Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun (US: /ˈvɜːr nər vɒn ˈbraʊn/ VUR-nər von BROWN; German: [ˈvɛʁnheːɐ̯ fɔn ˈbʁaʊn]; 23 March 1912 – 16 June 1977) was a German American engineer who worked with rockets and spaceships. He joined the Nazi Party and the Allgemeine SS to support his rocket research. He led rocket development in Nazi Germany and later helped create rocket and space technology in the United States.

As a young man, von Braun worked on rocket projects in Nazi Germany. He helped design the V-2 rocket at Peenemünde Army Research Center during World War II. The V-2 was the first human-made object to reach space by crossing the Kármán line on 20 June 1944. After the war, he was secretly brought to the United States with about 1,600 other German scientists, engineers, and technicians as part of Operation Paperclip. He worked for the U.S. Army on a program to develop missiles that could travel long distances. He also created the rockets that launched the United States’ first space satellite, Explorer 1, in 1958. He worked with Walt Disney on films that helped spread the idea of human space travel in the United States and other countries from 1955 to 1957.

In 1960, his team joined NASA, where he became director of the Marshall Space Flight Center. He was the main designer of the Saturn V rocket, which launched the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon. In 1967, von Braun was added to the National Academy of Engineering. In 1975, he received the National Medal of Science.

Some people believe von Braun avoided punishment for knowing about Nazi war crimes because the United States wanted to win the Cold War against the Soviet Union. Others call him the "father of space travel," the "father of rocket science," or the "father of the American lunar program." Later in his career, he supported the idea of sending humans to Mars.

Early life

Wernher von Braun was born on March 23, 1912, in the small town of Wirsitz, which was part of the Province of Posen in the Kingdom of Prussia. This area was once part of the German Empire and is now in Poland.

His father, Magnus Freiherr von Braun (1878–1972), was a government worker and a conservative politician. He worked as the Minister of Agriculture in the federal government during the Weimar Republic. His mother, Emmy von Quistorp (1886–1959), had ancestors who were part of medieval European royalty. She was a descendant of Philip III of France, Valdemar I of Denmark, Robert III of Scotland, and Edward III of England. He had an older brother, Sigismund von Braun, who was a diplomat in West Germany and worked as a government official in the 1970s. He also had a younger brother, Magnus von Braun, who became a rocket scientist and later worked as a senior executive at Chrysler.

The family moved to Berlin, Brandenburg, in 1915, where his father worked at the Ministry of the Interior. After his Confirmation ceremony, his mother gave him a telescope, which sparked his interest in astronomy. Von Braun learned to play the cello and piano at a young age and once wanted to become a composer. He studied music with the composer Paul Hindemith. A few of his early compositions sound similar to Hindemith’s style. He could play piano pieces by Beethoven and Bach from memory. Starting in 1925, he attended a boarding school at Ettersburg Castle near Weimar, in the Free State of Thuringia. He struggled with physics and math there but later acquired a copy of Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen (1923, By Rocket into Planetary Space) by rocket pioneer Hermann Oberth. In 1928, his parents sent him to the Hermann-Lietz-Internat, a residential school on the East Frisian North Sea island of Spiekeroog. From then on, he focused on physics and math to learn more about rocket engineering.

In 1928, the "Rocket Rumble" fad started by Fritz von Opel and Max Valier greatly influenced von Braun as a young space enthusiast. After seeing a public demonstration of Opel-RAK rocket cars, he built his own toy rocket car. He launched it on a crowded sidewalk, which caused a disturbance. Local police questioned him, and he was sent home for discipline. The incident showed how determined he was to dedicate his life to space travel.

In 1930, von Braun studied at the Technische Hochschule Berlin. He

German career

In 1930, von Braun attended a talk given by Auguste Piccard. After the presentation, the young student approached Piccard and said, "I plan to travel to the Moon someday." Piccard reportedly encouraged him.

Von Braun was greatly influenced by Hermann Oberth. He once said:

According to historian Norman Davies, von Braun was able to become a rocket scientist in Germany because of a mistake in the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty did not ban rocketry as a weapon, allowing Germany to develop rockets.

Von Braun joined the Nazi Party to continue his work on rockets. He applied for membership on November 12, 1937, and received membership number 5,738,692.

