The jetpack reached pop icon status when a tuxedo-clad James Bond, played by Sean Connery, strapped one on in in 1962′s Thunderball. Bond zips over a series of tall buildings and lands conveniently next to his Aston Martin.
The public ate it up. This was the future they had been waiting for. Ever since Daedalus made those wax-and-feather wings we’ve been dreaming of something that would allow us to soar like birds.
The age old dream seemed one step closer to reality when Wendell Moore of Bell Aerosystems introduced a twin-jet hydrogen peroxide propulsion system mounted to a backpacks in the 1950s.
The Small Rocket Lift Device was a nifty piece of engineering. The U.S. Army showed interest in developing jetpacks (also known as rocket belts) to move infantry over difficult obstacles like mines and fly assault troops from ship to shore in amphibious operations.
It was all very Retrofuture.
That is until the Army soon discovered rocket belts were difficult to maneuver, ear-splittingly loud, and had a maximum of thirty seconds in flight. Funding dried up.
To this day, a number of jetpack enthusiasts are still working out the kinks. Here’s a good article on recent efforts that appeared in the Wall Street Journal. They point out, somewhat surprisingly, that less people have flown in untethered jetpacks than have walked on the Moon. A neat bit of trivia.
Also, check out this excellent YouTube video, ripped from the History Channel, with a thumbnail history of jetpacks.
Tags: Jetpacks
Here’s a personal journal (*pre blog!) that explains what happened to the jet pack..
Long story short, the scientists that were tops in their field and working on this were swiftly commandeered to spearhead the cruise missile program; a very successful program at that.