Jack Parsons practiced the occult and led a sex cult. He was also one of history’s most important rocket scientists. (Episode 1 of 2)
In 1938, the U.S. army approached scientists at MIT with an offer. The army had a pot of money to fund two research projects, and MIT would get first choice. Which project did they want?
The first choice involved deicing airplanes. Planes often fly through clouds in cold and wet conditions. So what’s the best way to keep them ice-free?
The second project involved rocketry. The army wanted to strap rocket engines to planes to boost their speed and shorten takeoff times. And who knows, maybe even send rockets into space one day!
For MIT, it was an easy choice. They picked deicing planes. Why? Because rockets were cheesy science-fiction crap—a Buck Rogers fantasy. No one took rocketry seriously except for foolish dreamers and scruffy pulp fiction writers.
Army officials nodded. They understood. They had figured MIT would never risk its reputation on something as wild as rockets. Still, the army did want to fund some rocket research. They just needed to find someone willing to take the risk.
They eventually found the perfect candidate. A self-taught chemist and rocket obsessive in California.
So why didn’t this fellow care about risking his reputation? Probably because his reputation was already in the dumps, and would soon get worse. He dabbled in the occult. He summoned sex demons. He became bosom buddies with L. Ron Hubbard of Scientology fame.
And yet, Jack Parsons proved one of the most brilliant rocket scientists in history, despite his kooky ideas—or perhaps, even because of them.
Jack Parsons was born in Pasadena, California, in October 1914. Shortly afterward, his father got caught sleeping with another woman, and even paying her for sex.
