Braun was born in Weisz, East Prussia on March 23rd, 2002. His father, Magnus Braun, was a baron and a member of the provincial council, and later became a member of the Cabinet of Weimar Republic and Minister of Agriculture. Her mother Amy von Kristop was born in a Swedish aristocratic family. She is a knowledgeable and well-educated lady. She can use six languages fluently. Brown received a good education from his parents since childhood, which laid a good foundation for his later success.
When I was a child, Braun loved to play games. He often buys small guns with his brother at a firecracker stand near his home. Playing the game of cannon aroused the Braun brothers' interest in making game rockets. Once, when the Braun brothers were playing, they accidentally shot one of the game rockets at the fruit stand, which made the fruit stand messy and was punished. My brother gave up the rocket game, but Braun didn't give up. The next day, he fired a small rocket, which landed in the bakery this time. Soon, he created more confusion. He tied six extra-large rockets to a scooter and set it on fire. The scooter was completely out of control and dashed forward, followed by a comet-like flame. The scooter didn't stop until all the rockets were burned out. This is a catastrophe. He was sent to the police station. Fortunately, his father's position was very prominent, and he intervened to make him get away with it. When I got home, I was severely scolded by my father, asking him to concentrate on his homework and stop playing with rockets. Braun nodded to his face, but later it was the same, and his parents could do nothing about it.
At school, Braun showed no interest in science courses such as mathematics and physics. On the contrary, he studied art and music seriously. Later, two things changed his interest in homework and influenced his life. One day, his mother gave him a small telescope, which made him fondle admiringly. Braun was born with a rich imagination. In the evening, he pointed his telescope at the night sky and thought, if one day humans can fly into space, it would be great. With a telescope, he takes out 1 ~ 2 hours to observe the starry sky every night, and he is full of curiosity about the universe.
Then one night, an advertisement in the astronomy magazine caught his attention, which was about recommending a new book, Rocket into Space. Braun immediately wrote to buy the book. This book is very thin, only 92 pages, written by hermann oberth. The first part is full of strange mathematical formulas, and Braun has no interest in it. The second part has the structure diagram of the rocket, and there are many various mathematical and physical formulas. What really interests Braun is the third part. The book expounds in detail the theory of how a rocket can get rid of gravity and sail freely in space to reach planets of the solar system. It also describes spaceships, supply stations in space and the clothes needed by astronauts, and predicts that space exploration will be realized in the near future. This part showed Braun an unheard-of new world, and his mind was greatly shocked. He suddenly had a bold idea: he must make a rocket that can carry people into space. He knows that to realize this ideal, we must first learn math and physics well. From then on, Braun bravely faced difficulties and studied hard. Soon, his math and physics scores quickly jumped to the forefront of the class.
1932 In the spring, Braun graduated from Charlottenburg Institute of Technology with a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering. That summer, he transferred to Berlin University to study physics and astronomy. Two years later, 22-year-old Braun graduated with a doctorate in physics. His doctoral thesis is about the theory and experiment of liquid propellant rocket engine, and was rated as excellent. But for the sake of military security, this paper uses a vague topic "about combustion experiment". It was not published until after World War II.
After graduation, Braun was quickly entrusted with an important task by the German military department. After Hitler came to power, he paid more attention to Braun's research work in order to conquer the world. However, until the end of World War II, the research on rockets still made little progress. After the allied forces occupied Germany, Braun and other senior experts on rockets were incorporated by the United States. In mid-September, 1945, 1 14 Braun scientists and his research team arrived in the United States. Since then, a group of experts have appeared in the American space industry. But Braun was ignored for a long time.
After the cold war began, the United States and the Soviet Union began to compete in various fields. 1957, 10 year 10 On October 4, the Soviet Union launched a metal ball with a diameter of 60 cm and a weight of 90 kg into Earth orbit. This shiny ball is the first artificial satellite. Its launch kicked off the space age. 165438+1On October 3, the Soviet Union launched the second artificial satellite. The bitch's name was Leika. The dog's heartbeat and breathing sound spread from the satellite to the earth. The success of the Soviet Union made the United States feel very embarrassed, and the public censure changed from complaining to growling and howling. At this critical moment, the US government still refuses to reuse Braun. It was not until the launch of the Ranger rocket made by American air and sea failed that President Eisenhower gave the opportunity to the rocket team led by Braun.
Braun was ordered to leave the past behind quickly with a high sense of responsibility and devote himself to his work. In just two months, the rocket team he led carefully completed the preparations for launching the "Explorer 1" small satellite with Cupid -C rocket. 1 958 65438+1October 3 1, Cupid rocket sent Explorer1into space safely and accurately. America has finally entered the space age.
In order to catch up with Soviet space technology, Braun was ordered to send a man into space, which is known as the Apollo program. You can imagine the difficulty of completing such an unprecedented plan. Brown bravely faced the challenge and took on the task. After years of hard work, Braun finally won the glory. 1969 July 16, which is an immortal day for the world space industry. At Kennedy Space Center, under the command of Braun, Saturn V rocket sent three astronauts, Armstrong, Eidelin and Collins, into space. Four days later, on the afternoon of July 20th 1: 42, Armstrong and Eidelin bid farewell to Collins who stayed in the command module, climbed into the Eagle lunar module and flew to the moon. Seven hours later, Armstrong set foot on the first human footprint on the moon. In this regard, Armstrong later famously said: "This step is a small step for me personally; This is a huge leap for all mankind. "
Braun did it! But he was pushed out by some people and had to take the initiative to retire. At the beginning of 1977, American President Ford awarded him the National Science Medal as an affirmation of his outstanding contribution. On June 16 of the same year, Braun died of illness in Virginia at the age of 65.
People will always miss this pioneer in space exploration. President Carter said of Braun: "Wernher wernher von braun represents the pioneering application of space exploration and technology ... not only the American people, but all mankind benefited from his efforts."