently from visiting space craft flying in strange formation were observed by ships at sea. The mysterious light signals from Mars as observed by Professor Lowell of the Lowell Observatory in the year 1900. Many thousands of people in Englandare said to have viewed a strange motorized object in the sky for a period of hours several years before man made his first conquest of the air. Also the strange formation of air craft, more in number than any amount based in the United States, were observed by thousands of witnesses in 1914 at Ottawa Canada cannot be taken lightly. These strange visitations are a matter of record in the official astronomical records of their respective years and can be inspected by anyone desiring to do so.
Guglielmo Marconi on board his yacht, Electra
And lastly, the strange signals received by Marconi’s yacht Electra from the planet Mars at a time when the two planets were at their closest. These signals were never satisfactorily decoded by the experts who attempted to do so. However the art of decoding must have been furthered in World War II and a further attempt to decipher the tape of the Electra records might shed new light on the subject. Perhaps now we could dismiss these strange phenomena as optical illusions, or hallucinations to everyone’s satisfaction.
However the findings of Commander Robert B. McLaughlin of the USN and a group of navy scientists who tracked a flying saucer and made known their data very definitely to my satisfaction offer convincing proof that these space craft are visitors from another planet.
Before expounding further on my theories I must first state that I am a creative stylist by profession possessed of a meager understanding of principals of engineering. My experience in the field of aeronautics consists of four years at Wright Field, Ohio, where I served as chief of the Design Illustration Unit, a Division of the Design Development Division of the Aircraft Laboratory. During my tour of duty I was exposed to the evolution of rocket development and have in my mind an approximate idea of the necessary time in research involved to perfect rocket fuels, nuclear energy power plants, rocket missiles, radar and space navigation plus the metallurgical problems alone that must be solved before we on earth can duplicate the performance figures of the saucer tracked by the navy scientists. The speeds disclosed exceeded the hypersonic region of velocity and bordered on the speed necessary to escape the earth’s gravitational pull.
For reasons of military security I do not care to state my estimate of time necessary to develop missiles capable of speeds observed by the navy scientists at White Sands, I regret I must also admit that I would still have to penalize my estimate by several years because of our unwilling Congress who have thwarted the Air Force at every turn by refusing to allocate the funds necessary to maintain air superiority on the planet. (To Ed. - I believe this paragraph should not be omitted in order that this article receive the blessings of the AAF Wright Field Ohio). However at this writing if the nuclear energy project for the propulsion of aircraft has been already put into practice then it is entirely possible that these objects are earth made. They may even be subcontracted to many manufacturers piecemeal in order to maintain the secrecy as evidenced so eloquently by the Manhattan project where many of the subcontractors actually believed they were working on something for Mayor LaGuardia. I believe at this writing that this project has not as yet been consummated.
Before expounding further on my theories I must first state that I am a creative stylist by profession possessed of a meager understanding of principals of engineering. My experience in the field of aeronautics consists of four years at Wright Field, Ohio, where I served as chief of the Design Illustration Unit, a Division of the Design Development Division of the Aircraft Laboratory. During my tour of duty I was exposed to the evolution of rocket development and have in my mind an approximate idea of the necessary time in research involved to perfect rocket fuels, nuclear energy power plants, rocket missiles, radar and space navigation plus the metallurgical problems alone that must be solved before we on earth can duplicate the performance figures of the saucer tracked by the navy scientists. The speeds disclosed exceeded the hypersonic region of velocity and bordered on the speed necessary to escape the earth’s gravitational pull.
For reasons of military security I do not care to state my estimate of time necessary to develop missiles capable of speeds observed by the navy scientists at White Sands, I regret I must also admit that I would still have to penalize my estimate by several years because of our unwilling Congress who have thwarted the Air Force at every turn by refusing to allocate the funds necessary to maintain air superiority on the planet. (To Ed. - I believe this paragraph should not be omitted in order that this article receive the blessings of the AAF Wright Field Ohio). However at this writing if the nuclear energy project for the propulsion of aircraft has been already put into practice then it is entirely possible that these objects are earth made. They may even be subcontracted to many manufacturers piecemeal in order to maintain the secrecy as evidenced so eloquently by the Manhattan project where many of the subcontractors actually believed they were working on something for Mayor LaGuardia. I believe at this writing that this project has not as yet been consummated.
Alex Tremulis rendering of a flying saucer headed towards Earth, 1948/50
From the fragmentary evidence that I have at my disposal, mainly reports in the newspapers, I have attempted to sketch my conception of such a space vehicle. The Mexican report that the disk was damaged on the bottom side leads me to believe that the vehicle was also designed for vertical descent as well as interplanetary space travel. Due to the difference of density of our Earth’s atmosphere the midget pilot could have very easily miscalculated the wing loading, or better yet the disk loading, of his craft and crashed fatally while attempting to land.
