It seemed as soon as Apollo 11 left the launch platform, the world entered a new era of space exploration. Among the people who watched the launch from the launch room 30 years ago was Dr. Werner von Braun, the creator of the Saturn rocket, on which astronauts were supposed to go to the moon. He promised that this space journey would open up new frontiers for man. From the surface of the Earth, the ships will set off to surf the Universe, benefiting science and all of humanity. Von Braun became the new Columbus for America.
Wernher von Braun and his dreams of space
Wernher von Braun, whose biography is revealed in the article, dreamed of space since childhood. He lived to make his dream a reality. He believed that space flight was a necessary step in the evolution of mankind, and fate would help him take this step. However, the new dawn of science has become for some people a painful memory of years of backbreaking labor practically as slaves.
Wernher von Braun, whose photo you see, was a very smart person. He wanted to build any rocketprice. He believed that the fate of mankind was the conquest of space, and he was ready to pay for it. The biography of Wernher von Braun has become an endless crusade. He was ready for anything, just to make a breakthrough into space. The spacecraft he created to fly to the Moon on the basis of a ballistic missile was a new step in evolution. While Brown himself made the move from Nazi to NASA employee.
The Wernher von Braun Family
Interest in the stars originated with Werner in Berlin in the 20s. He was born into an aristocratic German family. For many centuries, their family owned lands in the east of Germany. Having taken the post of minister, the head of the family moved to his Berlin residence. Werner was the second of his three sons. Great attention was paid to the upbringing of children in the family. It was thanks to this that Werner's interest in the stars arose. When he became a teenager, this interest was transformed into a passion for rockets. Werner's interest was shared by thousands of his fellow citizens. Many believed that a large enough rocket would lift anything. During the First World War, the rocket was used as a weapon. Now, seized by another utopian idea, people believed that it would help them open the doors to a new peaceful era. The work of amateur rocket scientists inspired von Braun and his brother to experiment on their own. They built a small rocket launcher out of fireworks. She crashed into the basement window of a grocery store, and her father said that this was the end of the space epic for the brothers. This did not stop Werner.
Hermann Oberth Ideas
The passion for rockets grew into an interest in astronomy when the parents gave the boy a telescope. At the same time, Werner came across a book that described how a liquid-fuel rocket could be used for interplanetary flights. The ideas of Oberth, the author of the book, reached the general public later, when he was invited as a technical consultant to Fritz Lang's Woman in the Moon. The film showed the process of preparing a liquid fuel rocket for flight.
The film told what needs to be done to launch a rocket. A multi-stage rocket rose into the air, its steps fell off - the viewer got an idea of weightlessness. To some extent, this film foresaw the events that would happen 50-60 years later. It was a prophetic film and people could see what would happen in the future. This film irrevocably changed the biography of Wernher von Braun. From now on, he began to call Hermann Oberth his guiding star.
At school, von Braun started writing about space travel. Quotes by Wernher von Braun began to be repeated all around. “Surely,” he wrote, “one day a man will set foot on the moon.” He was a talented student. His comrades recognized his craving for leadership. After high school, von Braun joined a group of rocket science enthusiasts and began designing his own liquid propellant rockets. He never tired of repeating to his colleagues that soon they would become living witnesses of the first flight into space. It seemed to many that he had gone mad and wasted his time. Von Braun used to say that he would do anything to succeed.
Cooperation with the Nazis
Hitler was impressed by Brown's success, but he was dissatisfied with the speed of work. In the official photo, Wernher von Braun barely managed to smile. The meeting didn't go well. Hitler said that he was not interested in discoveries that would take years to complete. Six months later, Germany entered the war with England and the allies. Work on the rocket proceeded at an accelerated pace. The war did not affect von Braun's dedication to work. He was about 30 years old and suddenly had practically unlimited funds for development in his hands. Caring above all about the rocket, in 1937 von Braun joined the National Socialist Party.
Heinrich Himmler invited him to join the SS. This was good for the rocket program, and Werner agreed. 5 years after the start of work, the rocket was ready for testing. On October 3, 1942, the A-4 was launched. The Nazis could celebrate the creation of new weapons. However, for von Braun and his associates, this was only the first step towards space travel. They did not seem to realize that they had created a terrible weapon. Wernher von Braun was determined. He assured that the Nazi help was just a necessary evil that would help him fulfill his dream immediately after the end of the war.