Michael J. Neufeld, an aerospace historian, wrote that ten years after joining the Nazi Party, von Braun signed an affidavit for the U.S. Army. However, he wrote the wrong year on the document.

It is unclear whether von Braun made the mistake on purpose. Neufeld noted that:

Von Braun’s feelings about the Nazi regime in the late 1930s and early 1940s were complicated. He said he was influenced by early promises from the Nazis to help Germany recover from the economic problems after World War I. In a 1952 article, he admitted he "fared relatively well under totalitarianism." However, he also wrote that he saw Hitler as "a pompous fool with a Charlie Chaplin moustache" and compared him to "another Napoleon" who was "wholly without scruples."

Later investigations by the FBI found no negative information about von Braun’s involvement with the Nazi Party. Instead, his file included many letters praising his work during his time with the Nazis. The FBI concluded that von Braun joined the party mainly to advance his career or to avoid being imprisoned or executed.

Von Braun joined the SS horseback riding school on November 1, 1933, as an SS- Anwärter (a trainee). He left the next year. In 1940, he joined the SS and was given the rank of Untersturmführer (Second Lieutenant) in the Allgemeine-SS, with membership number 185,068. In 1947, he told the U.S. War Department:

When shown a picture of himself standing behind Himmler, von Braun said he wore the SS uniform only once. However, in 2002, a former SS officer at Peenemünde told the BBC that von Braun regularly wore the uniform to official meetings. He started as an Untersturmführer and was promoted three times by Himmler, the last time in June 1943 to SS- Sturmbannführer (Major). Von Braun later said these promotions were automatic and sent to him by mail.

In 1932, von Braun earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Technische Hochschule Berlin, Germany. In 1931, he studied at ETH Zürich in Switzerland. There, he helped Professor Hermann Oberth write a book about creating liquid-fuel rockets. Soon after, von Braun started his own rocket business in Berlin, where he built the first rocket powered by gasoline and liquid oxygen.

In 1932, the German Army noticed von Braun’s rocket business and contacted him to begin missile research and weather experiments. Von Braun said the German government funded test stands and facilities in Darmstadt, Germany. In 1939, he became a technical advisor at Peenemünde Army Research Center on the Baltic Sea.

In 1933, von Braun was working on his doctorate when the Nazi Party took power in Germany. Rocketry quickly became a national priority. An artillery captain, Walter Dornberger, arranged a research grant for von Braun, who then worked near Dornberger’s solid-fuel rocket test site at Kummersdorf.

Von Braun received his doctorate in physics (aerospace engineering) on July 27, 1934, from the University of Berlin for a thesis titled "About Combustion Tests." His supervisor was Erich Schumann. However, this was only the public part of his work. His actual thesis, "Construction, Theoretical, and Experimental Solution to the Problem of the Liquid Propellant Rocket" (dated April 16, 1934), described the A2 rocket. It remained classified by the German army until 1960. By the end of 1934, his team successfully launched two A2 rockets that reached heights of 2.2 and 3.5 kilometers (2 miles).

Von Braun continued his missile work throughout World War II and met with Adolf Hitler several times. Hitler decorated him twice, including awarding him the War Merit Cross.

At the time, Germany was interested in the work of American physicist Robert H. Goddard. Before 1939, German scientists sometimes asked Goddard questions directly. Von Braun used Goddard’s ideas from journals to build the Aggregat (A) series of rockets. The first successful A-4 rocket launch happened on October 3, 1942. The A-4 became known as the V-2. In 1963, von Braun said of Goddard’s work: "His rockets may have been crude by today’s standards, but they laid the foundation for modern rockets and space vehicles."

Goddard confirmed his work was used by von Braun in 1944, shortly before the Nazis began launching V-2s at England. A V-2 crashed in Sweden, and parts were sent to an Annapolis lab where Goddard was working for the Navy. If this was the "Bäckebo Bomb," the British had traded Spitfires for it, and Annapolis would have received some parts. Goddard recognized components he had invented and realized his designs had been turned into a weapon. Later, von Braun said: "I deeply regret the victims of the V-2 rockets, but there were victims on both sides…A war is a war, and when my country is at war, my duty is to help win that war."

