A German-American aerospace engineer who led the team that developed the V-2 rocket for Nazi Germany during the Second World War, then emigrated to the United States, where he led the development of the Saturn V rocket that carried Apollo astronauts to the Moon. His wartime role, including the use of forced labor in V-2 production, remains a debated part of his legacy.
Facts
Defining ContributionChief architect of the Saturn V rocket that launched the Apollo Moon missions 3 Notable WorkChief architect of the Saturn V rocket for NASA's Apollo program 2 Connections
Associated With
Oberth mentored von Braun in the German rocketry societies of the late 1920s; von Braun later called Oberth the man who first showed him that spaceflight was an engineering problem, not a dream.
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and chief architect of the Saturn V.
Source A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo AstronautsAndrew Chaikin
Von Braun and the German rocket program read Goddard's published work; Hermann Oberth had Goddard's 1919 paper translated for von Braun.
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Chief architect of the rocket's design.
Source A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo AstronautsAndrew Chaikin
In the Other Atlases
Nationality
Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.
Sources
1. Encyclopedia Britannica: Space Exploration
2. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia FoundationWernher von Braun, Wikipedia - American career section
The V-2 was a quantum leap of technological change. We got to the Moon using V-2 technology but this was technology that was developed with massive resources.
- Associated With: Hermann Oberth, Hermann Oberth, lead section
Associated With: Robert Goddard, Robert H. Goddard, Wikipedia - A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes section
Oberth had Goddard's 1919 paper translated and Wernher von Braun read it.
View the Source 3. A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts
Andrew Chaikin
Wernher von Braun (Wikipedia)
Wernher von Braun, Wikipedia - infobox (born)
23 March 1912
Wernher von Braun, Wikipedia - infobox (died)
16 June 1977
Wernher von Braun, Wikipedia - infobox (full name)
Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun
In Group: German Rocket Engineers, Lead sentence
Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun (US: VUR-nər von BROWN; German: [ˈvɛʁnheːɐ̯ fɔn ˈbʁaʊn]; 23 March 1912-16 June 1977) was a German American aerospace engineer and space architect.
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