Wernher von Braun in his MSFC office, with models of the rockets he helped develop in the background. (credit: NASA)
Posted on 09/02/2006 3:07:31 PM PDT by Paul Ross
Wernher von Braun in his MSFC office, with models of the rockets he helped develop in the background. (credit: NASA)
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June 16th passed with virtually no mention of one of the greatest names in the exploration of space. On that date in 1977, Dr. Wernher von Braun passed away. He was admired and loved by many he worked with during projects Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo, yet vilified by others because of his wartime efforts developing the V-2 for the Third Reich. He profoundly influenced the course of history in Europe and America, and was instrumental in the United States achieving the greatest engineering, scientific and geopolitical accomplishment of the 20th century.
For many Americans, their memories of Wernher von Braun are and will remain profoundly positive. I am one of them. Like many other children of the 1950s, I first learned of Dr. von Braun on the Walt Disney TV series devoted to space exploration. The first of these was “Man In Space” first broadcast on March 9, 1955. This was followed later that year with “Man and the Moon.” The last of the three memorable programs was “Mars and Beyond” broadcast in 1957. It was estimated over 40 million viewers saw these shows. Von Braun was already familiar to the many readers of Collier’s magazine which published a fascinating series on space exploration several years before. With the launch of Sputnik on October 4, 1957, von Braun stood on the real threshold of space exploration he had dreamed of pursuing since his youth.
| He was admired and loved by many he worked with during projects Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo, yet vilified by others because of his wartime efforts developing the V-2 for the Third Reich. |
America suddenly found itself in a space race with Russia. Were it not for Wernher von Braun’s rational persuasion and quick actions to surrender his group to American forces in 1945 at the close of World War 2, there might have been no space race at all. The culturally illiterate can be forgiven if they believe the group of German engineers and scientists who came to America as part of Operation Paperclip comprised the entire braintrust behind the V-2 rocket. It did not. While over 120 Germans were eventually brought to the United States under that secret program, it is a little known fact that more than 270 members of that rocket team were taken, both voluntarily and involuntarily, to Russia. Had the entire German rocket team been captured by the Soviet Army, it would not have been the America flag planted on the Moon, but instead a red flag with the hammer and sickle.
While von Braun was still at Ft. Bliss, Texas with his team of engineers and scientists, he seriously considered the possibility of one day working in private American industry. However, rocket development was being driven by the US Army, and it was there he and his fellow Germans had the best chance of advancing rocket technology, not the commercial sector which was non-existent. He and the others on his team held out the hope that one day they could work on rocket development for peaceful purposes, including launching satellites and pursuing the dream of manned spaceflight. The German rocket team chose to stay together, although some did accept offers from US businesses. Eventually, all the German rocket team members became US citizens.
Sputnik, of course, changed the direction and speed of American rocket development. Once again, von Braun was in the right place at the right time. In October 1949, the Secretary of the Army approved the transfer of von Braun and his team from Ft. Bliss to Redstone Arsenal, Alabama the following year—a move welcomed by practically all the Germans. Von Braun and his family settled in Huntsville. He became technical director of the Guided Missile Development Group, then Chief of Guided Missile Development Division. Von Braun was encouraged by the formation of NASA in 1958. Two years later, von Braun and his team received another transfer, this time to the newly formed Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. Von Braun was appointed its first director.
The decision for the German rocket team to stick together was paying off. Their first big booster, the Saturn 1, built on the industry liaisons the team had established during development of the Redstone and Jupiter-C. With President Kennedy’s historic decision to send American astronauts to the Moon and return them safely, Huntsville became a boomtown. The decade of the 1960s was the golden era of rocket development and the thousands of government and contractor personnel working at Marshall knew they were in a pivotal moment in history. Von Braun’s responsibilities were immense but he was a superb NASA Center Director. Dr. Arthur Rudolph was director of the Saturn 5 Program Office at MSFC, and he handpicked the men responsible for the largest, most complex and powerful rocket ever conceived by man.
The first Saturn 5 launched was SA-501, Apollo 4, on November 9, 1967. This flight and the next, Apollo 6, were unmanned. In one of the boldest decisions of the Apollo program, Von Braun signed off on the NASA request to send the Apollo 8 crew of Frank Borman, William Anders, and Jim Lovell to the Moon. Apollo 8 lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on December 21, 1968. The mission was a complete success. Von Braun remained director of MSFC until March 1970.
| The ability of Earth to sustain intelligent life, which in turn was capable of creating machines designed to explore the Moon and the planets was clear evidence to von Braun that man and his universe were the creation of God. |
In a surprising move, he chose to accept the newly created position of Deputy Associate Administrator of Planning at NASA Headquarters. It was an extremely difficult decision for von Braun to make, and it turned out to be the first big mistake of his career. His struggles and humiliation at NASA Headquarters have been recounted by Bob Ward in his recent book Dr. Space. Von Braun left the space agency in June 1972 to accept a position as vice president of Fairchild Industries. Several years later, the world’s most famous rocket scientist learned he had contracted cancer. His health began to decline in 1976 and was finally hospitalized later that year. He resigned from Fairchild Industries in January 1977 and was confined to his bed, growing weaker by the month. He died on June 16, 1977, only 65 years old. He was buried at Ivy Hill Cemetery in Alexandria, Virgina.
