Wernher von Braun was one of the most important rocket developers and champions of space exploration during the period between the 1930s and the 1970s.
Von Braun did not do well in physics and mathematics until he acquired a copy of the book "Die Rakete zu den Planetenraumen" (The Rocket into Interplanetary Space) by rocket pioneer Hermaan Oberth. From then on, he applied himself at school in order to understand mathematics, until he excelled.
1912- Von Braun (1912-1977) was born in Wirsitz, Germany.
1931- Von Braun assisted Oberth in making his first rocket flight.
1932- Von Braun received his bachelor's degree in 1932, and was offered a grant to conduct and develop scientific investigations of liquid-fuelled rocket engines. Von Braun went to work for the German army to develop ballistic missiles. This work through the 30s resulted in the V-2 rocket. He received his PhD in physics from the University of Berlin.
By 1934- Von Braun had a team of 80 engineers building rockets south of Berlin. In this year, he successfully launched the first A1 rocket, which weighted 150Kg and used liquid oxygen and ethanol as fuel. The A1 eventually developed into the A4. Fourteen months after Hitler ordered the A4 into production, the first combat A4, now known as the V2 was launched.
The V-2 Rocket.
After the war, this rocket was the basis of the rockets used in space exploration programs in the United States and the Soviet Union.
First flown in October 1942, the V-2 missile utilised a liquid-based fuel.
A liquid propellant missile extending some 46 feet in length and weighing 27 000 points, the V-2 flew at speeds in excess of 3 500 miles per hour and delivered a 2 200 pount warhead to a target 500 miles away.
Breaking the sound barrier, it reached an altitude of sixty miles. It was the world's first launch of a ballistic missile and the first rocket to go into the fringes of space.
From September 1944 onwards, the V-2 rocket was used against targets in Europe, most significantly, London.