Wernher Von Braun's Accomplishments

Wernher Von Braun worked at NASA, and on the V2. He created a lot of complex technology that had a large impact on the world. Furthermore, he was a great leader, and wasn’t afraid to do what was right. Wernher Von Braun is a hero for what he is like, how he impacted the world, and his ability as a leader and engineer.

Wernher Von Braun worked on the V2 and at NASA. However, he didn’t want to create weapons, and only at NASA was he able to research technology for human space exploration. One very strong piece of evidence for Wernher Von Braun trying work on technology for human space exploration was the fact that he was jailed by the German government for a short time. The German officials suspected that he was working on technology to send

humans into space, and not just working on perfecting the V2. He was freed later because his leadership was needed to develop the V2. Wernher von Braun also stated that patriotic motivation drove him to develop weapons in Germany in WWII.

To be fair, It was his home country. Von Braun also stated that that scientific research is not good nor evil until the products it creates are used by society. This is true, as similar research probably was conducted on the V2 and Redstone rocket. However, one rocket was used as a weapon of war, and the other was for peaceful purposes. The latter was the Redstone rocket that Von Braun developed at NASA during the space race. It was one of the rockets that Von Braun developed at NASA that has a very large, positive, impact. Furthermore, one achievement of Von Braun that particularly stands out was developing the Saturn rockets. However, the series of rockets is only known for the Saturn V, which was used to send people to the moon during the Apollo program. The Saturn V is still the largest rocket ever built, and it had millions of moving parts. It was also built in the 1960’s, 50 years ago! This and other achievements show that when working at NASA, Wernher Von Braun led a very successful group. In fact, the group he lead developed the Redstone, Titan, and Saturn Rockets. They were extremely good at what they did. Some of this may have been due to their previous experience on

the V2, although larger rockets like the Saturn would require other types of knowledge to create. Only knowing how to make ballistic missiles wouldn’t work, as the Saturn V was exponentially more complicated than a ballistic missile. Later in his life, Von Braun was awarded the National Medal of Science by president Ford. He also tried to help the public learn about and understand peaceful spaceflight. One way he did this was by founding the National Space Institute in 1975. Also, he wrote popular articles and books involving spaceflight. The evidence shows that the Von Braun tried to research peaceful spaceflight, no matter the situation, and that he was very good at what he did. His attempt in Germany and work at NASA are the best examples of how dedicated he was to his work. His dedication and skill allowed him to create many complex rockets. All of the rockets he created had a large effect on WWII and the space race.

Wernher Von Braun helped to create a lot of complex technology in his work in Germany and at NASA that impacted WWII and the space race. Some examples of this technology are liquid fueled plane takeoffs and landings. Of course, there is also the technology that had, and still has an extremely large impact. Wernher Von Braun created the forerunner of all ballistic missiles, the A4. The missile was later renamed Vengeance Weapon 2 by the propaganda minister of Germany, or the V2. All later ballistic missiles were based on the design of the V2, and it was a terrifying weapon. Because of it, 2000 people were killed, 6000 were seriously injured, and may buildings were destroyed, in addition to severely harming infrastructure. Fortunately, most of the V2’s launched did not hit their target due to spies. It could have had an even larger impact, but it was only introduced late in the war. However, Wernher Von Braun didn’t want to create weapons of war, and when he later found out what his rockets had done, he was deeply sorry. After the war was over, when the American troops arrived, Wernher Von Braun and his group surrendered as soon as they could. Later, Von Braun was moved to NASA. While at NASA, he developed America’s first satellite, Explorer 1. Explorer 1 was America’s first step in the space race, and it showed that Russia didn’t have complete control over space. Wernher Von Braun also lead the development of a many rockets. The most impactful rockets that he created were the Redstone, Titan, and Saturn V. The Redstone was only used for a couple of flights, but these flights were America’s first sub-orbital flights. This was also a large step in the space race. Next, the Titan rocket was used. It was designed as a booster for missiles, but was adapted for the space program like the Redstone. Unlike the Redstone, it had the power to launch an astronaut into orbit. However, it was used for many more flights than the Redstone in order to test technology that would be important in developing the Saturn V. Later, the technology tested was used in the Saturn V to actually send people to the moon. The Saturn V, and the products that resulted out of its development, had a huge impact on the world. The Saturn V was so monumental, and so ahead of its time, that a huge number of products resulted from it. The computer technology evolved into smartphones that we use today. Also, the drinks were powders that only have to be mixed with water to create a beverage of some sort. There are a very large number of things that use this technology, and it is even used in our school cafeteria with the flavoring packets you can get for water. Furthermore, new alloys had to be developed to keep the first stage engines from burning themselves up. However, the main purpose of the Saturn V was to to get people to the moon, which it did. People first landing on the moon was a monumental achievement. This, and the collapse of the Soviet Union, won the space race for America. The political impact of this helped to spread democracy, our system of government. However, what makes Von Braun a hero the most is what he was like.

Wernher Von Braun was very skilled and wasn’t afraid to do the right thing.

Also, he also was willing to try hard. One example of Von Braun trying hard was his first inspiration, The Rocket Into Interplanetary Space. When Wernher Von Braun read The Rocket Into Interplanetary Space by Herman Oberth, he couldn’t understand the math. So, he applied himself at school to learn the math. He ended up leading the class in math, a large achievement. Another thing he lead was a very successful group at NASA. The group lead the design of many rockets, including the Saturn V. There was a monumental amount of effort put into creating the Saturn V. Consequently, Von Braun would have had to work hard to be able to be in an important position in the product. A example of Von Braun not being afraid to do the right thing, like in Germany, comes from his time at NASA. The military was given the job of launching the first satellite but they weren’t able to. However, Von Braun had a way to launch a satellite which was to have a very special nose cone prepared. The nose cone was in fact, a satellite. However, he was not supposed to be building satellites. This, and the example from Germany, shows he wasn’t afraid to do the right thing, even when he was ordered not to. Wernher Von Braun was also a skilled leader and engineer. His ability to create rockets was recognized by Captain Walter R. Dornberger. The captain also recognized the ability of rockets as weapons. Von Braun was ordered to create

weapons, which he did. His leadership was needed to develop weapons. His leadership was also important at NASA. Furthermore, he also tried to get the public to support space exploration by writing popular articles about space, and he also helped to write other articles.

In conclusion, Wernher Von Braun was a hero who worked to develop technology for the peaceful exploration of space. He was able to do this at NASA, but was ordered to work on missiles for Germany in WWII, which had a large, negative, impact. However, his work at NASA had a huge positive impact. He also was very skilled as an engineer and a leader. His work on rockets, how he positively affected the world, and his skill as a leader and engineer make him a hero.