Wernher Von Braun

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Wernher Von Braun

• Who Was He?
• German Career
• American Career
• Major Accomplishments

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• Born March 23, 1912
• Where Wirsitz, Germany
• Became a U.S. citizen April 14, 1955
• Died June 16, 1977
• Alexandria, Virginia

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Education

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from
  the Berlin Institute of Technology
• PhD in Physics from the Berlin Institute of
  Technology

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Early Works

• Von Braun was a member of the Verein fur
  Raumschifffahrt (Rocket Society) which was given
  money to build a rocket for the German Military.
• The V2 rocket was successfully launched on
  October 3, 1942.

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THE V2 (A4) Rocket

• Fuel Alcohol and Liquid Oxygen
• Thrust 56,000 Lbs
• Payload 2,200 Lbs
• Max Speed 3,500 mph

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Von Brauns Arrest

• Von Braun was arrested for fantasizing about
  the rockets possibilities he wanted to send the
  V2 to the moon when he should have wanted to use
  it for war
• Braun was released. He fled and surrendered to
  the Americans. They took Braun and 300 train car
  loads of V2 parts to the U.S.

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Operation Paperclip

• This was the name of Von Brauns move to the U.S.
• He was granted permission to further research the
  V2s potential as a weapon and as a research
  device.

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Von Brauns Jobs

• Dr. Von Braun directed the U.S. Army's ballistic
  missile program at Redstone Arsenal
• Major ABMA development projects under Von Brauns
  technical direction included the Redstone rocket,
  the Jupiter Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile
  (IRBM), and the Pershing missile.

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• Established by law on July 29, 1958.
• Braun was the first Director.

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Redstone Missile

• Liquid Chemical
• Range 200 Miles
• First Launch 1958

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THE JUPITER-C ROCKET

• launched the western hemisphere's first
  satellite, Explorer 1, on January 31, 1958.
• This event signaled the birth of America's space
  program

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Pershing Weapon System

• Replacement for the Redstone Systems
• Increased Range and Efficiency
• Eliminated due to Nuclear Arms Treaties

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Mercury and Apollo

• Project Mercury officially began October 7, 1958
  as the United States' first manned space
  program. 
• The Saturn V rocket launched the crew of Apollo
  11 and put mankind on the moon on July 16, 1969

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Later Accomplishments

• On 1 July 1972, Von Braun left NASA to become
  Vice President of Engineering and Development for
  Fairchild Industries in Germantown, Maryland
• Von Braun was inducted into the Ordnance Corps
  Hall of Fame in 1973

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Wernher Von Brauns Death

• At the peak of his success, von Braun learned he
  had cancer.
• This forced him to retire on December 31, 1976
• On June 16, 1977, Wernher von Braun died in
  Alexandria, Virginia.

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WORKS CITED

• http//liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/history/VonBr
  aun/VonBraun.html
• http//www.redstone.army.mi