Braun, Wernher von

Braun, Wernher von (1912- 1977), German rocket scientist.

Wernher von Braun was in charge of the German rocket research center at Peenemunde on the Baltic Sea and, during the Second World War (1939-45), he developed rocket weapons. The most famous was the V-2 rocket, a form of flying bomb, used against London towards the end of the war.

At the end of the war, von Braun gave himself up to the United States forces and afterwards went to the United States to live, becoming an American citizen.

He was made director of the Space Flight Centre at Huntsville, Alabama, and helped to produce the first American artificial satellite, Explorer, launched on 31 January, 1958.

From 1960 onwards he worked on the Saturn rocket for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, his main achievement being the architect of the Saturn V rocket that sent men on their way to the Moon.

In 1970 he was given the job of planning the United States's space program, he recieved the National Medal of Science in 1975. He died June 16 1977.

See Bob Ward Dr. Space: The Life of Wernher von Braun