Wernher Von Braun

Wernher von Braun is a hero because of his work with rocketry and his contributions towards modern space travel. After reading about him, I have taken a strong interest in rocketry as well as space travel. I plan to study such things and make contributions to the age of space travel. In my personal opinion, Wernher von Braun was a great mind and excellent engineer. 

Wernher was born on March 23rd, 1912 in Wirsitz, Poland. He developed an interest in space after being given a telescope by his mother. In 1915, his family moved to Berlin so that his father could work at the Department of interior. Around 1925 is when Braun attended a boarding school located in Ettersburg Castle. There he studied physics and mathematics, in which he did poorly. He was also an avid reader, reading books by writers such as H.G. Wells and Jules Verne. The one book that most captured his interest was "By Rocket to Space" by Hermann Oberth, an accomplished physicist and engineer. During his school years, von Braun joined the German rocket society in 1929, he moved to the Technische Universitat Berlin (Technical University of Berlin) a year later. It was here that he studied everything to do with rocketry and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Mechanical engineering. Wishing to strengthen his understanding of physics and mathematics, He attended the University of Berlin and graduated with a Ph.D in physics in 1934.

Wernher Von Braun (NYTimes.com (Unknown))

After the outbreak of the Second World War, von Braun was working on getting his creative doctorate when he was given a grant by the government to work on rockets for the German army. Along with a team of other scientists, they developed the V-2 ballistic rocket. This was the first rocket in history to graze the edge of space which was what von Braun was hoping for. After hearing of the attacks on London with the V-2s, He was quoted as saying "The rocket worked perfectly, except for landing on the wrong planet." When it became apparent that Germany would not be victorious, von Braun and his team of scientists organized their surrender to U.S. forces in 1945. After this, They were transferred to the U.S. to work on rockets for the U.S. Army. He helped to produce the PGM-11 Redstone rocket as well as the Jupiter-C rocket.

von Braun and Walt Disney (Science.Nasa.gov (Unknown))

After the war, von Braun and various other scientists were moved to Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, to continue their work on rockets. When the Korean War started, they were again moved, this time to Huntsville, Alabama. With the Soviets launch of the Sputnik, The U.S. Government took a major interest in spaceflight, it was at this point in time that von Braun was able to truly use his skills. After the opening of the Marshall Space Flight Center, von Braun was transferred to NASA where he began work on the Saturn series rockets, he became the first head of the facility shortly after. During his time there, he outlined his ideas for a space station as well as a manned mission to Mars in various papers. von Braun passed away on June 16th, 1977 at the age of 65.

These are the reasons I view Braun as a hero. I personally plan to study physics and mathematics when I go to a college. I hope to be able to follow Braun's examples and become an engineer. Until that time, I'm going to continue to study and further my knowledge.