Editing Jack Parsons (section)

===Embracing Thelema; advancing JATO and foundation of Aerojet: 1939–1942===
[[File:Aleister Crowley.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Aleister Crowley]] (pictured in 1912), founder of [[Thelema]], was Parsons' spiritual mentor.]]
[[File:Grady Louis McMurtry 1941.JPG|thumb|right|upright|[[Grady McMurtry]] was recruited into O.T.O. by Parsons.]]

In January 1939, John and Frances Baxter, a brother and sister who had befriended Jack and Helen Parsons, took Jack to the Church of Thelema on Winona Boulevard, Hollywood, where he witnessed the performance of [[Liber XV, The Gnostic Mass|The Gnostic Mass]]. Celebrants of the church had included Hollywood actor [[John Carradine]] and gay rights activist [[Harry Hay]]. Parsons was intrigued, having already heard of Thelema's founder and [[Ordo Templi Orientis#Structure|Outer Head]] of Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), [[Aleister Crowley]], after reading a copy of Crowley's text ''[[Konx om Pax]]'' (1907).{{sfn|Pendle|2005|p = 171}}

Parsons was introduced to leading members [[Regina Kahl]], [[Jane Wolfe]], and [[Wilfred Talbot Smith]] at the mass. Feeling both "repulsion and attraction" for Smith, Parsons continued to sporadically attend the Church's events for a year.{{sfnm|1a1 = Starr|1y = 2003|1pp = 257–258|2a1 = Carter|2y = 2004|2pp = 33–36|3a1 = Pendle|3y = 2005|3pp = 133–136}} He continued to read Crowley's works, which increasingly interested him, and encouraged Helen to read them.{{sfnm|1a1 = Pendle|1y = 2005|1p = 152}} Parsons came to believe in the reality of Thelemic [[magick]] as a force that could be explained through [[quantum physics]].{{sfnm|1a1 = Pendle|1y = 2005|1p = 152}} He tried to interest his friends and acquaintances in Thelema, taking science fiction writers [[Jack Williamson]] and [[Cleve Cartmill]] to a performance of The Gnostic Mass. Although they were unimpressed, Parsons was more successful with [[Grady Louis McMurtry]], a young Caltech student he had befriended, as well as McMurtry's fiancée Claire Palmer, and Helen's sister [[Sara Northrup Hollister|Sara "Betty" Northrup]].{{sfnm|1a1 = Starr|1y = 2003|1p = 266|2a1 = Carter|2y = 2004|2p = 41|3a1 = Pendle|3y = 2005|3pp = 169–172|4a1 = Kaczynski|4y = 2010|4p = 513}}

Jack and Helen were initiated into the [[Agape Lodge]], the renamed Church of Thelema, in February 1941. Parsons adopted the Thelemic motto of ''Thelema Obtenteum Proedero Amoris Nuptiae'', a Latin mistranslation of "The establishment of Thelema through the rituals of love". The initials of this motto spelled out T.O.P.A.N., also serving as the declaration "To Pan".{{sfnm|1a1 = Starr|1y = 2003|1p = 263|2a1 = Carter|2y = 2004|2p = 56|3a1 = Pendle|3y = 2005|3p = 172}} Commenting on Parsons' errors of translation, in jest Crowley said that "the motto which you mention is couched in a language beyond my powers of understanding".{{sfn|Starr|2003|p = 263}} Parsons also adopted the Thelemic title ''Frater T.O.P.A.N''—with ''T.O.P.A.N'' represented in [[Kabbalah|Kabbalistic]] numerology as ''210''{{mdash}}the name with which he frequently signed letters to occult associates—while Helen became known as ''Soror Grimaud''.{{sfn|Carter|2004|p = 56}} Smith wrote to Crowley saying that Parsons was "a really excellent man&nbsp;... He has an excellent mind and much better intellect than myself&nbsp;... JP is going to be very valuable".{{sfnm|1a1 = Pendle|1y = 2005|1p = 172}} Wolfe wrote to German O.T.O. representative [[Karl Germer]] that Parsons was "an A1 man&nbsp;... Crowleyesque in attainment as a matter of fact", and mooted Parsons as a potential successor to Crowley as Outer Head of the Order.{{sfnm|1a1 = Pendle|1y = 2005|1p = 173}} Crowley concurred with such assessments, informing Smith that Parsons "is the most valued member of the whole Order, with no exception!"{{sfn|Starr|2003|p = 263}}

