Everything you never knew you wanted to know about the Mercury Project
Wernher von Braun
From RixWiki
Contents |
Introduction
Wernher von Braun was a German rocket scientist, who developed guided missiles for the Germans in World War II, and the Americans in the 1950s. His Redstone missile was used as the launcher for the Mercury sub-orbital flights. He subsequently led the team which developed the Saturn rockets.
German activities
Von Braun was an early advocate of rocket technology in Germany. During the war he developed the V2 missile, which was used to attack England and Belgium. This made him a controversial person.
At the end of the war he and his team surrendered to the Americans at the end of World War II and were sent to America as part of w:Operation Paperclip.
US Army activities
He worked under the U.S. Army first at [w:Fort Bliss]] w:Texas, and then in w:Huntsville, Alabama at the Redstone Arsenal where he led the team which developed the Redstone missile.
He became director of the Development Operations Division of the w:Army Ballistic Missile Agency which developed the Jupiter-C a variation of the Redstone which launched the first U.S. earth satellite w:Explorer 1
NASA
In July 1960 the Marshall Spaceflight Center was established with von Braun as the director, a position he held until 1970.
See also
- Marshall Spaceflight Center History Office
- Wernher von Braun article in the Wikipedia
