A Brief Look At Wernher Von Braun

Wernher von Braun can be known as one of the most important individuals to the development of modern rocketry. Wernher von Braun was instrumental in the development of liquid fueled rocket engines. He was also the head engineer of the V-2 missile. Wernher Von Braun played an important role in the development of liquid fueled rocket engines.
One March 23, 1912 Wernher von Braun was born to the wealthy barons Emmy von Quistorp and Magnus von Braun. One of the most notable moments in his childhood was at age ten. Young Wernher was asked by his parents to be when he grew up.. Wernher von Braun replied with “‘I want to help turn the wheel of progress’” (9). Wernher von Braun’s first introduction to rocketry was during school. He found a small
The development of theses engines were kept highly secretive and produced large amounts of red tape. Wernher von Braun had troubles with paperwork a poem describing went as this: “‘Der Braun führt das Entwicklungsheer, Paperkrieg fällt ihm oftmals schwer’” [Braun leads the development army, red tape often drives him crazy] (94). The first plane Von Braun worked on was the Heinkel He 112. The engine ran on superheated hydrogen peroxide and was purely used as a test bed for the predecessor the Heinkel He 176. This was the world’s first rocket only powered plane. Only one was ever built and marked the end of Wernher von Braun’s efforts in aircraft. With Germany in a war the pressure on Von Braun to produce a weaponized rocket was increased drastically. On October 3 1939 the launch of the A-5 rockets was started. The first rocket burned its engine for 22 seconds and successfully deployed its parachutes. Although the rocket broke up on impact this launch was seen as a huge success. The second and third launches were equally successful and the A-5 rocket was seen as a great
At this time von braun had a team of over 1200 people. The first launch of the A-4 wasn’t until June 15, 1942. The first launch was successful but the guidance system had failed resulting with the rocket tumbling out of control and crashing into the sea. The second launch wasn’t until August 16 1942 due to modification to the rocket and guidance system. The second launch was much more successful. The rocket followed and perfect curve and broke the sound barrier. All was going fine until the 45th second of flight. At this time the rocket started oscillate and eventually broke apart mid-air. The remaining debris fell into the baltic sea 8.7 kilometers away. The third launch of the A-4 was considered a perfect flight. The rocket’s engine burned for just under a minute and had a successful engine cutoff. The final test was to see if the rocket could survive the intense head of returning to earth at over 5000 km/h. When the rocket impacted the sea 190km away a dye was released. When this dye was found Wernher von Braun and his team knew that they had succeed in their