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

category	tags	summary	born	died	location	updated	relations
Scientists & Researchers	WorldWarII Person WW2 Nazi	Wernher von Braun (1912–1977) was a German-American aerospace engineer and space architect, widely regarded as one of the fathers of rocket technology and space science in both Nazi Germany and the United States.	1912-03-23	1977-06-16	Wyrzysk, Germany (now Poland)	2026-10-09	type with start end role fn employed_by U.S. Army 1950-04-15 1960-07-01 chief of the Guided Missile Development Division at Redstone Arsenal from January 1953; Army missile work at Redstone until transfer to NASA 3 type with start end fn director_of Marshall Space Flight Center 1960-07-01 1970 7

Wernher von Braun (1912–1977) was a German-American aerospace engineer and space architect, widely regarded as one of the fathers of rocket technology and space science in both Nazi Germany and the United States. He was the former chief scientist of the Apollo Program Moon program¹.

During World War II, von Braun was a leading figure in Nazi Germany's rocket development program, responsible for the design and production of the V-2 rocket. After the war, he was secretly brought to the U.S. as part of Operation Paperclip, where he became a pivotal figure in the American space program, eventually leading the development of the Saturn V rocket that propelled the Apollo missions to the Moon¹.

In 1972, von Braun met with Uri Geller, a meeting arranged by Andrija Puharich. During this meeting, Geller asked von Braun to hold his gold wedding band in his clenched palm. Geller concentrated, and when von Braun opened his palm, the ring had been bent into an oval shape. Von Braun reportedly stated, "Uri Geller has bent my ring in the palm of my hand without ever touching it. Personally, I have no scientific explanation for it"¹.

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 (if feasible) in disrupting electrical systems, such as those associated with an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile's guidance program, as displayed by Geller¹.

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.⁵⁶ After President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved the transfer of the agency's scientists and engineers to NASA on October 21, 1958, the Marshall Space Flight Center opened at Redstone Arsenal on July 1, 1960, and Eisenhower dedicated it on September 8, 1960.⁴⁷

Footnotes

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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 ↩︎