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Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun "Father of Space Travel"
Born in Wyrzysyk, Poland -
How Did Werhner von Braun Fell In Love In Astronomy
Wernher Von Braun was born into a noble family in Wirsitz, now known as Wyrzysk, Poland. His father was the Minister of Agriculture in the Reich Cabinet. When von Braun was confirmed in the Lutheran Church his mother gave him a telescope. He fell in love with astronomy and became a study of physics and mathematics. -
Wernher von Braun's College
In the spring of 1930, he enrolled in the Berlin Institute of Technology where he joined the German Society for Space Travel. -
Wernher von Braun's College Time
He graduated with a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering and entered the University of Berlin -
Wernher von Braun's Opportunity
Capt. Walter R. Dornberger arranged a researched grant for Braun. Two years later, Braun received a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Berlin. His thesis bore the nondescript title “About Combustion Tests,” contained theoretical investigation and developmental experiments on 300- and 660-pound-thrust rocket engines. -
Wernher von Braun during WWII
In December, Braun’s group had successfully launched two rockets that rose vertically to more than 1.5 miles (2.4 km). -
Wernher von Braun's V-2 Rocket
Within a few months Braun and about 100 members of his group were at the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps test site at White Sands, New Mexico, where they tested, assembled, and supervised the launching of captured V-2s for high-altitude research purposes. -
Wernher von Braun's Famous Rocket
A liquid propellant missile 46 feet in length and weighing 27,000 pounds, the V-2 flew at speeds in excess of 3,500 miles per hour and delivered a 2,200-pound warhead to a target 200 miles away. -
Wernher von Braun in the Nazi
Von Braun was a member of the Nazi Party and an SS officer, yet was also arrested by the Gestapo in 1944 for careless remarks he made about the war and the rocket. -
Wernher von Braun's Work in America
Braun moved to Huntsville, Alabama and became a technical director of the U.S. Army ballistic-weapon program and developed the Redstone, Jupiter-C, Juno, and Pershing missiles were developed. -
Wernher von Braun's First Satellite
In 1954 a secret army–navy project to launch an Earth satellite, Project Orbiter, was thwarted. The situation was changed by the launching of Sputnik 1 by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957, followed by Sputnik 2 on November 3. Given leave to proceed on November 8, Braun and his army group launched the first U.S. satellite, Explorer 1, on January 31, 1958. -
The Beginning of Braun's work in NASA
After the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was formed to carry out the U.S. space program, Braun and his organization were transferred from the army to that agency. As director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Braun led the development of the large space launch vehicles, Saturn I, IB, and V. The engineering success of each rocket in the Saturn class of space boosters, which contained millions of individual parts, remains unparalleled in rocket history. -
Wernher von Braun's Work In NASA
n 1960, President Eisenhower transferred his rocket development center at Redstone Arsenal from the Army to the newly established National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Its primary objective was to develop giant Saturn rockets. Accordingly, von Braun became director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and the chief architect of the Saturn V launch vehicle, the superbooster that would propel Americans to the Moon. -
Wernher von Braun's Rise Up The Ranks
In March 1970 Braun was transferred to NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., as deputy associate administrator for planning. He resigned from the agency in 1972 to become vice president at Fairchild Industries, Inc., an aerospace company. In 1975 he founded the National Space Institute, a private organization whose objective was to gain public support and understanding of space activities. -
Wernher von Braun's Death
Wernher von Braun died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 65. He died in Alexandria, Virginia.
