A space man at heart
Since he was young, von Braun always wanted to go to the moon. Like any young child, he was fascinated by the idea of going to another planet. So when he couldn't get funding from public sources for his tests, he had a stroke of what he first thought to be luck. He was approached by the army, who said they would fund his experiments, but only if they were calling the shots. later von Braun would realise how much of a very bad idea it was, and one that nearly get him killed.
Soon after his run in with the Gestapo, von Braun found the war drawing to a close. He moved his team to Oberammergau in April, under Kammler's orders. On May 2, 1945, upon finding an American private from the U.S. 44th Infantry Division, von Braun's brother and fellow rocket engineer, Magnus, approached the soldier on a bicycle, calling out in broken English: "My name is Magnus von Braun. My brother invented the V-2. We want to surrender."
The series of rockets below are a series developed, or planned to be developed, by von Braun. Up to the A-5 were actually tested, but only the A-4 (V2) was put into mass production. Had von braun been given more time at Peenemünde, who knows what the Allies could have had raining down on them. These rockets were the brainchild of von Braun, and even though he was a spaceman at heart, he did know how to design a ICBM when his life depended on it.
The series of rockets below are a series developed, or planned to be developed, by von Braun. Up to the A-5 were actually tested, but only the A-4 (V2) was put into mass production. Had von braun been given more time at Peenemünde, who knows what the Allies could have had raining down on them. These rockets were the brainchild of von Braun, and even though he was a spaceman at heart, he did know how to design a ICBM when his life depended on it.
working with the u.s
Von Braun and his Peenemünde staff were transferred to their new home at Fort Bliss, a large Army installation just north of El Paso. Von Braun would later write he found it hard to develop a "genuine emotional attachment" to his new surroundings. At the age of 26, von Braun had thousands of engineers who answered to him, but was now answering to "pimply" 26 year-old Major Jim Hamill who possessed an undergraduate degree in engineering. His loyal Germans still addressed him as Herr Professor, but Hamill addressed him as Wernher and never bothered to respond to von Braun's request for more materials, and every proposal for new rocket ideas was dismissed.
In 1950, at the start of the Korean War, von Braun and his team were transferred to Huntsville, Alabama, his home for the next 20 years. Between 1950 and 1956, von Braun led the Army's rocket development team at Redstone Arsenal, resulting in the Redstone rocket, which was used for the first live nuclear ballistic missile tests conducted by the United States. This led to development of the first high-precision inertial guidance system on the Redstone rocket.
During Apollo, he worked closely with former Peenemünde teammate, Kurt H. Debus, the first director of the Kennedy Space Center. His dream to help mankind set foot on the Moon became a reality on July 16, 1969 when a Marshall-developed Saturn V rocket launched the crew of Apollo 11 on its historic eight-day mission. Over the course of the program, Saturn V rockets enabled six teams of astronauts to reach the surface of the Moon. During the late 1960s, von Braun was instrumental in the development of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville. The desk from which he guided America's entry in the Space Race remains on display there.
In 1950, at the start of the Korean War, von Braun and his team were transferred to Huntsville, Alabama, his home for the next 20 years. Between 1950 and 1956, von Braun led the Army's rocket development team at Redstone Arsenal, resulting in the Redstone rocket, which was used for the first live nuclear ballistic missile tests conducted by the United States. This led to development of the first high-precision inertial guidance system on the Redstone rocket.
During Apollo, he worked closely with former Peenemünde teammate, Kurt H. Debus, the first director of the Kennedy Space Center. His dream to help mankind set foot on the Moon became a reality on July 16, 1969 when a Marshall-developed Saturn V rocket launched the crew of Apollo 11 on its historic eight-day mission. Over the course of the program, Saturn V rockets enabled six teams of astronauts to reach the surface of the Moon. During the late 1960s, von Braun was instrumental in the development of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville. The desk from which he guided America's entry in the Space Race remains on display there.