The atomic bomb without a delivery device is a bullet without a gun. The U.S. used airplanes to drop the first nuclear weapons in 1945. Soon, both Moscow and Washington sought other means of delivery to launch the explosive from home turf to foreign soil. During World War II, Germany’s V2 rocket served as inspiration.
After WWII, the Soviet Union took possession of the V2 test range and factory. Still, the United States got its hands on the rocket’s inventor, Wernher von Braun. Nuclear missiles followed, with the first, the Atlas, entering service in 1958.
The moon landing in 1969 would not have been possible without this German rocket pioneer. Dr. Wernher von Braun will always be associated with Saturn V. Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun (March 23, 1912 – June 16, 1977) was a German and later American aerospace engineer[3] and space architect.
Wernher von Braun Was a Pioneer
Wernher was the leading figure in the development of rocket technology in Germany. He was also a pioneer of rocket and space technology in the United States. July 16, 1969, the 110 meters high “Saturn V” majestically rises into the bright morning sky of Cape Canaveral. It has a take-off weight of about 3000 tons.
The Saturn V was a type of rocket called a “Heavy Lift Vehicle”. It was used in the Apollo program in the 1960s and 1970s. And it was the most powerful rocket that had ever flown successfully. Already as a child, Wernher von Braun had been obsessed with rockets. He observed the moon with the telescope, and he made his first rockets at the age of 17.
Image credit: NASA/MSFC
Wernher studied engineering at the Technical University in Berlin and dreamed of flying to the moon himself.
In April 1932, before Hitler came into power. His “Verein für Raumschifffahrt” surprisingly received a visit from three interested gentlemen in civilian clothes during a missile test. The Army Weapons Office sought ways to circumvent the Versailles Treaty.
Wernher von Braun and V-2 Rocket
After the First World War was lost, Germany was no longer allowed to use airplanes and artillery projectiles. But the Versailles Treaty did not mention rockets. From 1941 on, Braun’s V-2 rocket was produced in series.
On October 3, 1942, a V-2 with a flight altitude of 84.5 kilometers reached the atmosphere’s limit. A milestone in the history of space travel has been reached. As the defeat of Nazi Germany approached, von Braun decided to switch sides. On May 2, 1945, together with some scientists from his team, he met the Tyrol US forces.
The US military quickly recognized the talent that had jumped into its lap. A short time later, the Secret Service brought Wernher von Braun and his 100-strong team to the US. “Our admission to Texas was surprisingly friendly,” von Braun later recalled.
The team explained the function and construction of the V-2 rocket to American experts. Then, von Braun started to construct the “Redstone,” the world’s first nuclear medium-range rocket.
July 1, 1969.
Image credit: NASA
Wernher Planning Director at NASA
In 1955, Wernher von Braun received US citizenship. In the same year, together with Walt Disney. Wernher developed the television series “Man in Space,” which made human-crewed space flight popular with the American public.
1970, one year after the moon landing, he later became a planning director at NASA. Wernher continued to promote space travel. “Apollo was not – as many people think – an insane waste of taxpayers’ money. But in my firm opinion, one of the most sensible, wise, and farsighted investments a country has ever made,” he said.
von Braun Plans For a Mars Mission
“Apollo has advanced research and technology in the American industry like no program ever before.” Legislators did not support his plans for a manned Mars mission due to funding problems.
Disappointed by the US Congress’s budget cuts, von Braun left NASA in 1972 and moved to a private aerospace company. In 1977, Wernher von Braun died of cancer in Alexandria, Virginia.
What Did Buzz Aldrin Think of von Braun?
“Von Braun, by comparison, was the ubiquitous calm and friendly face that exhorted us all to reach out from planet Earth. He was seen as the architect of our greatest achievement, with the Saturn V as his masterpiece. Something that is still an object of awe and has been showered in superlatives in all recent coverage.
My own understanding has always been that his aim from the start was to reach the Moon and leaving things like the twisted national loyalty of Nazi Germany to one side. He saw military funding as a way of advancing towards that dream.”
Written by veteran aerospace journalist Bob Ward, who spent years investigating his subject. This biography presents a revealing but even-handed portrait of the father of modern rocketry.
The picture of von Braun that emerges is of a brilliant scientist with limitless curiosity. And a drive to achieve his goals at almost any price. From developing the world’s first ballistic missile, used against the Allies in World War II to help launch the first U.S.
The satellite that propelled Americans into space and the Saturn V super-booster that propelled them to the moon is covered in this captivating narrative. Along the journey, readers are introduced to the charismatic visionary responsible for bringing the United States into the Space Age, revealing his more personal side.
Did you know that the Apollo program has had a significant impact on modern science and technology? Learn more about this fascinating era in our in-depth article, “Uncovering the Scientific Legacy of the Apollo Program.”