The engineer who designed the V-2, Wernher von Braun, became celebrated as a hero of the space age. The Allies realized the V-2 was a powerful weapon unlike anything they had developed.

Von Braun responded to Goddard’s statements by saying, "At no time in Germany did I or my associates see a Goddard patent." This was confirmed independently. He wrote that claims about using Goddard’s work were false, noting that Goddard’s paper "A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes," which von Braun and Oberth studied, lacked details about liquid-fuel rocket experiments. It was also confirmed that von Braun was responsible for about 20 rocket-related patents and received U.S. patents after the war for advancing rocketry. Records also showed he solved many aerospace engineering problems in the 1950s and 1960s.

On December 22, 1942, Adolf Hitler ordered the mass production of the A-4 as a "vengeance weapon." The Peenemünde team developed the rocket for this purpose.

American career

On 20 June 1945, U.S. Secretary of State Edward Stettinius Jr. approved the transfer of von Braun and his specialists to the United States as one of his last acts in office. This was announced to the public on 1 October 1945.

In September 1945, von Braun and other members of the Peenemünde team signed a work contract with the United States Army Ordnance Corps. On 20 September 1945, the first seven technicians arrived in the United States at New Castle Army Air Field, just south of Wilmington, Delaware. They were then flown to Boston, Massachusetts, and taken by boat to the Army Intelligence Service post at Fort Strong in Boston Harbor. Later, with the exception of von Braun, the men were transferred to Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland to sort out the Peenemünde documents, enabling the scientists to continue their rocketry experiments.

Finally, von Braun and his remaining Peenemünde staff were transferred to their new home at Fort Bliss, a large Army installation just north of El Paso, Texas. Von Braun later wrote that he found it hard to develop a "genuine emotional attachment" to his new surroundings. His chief design engineer, Walther Reidel, became the subject of a December 1946 article, "German Scientist Says American Cooking Tasteless; Dislikes Rubberized Chicken," exposing the presence of von Braun's team in the country and drawing criticism from Albert Einstein and John Dingell. Requests to improve their living conditions, such as laying linoleum over their cracked wood flooring, were rejected. Von Braun was very critical of the slowness of the United States' development of guided missiles. His lab was never able to get sufficient funds to continue their programs. Von Braun remarked, "At Peenemünde we had been coddled, here you were counting pennies." Whereas von Braun had thousands of engineers who answered to him at Peenemünde, he was now subordinate to "pimply" 26-year-old Jim Hamill, an Army major who possessed only an undergraduate degree in engineering. His loyal Germans still addressed him as "Herr Professor," but Hamill addressed him as "Wernher" and never responded to von Braun's request for more materials. Every proposal for new rocket ideas was dismissed.

While at Fort Bliss, they trained military, industrial, and university personnel in the intricacies of rockets and guided missiles. As part of the Hermes program, they helped refurbish, assemble, and launch a number of V-2s that had been shipped from Allied-occupied Germany to the White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico. They also continued to study the future potential of rockets for military and research applications. Since they were not permitted to leave Fort Bliss without military escort, von Braun and his colleagues began to refer to themselves only half-jokingly as "PoPs" – "Prisoners of Peace."

In 1950, at the start of the Korean War, von Braun and his team were transferred to Huntsville, Alabama, his home for the next 20 years. From 1952 to 1956, von Braun led the Army's rocket development team at Redstone Arsenal, resulting in the Redstone rocket, which was used for the first live nuclear ballistic missile tests conducted by the United States. He personally witnessed this historic launch and detonation. Work on the Redstone led to the development of the first high-precision inertial guidance system on the Redstone rocket. By 1953, von Braun's title was, "Chief, Guided Missiles Development Division, Redstone Arsenal."

As director of the Development Operations Division of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency, von Braun, with his team, then developed the Jupiter-C, a modified Redstone rocket. The Jupiter-C was the basis for the Juno I rocket that successfully launched the West's first satellite, Explorer 1, on 31 January 1958. This event signaled the birth of America's space program.