Instrument of Vengeance
After the first launch, luck seems to have turned its back on scientists - out of 11 subsequent launches, only two were partially successful. It was necessary to enlist the support of Hitler. Von Braun feared that sooner or later Hitler would lose patience.and close the project. They went to a demonstration that might get Hitler's attention. In the public cinema at Hitler's headquarters, von Braun held one of the most important meetings of his life. He demonstrated a record of a successful launch. The film's title reminded the Fuhrer of his premature skepticism.
It said: "We have succeeded!". Hitler changed his mind after the presentation of the film. He stated that this film is of national importance and should be distributed immediately to raise morale. The A-4 missile was renamed to reflect the Fuhrer's hope. Now it has become known as the "Instrument of Retaliation", with which Hitler hoped to win the war.
Work in a concentration camp
Wernher von Braun's rocket was built in a secret underground factory in the Harz mountains. A concentration camp was set up to work on the rocket. First, it was necessary to expand the underground tunnel. For 5 months, 8,000 people saw virtually no daylight while digging this tunnel. They were treated extremely cruelly by the SS guards who monitored their work. Thousands of people died from overwork. Many were killed by the guards.
Von Braun often visited the tunnel. Recently discovered documents confirm that he attended meetings when the use of slave labor was discussed. At one of these meetings, it was decided to replace the dead prisoners with 2,000 French prisoners. In addition, von Braun often visited the Buchenwald concentration camp, which was locatednearby.
First missile strike
The first V-2 missiles were fired at London on the evening of 8 September 1944. A new era of warfare has begun. The missile strike claimed the lives of 5 thousand people. Almost all of them are civilians. Von Braun, who was in charge of development, seemed surprised by the results of the launch. He said that this should not have happened. He built the rocket to get to the moon, not to take other people's lives. Sometimes Brown began to realize that the Nazis were losing the war and made plans to do without their support.
At one of the parties, Werner imprudently spoke out about his concerns. The conversation was turned over to the Führer, and Brown spent two weeks in custody. However, very soon he returned the location of Hitler and he granted Werner the highest award that civilians were awarded for loy alty to the Reich. However, this did not change Brown's skepticism about the outcome of the war. These interesting facts about Wernher von Braun will not go unnoticed.
Former adversaries – new allies
In the winter of '44, he carefully questioned his colleagues to find out who among them was ready to work for the enemy. Von Braun decided that he could continue working in America. No other country could afford to develop such a large-scale project. When the Soviet troops came close to the Peenemünde training ground, a decision was made to evacuate. The USSR was no less impressed by the rocket than the United States. However, the transfer of developments to the Russians was out of the question. Rocket interestedall.
After the war, the Russians had a list of people wanted, and von Braun was in the first place in it. When Hitler's death was officially announced, von Braun made a pact with the American army. The biography of Wernher von Braun at that moment changed dramatically. Former opponents fulfilled all the wishes of scientists. Werner, as well as key people in the project, were offered to sign contracts with the American army. A month earlier, the Americans had liberated Mittelwerk. There they found only living skeletons.
During the production of weapons, more than 20 thousand people died. Half of them - directly while working on the "V-2". However, the US Army was not interested in ethics issues. They needed Wernher von Braun, and the CIA began searching for dirt in the German archives. The found documents were destroyed. There was no mention of this in military reports. A few months after the end of the war, von Braun and his colleagues were back on horseback. The leadership strongly encouraged intensive experiments, trying to win the war. 70 rockets were delivered to the New Mexico desert.
Von Braun's main task was to train the military in rocket science. However, he had enough time to dream about space flights. Von Braun got this opportunity thanks to the threat of war. The Soviet Union terrified the United States with its military might. By 1950, communism began to appear to America as the greatest threat to prosperity. To end the Cold War, they needed new missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. A new alliance has appeared on the arena in the person of Wernher von Braun and the USA.
New Huntsville Landfill
The landfill was moved south, to Alabama, to Huntsville, a small poor town with a population of less than 20,000 people. Within a few decades, he was to become a city of rockets. On the outskirts, the army placed its arsenals. Finally, a really big project fell into the hands of von Braun. Thousands of Americans were working on the Redstone rocket under the guidance of German scientists, but von Braun was intent on breaking down national barriers. He stopped wearing the leather coat.
Brown didn't lose his accent, but he spoke good English. He started a family. Three years before moving to Hatsville, he married his cousin. Wernher von Braun and his wife moved to Huntsville, where his second daughter was born. Then he had a son. Von Braun's efforts to become part of the world around him were rewarded. The scientists took American citizenship. The past is far behind. Maria von Braun - Wernher von Braun's wife supported her husband in all his projects and endeavors.