At von Kármán's suggestion, [[Frank Malina]] approached the [[National Academy of Sciences]] (NAS) Committee on Army Air Corps Research to request funding for research into what they referred to as "[[jet propulsion]]", a term chosen to avoid the stigma attached to rocketry. The military were interested in jet propulsion as a means of getting aircraft quickly airborne where there was insufficient room for a full-length runway, and gave the Rocket Research Group $1,000 to put together a proposal on the feasibility of [[JATO|Jet-Assisted Take Off]] (JATO) by June 1939, making Parsons et al. the first U.S. government-sanctioned rocket research group. Since their formation in 1934, they had also performed experiments involving model, [[Black powder rocket motor|black powder motor]]-propelled [[multistage rocket]]s. In a research paper submitted to the [[American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics]] (AIAA), Parsons reported these rockets reaching exhaust velocities of 4,875 miles per hour, thereby demonstrating the potential of solid fuels to be more effective than the liquid types primarily preferred by researchers such as Goddard. In light of this progress, Caltech and the GALCIT Group received an additional $10,000 rocketry research grant from the AIAA.{{sfnm|1a1 = Carter|1y = 2004|1pp = 30–32|2a1 = Pendle|2y = 2005|2pp = 156–158}}

Although a quarter of their funding went to repairing damage to Caltech buildings caused by their experiments, in June 1940 they submitted a report to the NAS in which they showed the feasibility of the project for the development of JATO and requested $100,000 to continue; they received $22,000.{{sfnm|1a1 = Carter|1y = 2004|1pp = 32–33, 48|2a1 = Pendle|2y = 2005|2pp = 158–166}} Now known as GALCIT Project Number 1, they continued to be ostracized by other Caltech scientists who grew increasingly irritated by their accidents and noise pollution, and were forced to relocate their experiments back to the Arroyo Seco, at a site with unventilated, corrugated iron sheds that served as both research facilities and administrative offices. It was here that JPL would be founded.{{sfnm|1a1 = Pendle|1y = 2005|1pp = 158–166}} Parsons and Forman's rocket experiments were the cover story of the August 1940 edition of ''[[Popular Mechanics]]'', in which the pair discussed the prospect of rockets being able to ascend above Earth's atmosphere and orbit around it for research purposes, as well as reaching the Moon.{{sfn|Pendle|2005|p = 48}}
[[File:Von Karman and JATO Team - GPN-2000-001652.jpg|thumb|right|The GALCIT JATO engineering team during the solid propellant tests in January 1940. Parsons is visible cropped out on the extreme left alongside Clark Blanchard Millikan, Martin Summerfield, Theodore von Kármán, Frank Malina and pilot, Captain Homer Boushey.]]
For the JATO project, they were joined by Caltech mathematician [[Martin Summerfield]] and 18 workers supplied by the [[Works Progress Administration]]. Former colleagues like Qian were prevented from returning to the project by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI), who ensured the secrecy of the operation and restricted the involvement of foreign nationals and political extremists.{{sfnm|1a1 = Pendle|1y = 2005|1pp = 166–167}} The FBI was satisfied that Parsons was not a Marxist but were concerned when Thelemite friend Paul Seckler used Parsons' gun in a drunken car hijacking, for which Seckler was imprisoned in [[San Quentin State Prison]] for two years. Englishman George Emerson replaced Arnold as the Group's official photographer.{{sfnm|1a1 = Carter|1y = 2004|1pp = 70–71|2a1 = Pendle|2y = 2005|2pp = 186–187}}

