Wernher von Braun

Wernher von Braun was a German-born American aerospace engineer who led development of Nazi Germany’s V-2 rocket and later directed major U.S. launch-vehicle programs.

Walter Dornberger: A German Army officer who directed the military rocket program that developed the V-2. He commanded the program in which von Braun led technical development.
V-2 rocket: The world’s first long-range ballistic missile, developed and used by Nazi Germany during World War II. Von Braun led technical work on this rocket at Peenemünde.
Peenemünde Army Research Center: A German military research site where the V-2 rocket was developed and tested. Von Braun directed technical development there before and during World War II.
Apollo program: The NASA human-spaceflight program that landed astronauts on the Moon between 1969 and 1972. The Saturn V developed under von Braun’s leadership carried Apollo crews to the Moon.
Sergei Korolev: A Soviet rocket engineer who led development of launch vehicles behind early Soviet space achievements. His parallel career shaped the rival space program during von Braun’s U.S. years.
A-4 rocket: The German Army designation for the rocket later known as the V-2. The A-4 was the technical program from which the V-2 emerged.
Nazi Germany: The German state under Adolf Hitler’s dictatorship from 1933 until its defeat in 1945. Von Braun’s wartime rocket work served this regime’s military program.
NASA: The United States government agency responsible for civilian space exploration and aeronautics research. Von Braun led NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center during the Apollo era.
Arthur Rudolph: A German rocket engineer who worked on the V-2 and later on the Saturn V. He was a colleague in both von Braun’s German and American rocket programs.
Saturn V: A multistage American launch vehicle that carried Apollo astronauts to the Moon. Von Braun’s Marshall Space Flight Center team directed its development.

Linked from 22 pages