In my opinion, there is nothing wrong about the configuration of a so called disk that does not apply to good aerodynamic law. Its very form suggests maximum of lightness in conjunction with maximum strength as the skin of the ship itself absorbs all stresses in its most efficient form. Its very form allows a receiving of maximum solar energy to be transmitted to the powerplants. The propulsion units must no doubt be of a highly developed form of nuclear energy in order to have the apparently limitless range of millions of miles. Only from a highly developed state of energy could the tremendous velocities of 25,000 MPH and upwards be possible in order to escape the earth’s gravitational pull. The required maximum escape velocity would of course be determined by the respective planets gravitational pull on the space vehicle. It is entirely possible that these space travelers may unintentionally become prisoners of our planet.
As an example let us say the escape velocity of a ship based on the planet Mars was 16,000 MPH and that the maximum thrust of the Martian vehicle was designed for 20,000 MPH. A journey to earth, assuming the fuel of course could be replenished by solar energy, would be entirely possible but after arriving at earth it would be lacking an additional 5,000 MPH escape velocity necessary to return to Mars. The ship would be reduced to aimlessly wandering around our earth until its fuel gave out. If we on earth should solve the mysteries of space travel it would be far more economical to use the moon as a stepping stone to the planets. The gravitational pull of the moon is one-sixth of that on earth and a rocket trip from the moon to Mars would require considerably less fuel than would a direct trip from earth to Mars. Therefore I predict the nation that stakes its claims on the moon first will enjoy a monopoly of interplanetary space travel.
Perhaps these strangers at the moment on their reconnaissance flight are afraid of us and are reluctant to land. There is much evidence to support their fear that ours is backward civilization. Our seemingly wasteful wars that take place every generation only tend to create greater misunderstandings. The minuteness of our progress in the field of transportation alone must be staggering in their minds. For example, the archaic principal of motor cars, driven by bulky power plants located in the front, must impress them as progress little removed from early Roman chariot designs. I for one would frankly welcome meeting the little strangers, if for no other reason than to exchange notes on their land vehicles which we earthlings call automobiles. It is my opinion that any race of people capable of mastering the mysteries of inter-planetary space travel would be endowed with a culture of so advanced nature that the very word “destruction” would be utterly meaningless to them. The worst we could expect is that they might make an attempt to civilize us.
In my opinion, there is nothing wrong about the configuration of a so called disk that does not apply to good aerodynamic law. Its very form suggests maximum of lightness in conjunction with maximum strength as the skin of the ship itself absorbs all stresses in its most efficient form. Its very form allows a receiving of maximum solar energy to be transmitted to the powerplants. The propulsion units must no doubt be of a highly developed form of nuclear energy in order to have the apparently limitless range of millions of miles. Only from a highly developed state of energy could the tremendous velocities of 25,000 MPH and upwards be possible in order to escape the earth’s gravitational pull. The required maximum escape velocity would of course be determined by the respective planets gravitational pull on the space vehicle. It is entirely possible that these space travelers may unintentionally become prisoners of our planet.
As an example let us say the escape velocity of a ship based on the planet Mars was 16,000 MPH and that the maximum thrust of the Martian vehicle was designed for 20,000 MPH. A journey to earth, assuming the fuel of course could be replenished by solar energy, would be entirely possible but after arriving at earth it would be lacking an additional 5,000 MPH escape velocity necessary to return to Mars. The ship would be reduced to aimlessly wandering around our earth until its fuel gave out. If we on earth should solve the mysteries of space travel it would be far more economical to use the moon as a stepping stone to the planets. The gravitational pull of the moon is one-sixth of that on earth and a rocket trip from the moon to Mars would require considerably less fuel than would a direct trip from earth to Mars. Therefore I predict the nation that stakes its claims on the moon first will enjoy a monopoly of interplanetary space travel.
Perhaps these strangers at the moment on their reconnaissance flight are afraid of us and are reluctant to land. There is much evidence to support their fear that ours is backward civilization. Our seemingly wasteful wars that take place every generation only tend to create greater misunderstandings. The minuteness of our progress in the field of transportation alone must be staggering in their minds. For example, the archaic principal of motor cars, driven by bulky power plants located in the front, must impress them as progress little removed from early Roman chariot designs. I for one would frankly welcome meeting the little strangers, if for no other reason than to exchange notes on their land vehicles which we earthlings call automobiles. It is my opinion that any race of people capable of mastering the mysteries of inter-planetary space travel would be endowed with a culture of so advanced nature that the very word “destruction” would be utterly meaningless to them. The worst we could expect is that they might make an attempt to civilize us.
Alex Tremulis' language decoder rendering, 1948/50
At any rate I do not think that there will be an existing language barrier. They no doubt at our first meeting will have facilities in the way of unique instruments where our first words will be instantly decode into their language. Perhaps their first request might be that we turn over to them the wireless tape recording of the yacht Electra so that they may decipher their encoded messages we failed to understand in 1920. I think it indeed ironic that the great Siberian meteor blast of recent years occurred when Mars was at its closest to earth. It is most logical to plan such a trip when both planets are at their closest distance.
As I gaze into the heavens on nights when the sky is streaked with the trails of meteors, I cannot help but think that some space pilot in a rocket ship miscalculated the Earth’s protective atmosphere while streaking towards us at 10 to 15 miles per second and found it too late to apply reverse rockets. Those streaks in the sky may ultimately be a name on a monument on Planet “X” dedicated to explorers of the universe.
