Born March 23, 1912 (Wirsitz, Germany)

Died June 16, 1977 (Alexandria, Virginia)

German-born American rocket engineer

Wernher von Braun was the most famous rocket engineer of the twentieth century. He began his career in Germany, where he developed the revolutionary V-2 rocket during World War II (1939–45). Fleeing to the United States at the end of the war, he became an important figure in the American rocket and space programs. Teams of engineers under his direction designed the Redstone, Jupiter, and Pershing missiles (rockets that carry weapons). Von Braun then led development of the Jupiter C, Juno, and Saturn launch vehicles, which carried early U.S. satellites (objects that orbit in space) and spacecraft beyond Earth's atmosphere and ultimately to the Moon. Von Braun was both a celebrity and a national hero in the United States.

Begins Developing Rockets

Wernher Magnus Maximilian von Braun was born on March 23, 1912, in...