It was firing day at White Sands Proving Ground, N.Mex. A Viking rocket, built by the Glenn L. Martin Co. for the Navy, stood pencil-slim on the launching stand, its gleaming aluminum body surrounded ...

In the movies and science fiction, rockets are almost as dependable as the family car. The take-off from earth is normally uneventful. The captain or dispatcher closes a switch, and off whooshes the ...