“We’ve grown used to the idea of space, and perhaps we forget that we’ve only just begun. We’re still pioneers.” On January 28, 1986, President Ronald Reagan addressed the Nation’s fears and sorrows after the explosion of the NASA Space Shuttle, the Challenger. Almost a half-century ago, man began to look past the stars and into the cosmos and planets beyond Earth. The brilliant mind behind the curtain, Wernher von Braun, “The Father of Modern Rockets”, sparked the curiosity and imagination of an entire nation. The achievements of one man, one team, and one united country began the new era- The Space Age. On March 23, 1912, in Wirsitz, East Prussia (now Wyrzysk, Poland), Mrs. Emmy von Quistorp gave birth to one of the brightest minds in
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Von Braun and his team had to choose: Join vicious Russians or the merciful Allies. The United States proposed and utilized Operation Paperclip; the US’s special forces operation was to find and track down Nazi researchers. On May 2, 1945, many of the engineers surrendered to the American and Allied forces. However, the Soviets started to invade Western Germany; the Red Army swept through top secret bases and facilities. The Russians found and “possessed only a handful of workable V-2s, and they made excellent use for them.” (Hardesty, 29) The United States needed to catch up to the Russian upper atmosphere research, or be prepared to be left in the dust. Wernher and his team were transported to the United States following the collapse of the German Reich. The US Secretary of State brilliantly approved the transfer of the Past-Nazi workers on work visas and false employment records. After their arrival and debriefing, von Braun was transferred to classified research bases in the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico. However, major concerns surrounded his old allegiance to the Nazi Party, but he was able to convince the US of his new beliefs of freedom. The White Sands testing facility was “filled with equal measures of professional attainment and bouts… but they were highly successful.” (Hardesty, 30) Wernher was making leaps and bounds in the scientific community, but was it enough to catch up to the Russians? In the Motherland, they were working on satellites and orbital machines; all of a sudden, the first artificial satellite orbited the nation- Sputnik. The machine was the direct brainchild of Sergei Korolev, Wernher’s
Von Braun and his team had to choose: Join vicious Russians or the merciful Allies. The United States proposed and utilized Operation Paperclip; the US’s special forces operation was to find and track down Nazi researchers. On May 2, 1945, many of the engineers surrendered to the American and Allied forces. However, the Soviets started to invade Western Germany; the Red Army swept through top secret bases and facilities. The Russians found and “possessed only a handful of workable V-2s, and they made excellent use for them.” (Hardesty, 29) The United States needed to catch up to the Russian upper atmosphere research, or be prepared to be left in the dust. Wernher and his team were transported to the United States following the collapse of the German Reich. The US Secretary of State brilliantly approved the transfer of the Past-Nazi workers on work visas and false employment records. After their arrival and debriefing, von Braun was transferred to classified research bases in the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico. However, major concerns surrounded his old allegiance to the Nazi Party, but he was able to convince the US of his new beliefs of freedom. The White Sands testing facility was “filled with equal measures of professional attainment and bouts… but they were highly successful.” (Hardesty, 30) Wernher was making leaps and bounds in the scientific community, but was it enough to catch up to the Russians? In the Motherland, they were working on satellites and orbital machines; all of a sudden, the first artificial satellite orbited the nation- Sputnik. The machine was the direct brainchild of Sergei Korolev, Wernher’s