The Group's aim was to find a replacement for black-powder rocket motors—units consisting of charcoal, [[sulfur]] and [[potassium nitrate]] with a [[Binder (material)|binding agent]]. The mixture was unstable and there were frequent explosions damaging military aircraft.<ref name=Andrews>{{cite web|last1=Andrews|first1=Crispin|title=Geek spirit: The man who kick-started the US rocket programme|url=https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2014/10/geek-spirit-the-man-who-kick-started-the-us-rocket-programme/|publisher=[[Institution of Engineering and Technology (professional society)|Institution of Engineering and Technology]]|access-date=October 19, 2014|date=October 13, 2014}}</ref> The solid JATO fuel invented by Parsons consisted of [[amide]], [[corn starch]], and [[ammonium nitrate]] bound together in the JATO unit with glue and blotting paper. It was codenamed GALCIT-27, implying the previous invention of 26 new fuels. The first JATO tests using an [[ERCO Ercoupe]] plane took place in late July 1941; though they aided propulsion, the units frequently exploded and damaged the aircraft. Parsons theorized that this was because the ammonium nitrate became dangerously combustible following overnight storage, during which temperature and consistency changes had resulted in a chemical imbalance. Parsons and Malina accordingly devised a method in which they would fill the JATOs with the fuel in the early mornings shortly before the tests, enduring sleep deprivation to do so. On August 21, 1941, Navy Captain [[Homer J. Boushey, Jr.]]—watched by Clark Millikan and [[William F. Durand]]—piloted the JATO-equipped Ercoupe at [[March Air Reserve Base|March Air Force Base]] in [[Moreno Valley]], California. It proved a success and reduced takeoff distance by 30%, but one of the JATOs partially exploded.{{sfnm|1a1 = Carter|1y = 2004|1pp = 65–66|2a1 = Pendle|2y = 2005|2pp = 177–184}} Over the following weeks 62 further tests took place, and the NAS increased their grant to $125,000. During a series of static experiments, an exploding JATO did significant damage to the rear fuselage of an Ercoupe; one observer optimistically noted that "at least it wasn't a big hole", but necessary repairs delayed their efforts.{{sfn|Pendle|2005|pp = 184–185}}

The military ordered a flight test using liquid rather than solid fuel in early 1942. Upon the United States' entry into the Second World War in December 1941, the Group realized they could be drafted directly into military service if they failed to provide viable JATO technology for the military. Informed by their left-wing politics, aiding the war effort against [[Nazi Germany]] and the [[Axis powers]] was as much of a moral vocation to Parsons, Forman and Malina as it was a practical one. Parsons, Summerfield and the GALCIT workers focused on the task and found success with a combination of [[gasoline]] with [[red fuming nitric acid]] as its [[Oxidizing agent|oxidizer]]; the latter, suggested by Parsons, was an effective substitute for [[liquid oxygen]].<ref name="Andrews" /><ref>{{US patent reference
 | number = 2573471
 | y = 1951
 | m = 10
 | d = 30
 | inventor = Malina, Frank J. and Parsons, John W.
 | title = Reaction motor operable by liquid propellants and method of operating it
}} Retrieved November 10, 2014.</ref> The testing of this fuel resulted in another calamity, when the testing rocket motor exploded; the fire, containing iron shed fragments and shrapnel, inexplicably left the experimenters unscathed. Malina solved the problem by replacing the gasoline with [[aniline]], resulting in a successful test launch of a JATO-equipped [[A-20A]] plane at the Muroc Auxiliary Air Field in the [[Mojave Desert]]. It provided five times more thrust than GALCIT-27, and again reduced takeoff distance by 30%; Malina wrote to his parents that "We now have something that really works and we should be able to help give the Fascists hell!"{{sfnm|1a1 = Carter|1y = 2004|1pp = 70–75|2a1 = Pendle|2y = 2005|2pp = 189–191}}

[[File:First JATO assisted Flight - GPN-2000-001538.jpg|thumb|right|Take-off on August 12, 1941, of America's first "rocket-assisted" fixed-wing aircraft, an [[ERCO Ercoupe]] fitted with a [[GALCIT]] developed solid propellant [[JATO]] booster]]
[[File:JATO Flight Test Crew - GPN-2000-001537.jpg|thumb|right|GALCIT Project Number 1 during the JATO experiments (date as above). From left to right: Fred S. Miller, Jack Parsons, Ed Forman, Frank Malina, Captain Homer Boushey, Private Kobe (first initial unknown), and Corporal R. Hamilton.]]