As the technical director of the Missile Office, von Braun was able to lobby for the interests of the space program. He has already managed to interest the world in rockets. Now he was trying to draw attention to the stars. It was necessary to find an approach to taxpayers. He believed that it was impossible to achieve success if one did not instill in the souls of people a craving for unexplored cosmic expanses. Von Braun himself faced a difficult task - to turn the plots of science fiction films into reality.
Von Braun became a missionary of interplanetary travel. The famous flight projects of Wernher von Braun to Mars and the Moon become public. His first achievement was a series of articles in a well-known magazine. He introduced readers to his vision of the future world. The journey to the stars will begin with a huge four-stage rocket that will launch a satellite and then a space station. Man will go to the Moon and Mars. However, von Braun's dreams were not a utopia of peaceful coexistence in space. Rockets could be used to launch nuclear warheads. For the readers of the magazine, this was a revelation.
USSR one step ahead
However, despite all the efforts of von Braun to woo the Americans, the USSR made the first step into space. On September 4, 1957, the first artificial satellite was launched. The success of the USSR led to the beginning of the space race Wernher von Braun and Korolev became the main rivals. The national pride of the Americans suffered even more when the rocket created for the first launch of the Avangard satellite exploded right on the launch pad. As von Braun predicted. This opened up new opportunities for Werner. Peaceful cooperation was forgotten. Von Braun and the military had to save the face of American technology. In January 1959, the first American satellite was launched.
Von Braun was almost 47 years old - he managed to achieve worldwide fame and recognition. Success inspired Werner, and he was already planning expansions of the space program. However, the President was unimpressed and did not support the idea of human spaceflight. Hismore attracted the use of satellites for scientific purposes. Von Braun and his followers took a romantic view of rocket science. Despite the President's skepticism, the training of astronauts began. In 1959, it was decided to launch a von Braun rocket.
Yuri Gagarin's flight
The project became part of the new national space agency known as NASA. Von Braun finally got the opportunity he had long dreamed of. However, he again had to catch up with his competitors. Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin spent two hours in Earth orbit. The celebrations in Moscow were broadcast all over the world. America's prestige was de alt another blow. It was especially acutely felt by the new President John F. Kennedy.
The next month, the first American astronaut made an orbit on a von Braun rocket, but only for a few minutes. Von Braun was sure that the only way to bypass the Soviet Union was to land a man on the moon first. From that moment on, Wernher von Braun, the man who sold the Moon (as Denis Pashkevich would call him in his famous book), threw all his strength into the realization of this dream.
Flight to the Moon
In 1962, Kennedy visited Huntsville to see how things were going. 20 years after working on a rocket for Hitler, von Braun was back in his element. His team designed the giant three-stage Saturn V rocket. Its height was over 100 m. There was no such engineering structure in America yet. Over the next 10 years, von Braun's astronauts had to explore the depthsUniverse. The moon was first on the priority list. However, the ambitions of the scientist knew no bounds - he was already planning the next step.
On the morning of July 16, 1969, millions of people gathered on the coast of Florida. All eyes were on the Apollo 11 rocket. This was the climax of what von Braun had worked for years. Von Braun watched as his bird took off from the ground. He has repeatedly said in the press that a new era has begun in the development of mankind. The rocket he created with his colleagues carried man to a brighter future.
At this very moment, von Braun's past threatened his triumph. His fame attracted the attention of those who also had a chance to play a role in the creation of the spacecraft. Von Braun's past was buried 25 years ago, but the protests of the prisoners who took part in the construction of the V-2 reached the limit. Von Braun was asked to appear before a court dealing with wartime crimes. Formally, no charges were brought against him, but the former prisoners considered him morally responsible for their suffering.
Von Braun's career decline
Thanks to the successful launch, Wernher von Braun, the man who sold the moon, opened up new horizons. NASA suggested that he start over. He had to leave his colleagues and the city he helped found. However, by the time he arrived in Washington, the situation had changed. The country was already leading the space race, andpoliticians wanted to spend taxpayer money on more pressing needs.
Even von Braun could not persuade them to finance a flight to Mars. After spending two fruitless years at NASA, von Braun submitted his resignation. His dream is over, but the biography of Wernher von Braun will forever remain in the memory of his followers.