Then again, I don’t know: MAYBE WE ARE BEING SHOT AT - - WHO KNOWS?
ALEX TREMULIS
As I gaze into the heavens on nights when the sky is streaked with the trails of meteors, I cannot help but think that some space pilot in a rocket ship miscalculated the Earth’s protective atmosphere while streaking towards us at 10 to 15 miles per second and found it too late to apply reverse rockets. Those streaks in the sky may ultimately be a name on a monument on Planet “X” dedicated to explorers of the universe.
Then again, I don’t know: MAYBE WE ARE BEING SHOT AT - - WHO KNOWS?
ALEX TREMULIS
March, 1950: Air Line Pilot magazine lends a serious insight into Tremulis' musings...
Another one of the many periodicals of the day to pick up Tremulis' story...
June 23, 1950: Tremulis was now one of the top designers at the struggling Kaiser-Frazer, but K-F felt it newsworthy to get in on the UFO craze that was starting to sweep the nation. K-F uses Tremulis' insights to illustrate how their designers look towards the future.
January 27, 1951: Tremulis and Pete Pagratis team up to capitalize on the UFO craze that they helped create. They file a design patent application for an automobile hood ornament based on Tremulis' flying saucer rendering. It issues 7 months later.
Two different versions of the hood ornament are manufactured, a single piece body (left) and a two-piece version (right). A light bulb in the center illuminates the dome. At least three different colors were available for the dome: Yellow, green and blue.
August 20, 1951: Through Fortune Manufacturing, 4,000 hood ornaments were manufactured, falling far short of the proposed 150,000 units that were targeted.
August 20, 1951: With the shortfall in production units, the contract with Fortune Manufacturing is terminated.
September 16, 1952: Noting that the then-current market size for sci-fi items was in excess of $75 million, Tremulis and Pagratis seek to license the design in return for royalties. It is still unknown if there were any takers for licensed items incorporating Tremulis' flying saucer.
By 1952 Tremulis had left Kaiser-Frazer and is busy designing futuristic show cars for Ford, but still maintains his sense of humor about space aliens. He adds these hieroglyphics to the bottom of his alien drawing and translates them on the ticker tape for us: "ALL SPACE BEINGS SEND XMAS GREETINGS TO ALL FORD DESIGN EMPLOYEES. SIGNED GORT"
1962: The Sci-Fi mania was clearly heavily influenced by Tremulis' illustrations. Indeed, one such adaptation of Tremulis' martians shows up in 1962 as Topps trading cards for their series on Mars Attacks. Today, these cards are recognized as the most valuable non-sports cards in history. The original artwork for the illustration at left sold for $90,000, with individual cards worth hundreds of dollars.
1996: Topps' Mars Attacks theme is made into a full-length feature film by Tim Burton. The side-by-side similarities between Tremulis' Gort and the Martian invaders is readily apparent. Tremulis' vision for Gort was decidedly much more friendly than the carnage Mars Attacks inflicted on Earth.
February 1, 2003: The Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster
July 1944: Alex Tremulis designs the two-stage vertical interceptor. Launched by a rocket booster into the upper atmosphere where the spent booster is jettisoned, the aircraft/spacecraft ("jeterons" control the attitude of the plane where there is no air) returns to Earth and lands like a standard jet. It gets re-armed and re-loaded onto another booster rocket for another mission.
This project led directly into the Dyna-Soar project of the 1950's and subsequently, with the lessons learned, is incorporated into the Space Shuttle program. The full story can be read HERE.
This project led directly into the Dyna-Soar project of the 1950's and subsequently, with the lessons learned, is incorporated into the Space Shuttle program. The full story can be read HERE.
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As I gaze into the heavens on nights when the sky is streaked with the trails of meteors, I cannot help but think that some space pilot in a rocket ship miscalculated the Earth’s protective atmosphere while streaking towards us at 10 to 15 miles per second and found it too late to apply reverse rockets. Those streaks in the sky may ultimately be a name on a monument on Planet “X” dedicated to explorers of the universe. Alex Tremulis, 1950
It is mind-boggling that Tremulis' prophetic vision of Planet "X"s explorers would end up being our own Shuttle astronauts piloting a rocket ship that evolved directly from his vision of what a space ship could be.
RIP Columbia Crew: David Brown, Rick Husband, Laurel Clark, Kalpana Chawla, Michael Anderson, William McCool, and Ilan Ramon.
RIP Challenger Crew: Ellison S. Onizuka, Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Greg Jarvis, Judy Resnik, Michael J. Smith, Dick Scobee, and Ron McNair.
Check out (and LIKE) the Gyronaut FaceBook Page for more pics and info...
RIP Challenger Crew: Ellison S. Onizuka, Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Greg Jarvis, Judy Resnik, Michael J. Smith, Dick Scobee, and Ron McNair.
Check out (and LIKE) the Gyronaut FaceBook Page for more pics and info...
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