Wernher von Braun was a German born rocket scientist, engineer, space architect,
and one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Germany
and the United States during and after World War ll. A former member of the Nazi
Party and a commissioned SS officer, von Braun would later be regarded as the
preeminent rocket engineer of the 20th century in his role with the U.S. civilian
space agency NASA. In 1955, ten years after entering this country, Von Braun
became a naturalized citizen. He lead the development of the Saturn V booster
rocket that helped land the first men on the Moon in 1969. Von Braun received the
National Medal of Science in 1975. He died on June 16, 1977 of pancreatic cancer
at the age of 65.