Von Braun, a life-long Lutheran, was a believer in intelligent design in the Universe long before it became a catch phrase and a lightning rod of debate.
“For me, the idea of a creation is not conceivable without invoking the necessity of design,” he wrote in a letter to the California State Board of Education in September 1972. He added, “It is in scientific honesty that I endorse the presentation of alternative theories for the origin of the universe, life and man in the science classroom. It would be an error to overlook the possibility that the universe was planned rather than happening by chance.”
While von Braun was careful to use the word theory with regard to the creation of the universe, in his mind there was no conflict or debate. The ability of Earth to sustain intelligent life, which in turn was capable of creating machines designed to explore the Moon and the planets was clear evidence to von Braun that man and his universe were the creation of God.
It was for that reason von Braun chose, with his advancing terminal illness, a modest gravestone to cite one of his favorite passages of scripture. His gravestone reads: WERNHER VON BRAUN 1912-1977 Psalms 19:1. That scripture is: “The heavens are telling the glory of God and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.”
I was hoping that you were getting some thorazine.
Not snide, just helpful.
A very transparent snide, spiteful, derisive, personal attack and and forum-rules-breaking-insult is not helpful.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that.
Just an honest person to admit it.
So, it is your opinion that who ever commits sin, be it never so vile, is forgiven if they perform the right religious ritual?
Does that represent your POV adequately?
Not to sound too flippant, but I feel like I stumbled into an "X-Files" episode. Where's Mulder and Scully? Especially Scully, because she's a hottie... ;^)
Forgiving another person--even a very destructive enemy has not been a problem for me for quite a number of years.
What they do between them and God is a different matter.
And, forgiveness may have little to do with consequences for/of the sin.
I've never had the feeling that cheekiness was remotely close to confession and repentance.
It amazes me that supposedly bright reasonable people would be the least bit surprised that Von Braun would say such things about such topics. He was certainly tops in his field and floated routinely amongst folks in the know about such things. No big surprise in that. Rather logical.
And rather basic.
UFO PING LIST PING.
Please let Las Vegas Dave, Kevins Davis and I know if you want on or off the list
PING for an uncommon level of cheekiness
. . . . except, of course, about the UFO topic! LOL.
Thanks. Blessed to read of it. Not too surprised.
Those were the days engineers were born not produced. As an engineer today, I am amazed that anything was every accomplished without computers and autocad.
Don't misunderstand me. I think von Braun was a brilliant engineer and NASA was lucky to get their hands on him before the Russians did, thank you US Army. It's just the little grey men thing that has piqued my curiosity. I won't deny the very likely possibility that intelligent life exists outside of this Earth, but at the same time, an interstellar war is a reach, although I expect that the DUhmmies and Kos crowd, not to mention the RATS in Congress, will blame it all on Dubya if it ever happened.
I can understand incredulity.
Most folks haven't studied the topic for 4 decades plus.
Most folks don't have close relatives or friends working in confirming highly secret roles.
And, it seems that most folks are also mostly oblivious that the last 6-12 months have seen yet another escalation of the degree, quality, number of even MSM program stuff about such topics. And the stuff on the net has also escalated in quality, number, depth, breadth. It's more incremental than astronomical. However, some of the individual stories are quite . . . unique and startling.
God alone knows where all the truth lies amidst the disinformation.
But Times ARE A CHANGIN' and Walnut Grove will never be the same again.
Thanks for the ping.
For sure. And for your kind reply! LOL.
BTW, you might find these links interesting . . .
some or all via one of our Stalwarts:
Press release:
http://www.newswiretoday.com/news/8173/
The web site with photos:
http://www.eccenova.com/ThorneycroftES_Stills.htm
"Scroll down to the 300% blowup, it appears to be a building, and not photoshopped (imo)"
http://www.marsanomalyresearch.com/evidence-reports/2005/081/tithonia-civilization.htm
"I found this this morning, Lear's postings start at the very end of page 2.
http://lucianarchy.proboards21.com/index.cgi?board=johnlear&action=display&thread=1152904029&page=1
If you sign up, it may be possible for you may be able to contact him."
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