Dr. Wernher von Braun: A Short Biography - Pioneer of Rocketry and Space Exploration

Most of us, young or old, have dreams of grand things, but it is the rare souls that sees their dreams standing before them, taller than the Statue of Liberty, with enough raw power to launch men to the moon. Wernher von Braun was such a dreamer. From a young age, he knew that rockets and space travel would be the driving force in his life; however, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime had different plans for this young man, as he would lead Germany’s development of the V-2 rocket, which at that time was one of the most advanced weapons known to man. After World War II had ravaged most of Europe, von Braun and a team of over one hundred of the best technical minds Germany had would be allowed to move to America to advance the science and technology of rocketry. Von Braun led teams for the military and NASA which launched America’s first space probe, put the first American in space, and ultimately put a man on the moon. His checkered past with the Third Reich would make him a villain in the eyes of some, while his outstanding scientific and the engineering talent would make him a genius of world renown in the eyes of others. Venture into the life of times of the remarkable man and see his perilous journey to become a legend in the field of rocketry and space travel.