Wernher Von Braun in his Office
Source:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/wernher-von-brauns-v-2-rocket-12609128/
The successful Apollo missions amazed the world and were
a tremendous success and obviously some of the greatest
achievements in human history.Samuel
Philips, director of the Apollo Program, said that
without Wernher Von Braun, man would have never reached
the moon.
Von Braun with U.S. President John F. Kennedy
Source:
http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/archives/vonbraun/welcome.html
Wernher Von Braun left NASA in May of 1972.He worked
shortly as a VP at Fairchild Industries, an aeronautical
engineering firm.He
succumbed to pancreatic cancer in June 1977.In the last
years of his life, he devoted much time and energy
trying to promote enthusiasm towards rocket science and
aeronautical engineering to younger generations.He frequently
spoke to students at college campuses.He also
created the idea for “space camp;” an astronomy-focused
science summer camp for young people.He was the
main voice in establishing the National Space Institute,
a space exploration advocacy group.
Critics of his designs state that he was too
conservative and wasted too much time and energy on the
safety of his rockets, including the Saturn V.Claims have
been made that the U.S. could’ve beat the USSR in
putting a man in orbit if Von Braun had sped up design
processes instead of worrying about safety.What these
critics forget is that when Von Braun was first brought
to the U.S, the government, much in the same way as the
NSDAP had done during the war, initially forced him to
focus on designing combat missiles despite his
passionate insistence on exploring means of
space-travel.Also
in his defense, the lives of no astronauts were lost
during a Saturn V trans-orbital flight.Historians
also will often argue that Von Braun was too passive and
compliant to the Fascist government that utilized his
brilliance for a destructive purpose.These claims
may be true, but one could argue that they are offset by
the amount he has improved the human condition with his
innovations in Aerospace engineering.
Grave of Wernher Von Braun
Source:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Von_Braun_Wernher_grave.jpg
