Portrait of Wernher von Braun
NASA
Wernher von Braun
Wernher von Braun was a German engineer who lived between 1912-1977.
He is considered the father of the space age for his work in rocketry.
Von Braun built the first rocket to travel a long distance through the
air, which was used against England during World War II. He later went to
work for the United States, where he helped build the powerful Saturn
rockets used to launch the Apollo missions to the Moon.
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
Our
online store includes
books on science education,
classroom activities in The Earth Scientist,
mineral and
fossil specimens, and
educational games!
You might also be interested in:
How did life evolve on Earth? The answer to this question can help us understand our past and prepare for our future. Although evolution provides credible and reliable answers, polls show that many people turn away from science, seeking other explanations with which they are more comfortable.
...more
Rockets burn fuel and expel it through a small opening, pushing the rocket in the opposite direction. They are able to reach the high speeds needed to leave Earth and travel into space. As the U.S. and
...more
It was not long after the first space satellites were launched that we succeeded in getting a human being into space. These first astronauts and cosmonauts (the Russian word for astronaut) were test pilots
...more
Richard Feynman was an American physicist who lived between 1918-1988. He is famous for his contributions in building the first nuclear bomb and for his work in understanding the way electrons behave.
...more
Stephen Jay Gould was an American biologist who was born in 1941. He revised Darwin's theory of evolution, showing that it isn't the gradual process everyone had thought. Gould was a professor at Harvard
...more
Evelyn Granville is an American mathematician who was born in 1924. She was one of the first black women in the United States to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics. She has helped NASA's Space Shuttle program
...more
Stephen Hawking is an English physicist who was born in 1942. He is famous for his work on black holes. Hawking suffers from a very serious illness and is confined to a wheelchair, unable to speak. He
...more
Gerard Kuiper was an American astronomer who lived between 1905-1973. He is considered the father of modern planetary science for his brilliant study of our solar system. Kuiper developed new techniques
...more
