vault backup: 2026-10-09 22:00:52

10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Wernher von Braun.md

@@ -9,6 +9,19 @@ summary: "Wernher von Braun (1912–1977) was a German-American aerospace engine
 born: 1912-03-23
 died: 1977-06-16
 location: "Wyrzysk, Germany (now Poland)"
+updated: 2026-10-09
+relations:
+  - type: employed_by
+    with: "[[U.S. Army]]"
+    start: 1950-04-15
+    end: 1960-07-01
+    role: "chief of the Guided Missile Development Division at Redstone Arsenal from January 1953; Army missile work at Redstone until transfer to NASA"
+    fn: 3
+  - type: director_of
+    with: "[[Marshall Space Flight Center]]"
+    start: 1960-07-01
+    end: 1970
+    fn: 7
 ---
 
 
@@ -20,5 +33,18 @@ In 1972, von Braun met with [[Uri Geller]], a meeting arranged by [[Andrija Puha
 
 In a second incident, von Braun presented Geller with a non-working electronic pocket calculator. Geller held the machine and concentrated, and witnesses confirmed that the electronic panel inexplicably lit up. These incidents caught the attention of the [[Pentagon]], leading to a briefing on "Paranormal Phenomena - Briefing on a Net Assessment Study." The briefing noted the potential utility of [[Psychokinesis|psychokinesis]] (if feasible) in disrupting electrical systems, such as those associated with an [[Intercontinental Ballistic Missile|ICBM]]'s guidance program, as displayed by Geller[^1].
 
+### Redstone Arsenal, 1950 to 1960
+
+Von Braun's team moved from [[Fort Bliss]], Texas, to [[Redstone Arsenal]] in [[Huntsville, Alabama]] beginning on April 15, 1950. The Army chronology records about 120 German scientists arriving from Fort Bliss in April 1950 and describes the post as officially entering the missile era with the arrival of the group.[^2] On January 16, 1953 the Army redesignated the Guided Missiles Development Branch as the Guided Missile Development Division of the Ordnance Missile Laboratory and appointed von Braun its chief.[^3] The first Redstone research and development missile was flight tested on August 20, 1953.[^3]
+
+The [[Army Ballistic Missile Agency]] was established at Redstone Arsenal on February 1, 1956, with the mission of fielding the Army's first intermediate range ballistic missile.[^4] On January 31, 1958 a Jupiter C missile placed [[Explorer 1]] into orbit; NASA gives the launch time as 10:48 p.m. EST and describes the rocket as developed at the Army Ballistic Missile Agency in Alabama under the direction of von Braun.[^5][^6] After President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower]] approved the transfer of the agency's scientists and engineers to [[NASA]] on October 21, 1958, the [[Marshall Space Flight Center|George C. Marshall Space Flight Center]] opened at Redstone Arsenal on July 1, 1960, and Eisenhower dedicated it on September 8, 1960.[^4][^7]
+
 ### Footnotes
-[^1]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis*. Little, Brown and Company, 2017.
+
+[^1]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis*. Little, Brown and Company, 2017.
+[^2]: U.S. Army, Redstone Arsenal Historical Information, "1950 - 1952," entry "April 50" and introductory paragraph. https://history.redstone.army.mil/ihist-1950.html
+[^3]: U.S. Army, Redstone Arsenal Historical Information, "1953," entries for 16 January 1953 and 20 August 1953. https://history.redstone.army.mil/ihist-1953.html
+[^4]: U.S. Army, Redstone Arsenal Historical Information, "Introduction," The ABMA/AOMC Era, 1956 to 1962. https://history.redstone.army.mil/ihist-1956-intro.html
+[^5]: U.S. Army, Redstone Arsenal Historical Information, "1958," entry for 31 January 1958. https://history.redstone.army.mil/ihist-1958.html
+[^6]: NASA, "Explorer 1," section "The Launch," https://www.nasa.gov/mission/explorer-1/
+[^7]: U.S. Army, Redstone Arsenal Historical Information, "1960," entries for 1 July 1960 and 8 September 1960. https://history.redstone.army.mil/ihist-1960.html