The Group then agreed to produce and sell 60 JATO engines to the [[United States Army Air Corps]]. To do so they formed the Aerojet Engineering Corporation in March 1942, in which Parsons, Forman, Malina, von Kármán, and Summerfield each invested $250, opening their offices on [[Colorado Boulevard]] and bringing in Amo Smith as their engineer. [[Andrew G. Haley]] was recruited by von Kármán as their lawyer and treasurer. Although Aerojet was a for-profit operation that provided technology for military means, the founders' mentality was rooted in the ideal of using rockets for peaceful space exploration. As Haley recounted von Kármán requesting: "we will make the rockets—you must make the corporation and obtain the money. Later on you will have to see that we all behave well in outer space."<ref>{{cite web|title=Company History|url=http://rocket.com/company-history|website=rocket.com|publisher=Aerojet Rocketdyne|access-date=April 30, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711191124/http://www.rocket.com/company-history|archive-date=July 11, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Despite these successes, Parsons, the [[Project engineering|project engineer]] of Aerojet's Solid Fuel Department, remained motivated to address the malfunctions observed during the Ercoupe tests. In June 1942, assisted by Mills and Miller, he focused his attention on developing an effective method of restricted burning when using solid rocket fuel, as the military demanded JATOs that could provide over 100 pounds of thrust without any risk of exploding. Although solid fuels such as GALCIT-27 were more storable than their liquid counterparts, they were disfavored for military JATO use as they provided less immediate thrust and did not have the versatility of being turned on and off mid-flight. Parsons tried to resolve GALCIT-27's stability issue with GALCIT-46, which replaced the former's ammonium nitrate with [[guanidine nitrate]]. To avoid the problems seen with ammonium nitrate, he had GALCIT-46 cooled and then heated prior to testing. When it failed the test, he realized that the fuel's binding black powders rather than the oxidizers had resulted in their instability, and in June that year had the idea of using liquid [[Bitumen|asphalt]] as an appropriate binding agent with [[potassium perchlorate]] as oxidizer.{{sfnm|1a1 = Carter|1y = 2004|1p = 72|2a1 = Pendle|2y = 2005|2pp = 196–199}}

Malina recounted that Parsons was inspired to use asphalt by the ancient incendiary weapon [[Greek fire]]; in a 1982 talk for the [[International Association of Astronomical Artists]] Captain Boushey stated that Parsons experienced an epiphany after watching workers using molten asphalt to fix tiles onto a roof. Known as GALCIT-53, this fuel proved to be significantly more stable than the Group's earlier concoctions, fulfilling Parsons' aim of creating a restricted-burn rocket fuel inside a castable container, and providing a thrust 427% more powerful than that of GALCIT-27. This set a precedent which according to his biographer John Carter "changed the future of rocket technology": the [[thermoplastic]] asphalt [[casting]] was durable in all climates, allowing for mass production and indefinite storage and transforming solid-fuel agents into a safe and viable form of rocket propulsion. [[Plasticizer|Plasticized]] variants of Parsons' solid-fuel design invented by JPL's [[Charles Bartley]] were later used by [[NASA]] in [[Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster]]s and by the [[Strategic Air Command]] in [[UGM-27 Polaris|Polaris]], [[UGM-73 Poseidon|Poseidon]] and [[LGM-30 Minuteman|Minuteman]] intercontinental ballistic missiles.{{sfnm|1a1 = Carter|1y = 2004|1p = 72|2a1 = Pendle|2y = 2005|2pp = 196–199}}<ref name="Huntley"/><ref>{{US patent reference
 | number = 2563265
 | y = 1951
 | m = 08
 | d = 07
 | inventor = Parsons, John W.
 | title = Rocket motor with solid propellant and propellant charge therefor
}} Retrieved November 10, 2014.</ref>