1 Reaching the Stars Wernher von Braun was a well-known rocket engineer Originally from Germany he became a US citizen in 1955 He worked alongside American scientists during the country’s efforts to travel to space in the 1950s and 1960s Von Braun was a master in his field He oversaw the development of the rockets that launched the first US satellite and the first US astronaut into space He is best known for leading the development of the Saturn V rocket In 1969 this rocket took humans to the moon for the first time in history Many consider von Braun to be a father of modern rocketry Today’s space missions might not have been possible without him Though von Braun had many great accomplishments his history is controversial In addition to manufacturing space rockets he also helped develop deadly weapons for Nazi Germany during World War II Von Braun’s creations were not always used for good But those later in life helped spur space exploration Von Braun was ambitious and committed to fulfilling his goals With his help US astronauts blazed trails in space 4
2 Early Influences Wernher von Braun was born on March 23 1912 in Wirsitz Germany He was the second of three sons The von Brauns were wealthy and part of the Lutheran church When Wernher was confirmed in the church his mother bought him a telescope as a gift As Wernher observed the skies through his telescope he grew fascinated with space In 1924 12-year-old Wernher staged his first rocket experiment He tied store-bought fireworks to his family’s wagon and lit them The fireworks exploded propelling the wagon down the street with Wernher on it One year later Wernher was sent to boarding school in central Germany There The Rocket into Interplanetary Space caught his attention German scientist Hermann Oberth wrote this book It further inspired Wernher’s interest in space Oberth’s book influenced Wernher in another way too Wernher was frustrated that he did not understand the mathematics used by Oberth So Wernher worked hard at school to master math He had previously struggled with this subject But Wernher was soon the best in his class 6
Von Braun second from right would later serve on the US Army Ballistic Missile Agency with his idol Hermann Oberth center
