Ernst August Wilhelm Steinhoff (February 11, 1908 – December 2, 1987) was a German rocket scientist and member of the " von Braun rocket group", at the Peenemünde Army Research Center (1939–1945). Ernst Steinhoff saw National Socialist (Nazi) doctrines as "ideals" and became a member of the

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...

in May 1937. He was a glider pilot, holding distance records, and had the honorary Luftwaffe rank of "Flight Captain". Ernst Steinhoff earned his PhD at the Technische Hochschule Darmstadt (today Technische Universität Darmstadt) in 1940 with a dissertation on aviation instruments. His younger brother Friedrich Steinhoff assisted rocket experiments while commanding in 1942. Ernst was among the scientists to surrender and travel to the United States to provide rocketry expertise via

Operation Paperclip The Operation Paperclip was a secret United States intelligence program in which more than 1,600 German scientists, engineers, and technicians were taken from former Nazi Germany to the US for government employment after the end of World War I ...

. Friedrich was captured aboard and committed suicide in a Boston jail before Ernst came to the United States on the first boat, November 16, 1945. with

and

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Established in 1848, the fort was renamed in 1854 to honor William Wallace Smith Bliss, Bvt.Lieut.Colonel William W.S. Bliss (1815–1853 ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

(1945–1949). He then moved to Holloman Air Force Base where he also worked closely with

White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) is a United States Army military testing area and firing range located in the US state of New Mexico. The range was originally established in 1941 as the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range, where the Trinity t ...

in New Mexico. He focused on guidance, control, and range instrumentation throughout his career. He was awarded the Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service in 1958 for his contributions to the US rocket program. Stuhlinger, E., Ordway, F.I., McCall, J.C., and Bucher, G.C. (1963) ''Aeronautical Engineering and Science'', McGraw-Hill. In 1979 he was inducted into the New Mexico International Space Hall of Fame. Steinhoff is being credited as one of the first pioneers to popularize the concept of space resource utilization for Mars exploration. He became the first chairman of Working Group on Extraterrestrial Resources (WGER). As of 1981, Mrs. Dixie Cantwell of Alamogordo, NM, was working on researching and writing the biography of "Alamogordo's well-known scientist, Dr. Ernest A Steinhoff". The status of said biography, and its progress remains unknown. His daughter Monika Steinhoff is a painter in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

, and a children's park on Holloman AFB is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steinhoff, Ernst category:1908 births category:1987 deaths category:people from Schwalmstadt category:engineers from Hesse category:German rocket scientists category:German spaceflight pioneers category:German aerospace engineers category:German aviation record holders category:German glider pilots category:glider flight record holders category:Nazi Party members category:Operation Paperclip category:Technische Universität Darmstadt alumni