The Lebanese Rocket Society Page #3

from Famagusta to the Red Sea

and participated in the

construction of this cable car.

I made this.

The batteries were here.

Then the receivers

and here is the transmitter.

Here, I'm connecting them.

The idea was to put in

a small satellite.

Before us, the Americans had sent

Oscar 1 and Oscar 2 for Ham Radio.

But the army

was giving them the rocket.

We'd have made the rocket

and the satellites ourselves.

A satellite.

Joseph was dreaming of that.

Manoug too

as well as sending a man

and before that, a mouse

lodged in the head of the rocket

to reach the stratosphere.

Mickey the mouse had been

prepared for the trip

but Manoug's wife, an animal-lover

stood against it,

thus saving Mickey's life.

It may seem surreal

but we have to delve back

to the context of the time

and the obsession to conquer space

that had reached all the region.

"Space fever" spread from Haigazian

to the prestigious

American University of Beirut.

For scientific purposes

the students there built Hannibal

the first liquid-propelled

rocket in the Arab world.

Unfortunately, it ended in failure.

There were others.

Students of the El Hoda school

in Beirut's southern suburb

Shiyyah, also made rockets.

A journalist in "The Adventurer"

reported enthusiastically

on the eve of the launch

of the small El Hoda 2

by four teenagers

between the ages of 13 and 15

led by their teacher, Mr. Maalouf.

The first Hoda rocket

had soared as high as 15 m.

The journalist writes excitedly:

"If these four young people

can build rockets

so can every student

in every Arab country

even if these dreams are achieved

outside the realm of science!"

Other countries became

interested in rockets.

For Egypt and Israel

who were at open war

space research had military goals

rather than scientific ones.

The great concern

worldwide at the time

was the nuclear arms race.

Everyone wanted a bomb.

Egypt received support from the USSR

Israel from France and Iran.

Some 250 German technicians

were at work in Egypt.

Some had collaborated with Von Braun

under the Nazi regime

before he fled to the US

and founded NASA.

In 1962

after the Egyptian program

began its rocket tests

Israel became fearful

initiating Operation Damocles:

targeted attacks, letter bombs

and death threats to German

scientists who worked for Nasser.

The operation was led by a spy

Wolfgang Lotz

who infiltrated the Egyptian program

and sabotaged it.

He was arrested and tried

by Egyptian authorities in 1965

and handed over to Israel

with his wife

after the June '67 War

against 5,000 Egyptian prisoners

9 of whom were army generals.

He was known as "the Champagne Spy".

The Middle-East of the time

was an active hub

of espionage and counterespionage.

Scrutinizing, recruiting

gleaning information...

While Manoug and his students

pursue their research

intrigue is widespread in Lebanon.

Spies rub shoulders at hotel bars

hang around embassies

slip into the offices

of newspaper editors or universities.

All kinds of spies

on the payroll of the US

the USSR, or anti-imperialism.

At the time of the Cold War

the Middle East was a battleground

between East and West blocs.

It was a time when

revolutionary movements were linked

when talk was

about revolutions not causes.

It was also a time

when, in spite of differences

science and the conquest of space

were a stage to compete, emulate

and share of the same temporality.

In any case, that was the fantasy.

Hampar Karageozian

a brilliant chemistry student

very involved in the Rocket project

emerges as a hero.

The accident marks

the end of the carefree climate.

The Haigazian lab doors are sealed

all explosive materials are banned.

There is nothing left on campus.

In the absence of Manoug

the army takes over the project.

Centralizing the rocket construction

as well as fuel preparation.

Things change.

The launches that once

drew huge crowds

become more private

with less press coverage

and a military audience.

The army takes over little by little.

Then in 1964

Manoug returns

with his graduate degree.

A country that wants to build rockets

will not be satisfied

with mere fireworks.

There was a military objective

behind all this.

We had something like a committee

working to transform

the rocket into a weapon.

But in front of Manoug Manougian

Pierre Mourad or Joseph Sfeir

we pretended to be doing

scientific experiments.

To show the people

we could produce rockets.

What can you tell a civilian?

Say something to Pierre and

the whole university knows about it.

Say it to Joseph Sfeir and the whole

area of Jounieh knows about it.

So, officially we pretended

to conduct experiments.

Scientific experiments.

To all appearances

we were producing rockets.

But from the inside, we the army

officers wanted things to evolve.

We wanted not a three-stage

but a two-stage rocket

with one of them full of explosives.

We had a dream

of turning this rocket

into a weapon.

But before we could do so

what was to happen happened.

Then the project stopped.

I didn't attend the meeting, I don't

know if it was a threat or a request.

But if the Lebanese army

hurried up and wrote a letter

saying that come October all

the rocket experiments had to stop

obviously someone was forcing them.

President Chehab

asked us to stop the project.

I knew him personally.

He was our neighbor in Jounieh

I knew his nephews.

So I asked him:

"Mr. President

why are we stopping the project?

"We're not a burden to the State and

we're bringing fame to the country."

He said:
"I know, Joseph

but we've been asked to stop."

I asked:
"By whom? From the North?"

He said:
"From the North

the South and faraway."

And then...

and then, oddly enough... oblivion.

Broadcasting from Radio Van, I

welcome you via Lebanese frequencies

or via internet

for international listeners.

Today, we'll talk about a scientific

event that occurred in the 60's

and of which many of us are unaware.

Most people are surprised to learn

that the Haigazian University

and the Lebanese army

had a space program

to launch rockets.

And that Lebanese

and Armenian Lebanese

were doggedly working

on this project.

We'd like to ask our listeners for

any information on the project...

Not just information.

If you have any recollections...

If you've seen or heard anything...

if you were just passing by

and saw a rocket...

If someone told you about this

story... This is important to us.

Let us repeat to our dear listeners

if you remember something

about this project

if you want to know more

call us at the following number:

or 01267657.

We waited and hoped a long time

but no one ever responded

to the call sent out on Radio Van.

No one remembers

the rocket's story then?

No one shares a common memory

of a rocket launch?

No one got married

broke up with a fianc, took an exam

experienced anything

important on the same day

and could recall:

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