Repeating the pattern he had established during his earlier career in Germany, von Braun – while directing military rocket development in the real world – continued to entertain his engineer-scientist's dream of a future in which rockets would be used for space exploration. However, he was no longer at risk of being fired. As American public opinion of Germans began to recover, von Braun found himself increasingly in a position to popularize his ideas. The 14 May 1950 headline of The Huntsville Times ("Dr. von Braun Says Rocket Flights Possible to Moon") might have marked the beginning of these efforts. Von Braun's ideas rode a publicity wave that was created by science fiction movies and stories.

In 1952, von Braun first published his concept of a crewed space station in a Collier's Weekly magazine series of articles titled "Man Will Conquer Space Soon!" These articles were illustrated by the space artist Chesley Bonestell and were influential in spreading his ideas. Frequently, von Braun worked with fellow German-born space advocate and science writer Willy Ley to publish his concepts, which, unsurprisingly, were heavy on the engineering side and anticipated many technical aspects of space flight that later became reality.

The space station (to be constructed using rockets with recoverable and reusable ascent stages) was a toroid structure, with a diameter of 250 feet (76 m); this built on the concept of a rotating wheel-shaped station introduced in 1929 by Herman Potočnik in his book The Problem of Space Travel – The Rocket Motor. The space station spun around a central docking nave to provide artificial gravity, and was assembled in a 1,075-mile (1,730 km) two-hour, high-inclination Earth orbit allowing observation of essentially every point on Earth on at least a daily basis. The ultimate purpose of the space station was to provide an assembly platform for crewed lunar expeditions. More than a decade later, the movie version of 2001: A Space Odyssey drew heavily on the design concept in its visualization of an orbital space station.

Von Braun envisioned these expeditions as very large-scale undertakings, with a total of 50 astronauts traveling in three huge spacecraft (two for crew, one primarily for cargo), each 49 m (160.76 ft) long and 33 m (108.27 ft) in diameter and driven by a rectangular array of 30 rocket propulsion engines. Upon arrival, astronauts would establish a permanent lunar base in the Sinus Roris region by using the emptied cargo holds of their craft as shelters, and would explore their surroundings for eight weeks. This would include a 400 km (249 mi) expedition in pressurized rovers to the crater Harpalus and the Mare Imbrium foothills.

At this time, von Braun also worked out preliminary concepts for a human mission to Mars that used the space station as a staging point. His initial plans, published in The Mars Project (1952), had envisaged a fleet of 10 spacecraft (each with a mass of

Engineering philosophy

After the Mercury-Redstone 2 mission flew higher than expected, Von Braun wanted more tests before proceeding. This decision may have contributed to the Soviet Union launching the first human in space. The Mercury-Redstone BD flight, which was successful, took the place of a mission that could have sent Alan Shepard into space three weeks before Yuri Gagarin. In the Soviet Union, Sergei Korolev required two successful tests with dogs before attempting a human flight. The second test with dogs happened one day after the Mercury-Redstone BD mission.

Von Braun used a careful engineering method, adding extra safety features and backup systems to designs. This approach caused disagreements with other engineers, who wanted to reduce vehicle weight to carry more payload. His cautious style may have caused the United States to lose the race to send a human into space before the Soviets. Krafft Ehricke compared Von Braun’s method to building the Brooklyn Bridge. NASA staff sometimes joked that the Marshall Space Flight Center was like the "Chicago Bridge and Iron Works," but they admitted the designs worked. His careful approach helped when a fifth engine was added to the Saturn C-4, creating the Saturn V rocket. The C-4 design included a strong crossbeam that could handle extra thrust from an additional engine.

When working for the U.S. Army, Von Braun did not show interest in politics or political ideas. His main goal was to advance science and technology through guided missile work. FBI records stated that any political activity he participated in was to gain freedom for his experiments. This included his membership in the Nazi Party during World War II.

During his time at NASA, Von Braun opposed racial segregation, which led to conflicts with George Wallace, a leader in Alabama who supported segregation. Von Braun criticized segregation laws for slowing Alabama’s development. His comments were seen as unusual for a scientist in the South but were in line with NASA and national policies.

Personal life

Wernher von Braun was known for his outgoing personality and was well-liked by many women. As a student in Berlin, he was often seen with two girlfriends at the same time in the evenings. Later, while working at Peenemünde, he had several relationships with women in the secretarial and computer departments.

In January 1943, von Braun became engaged to Dorothee Brill, a teacher in Berlin. He asked the SS Race and Settlement Main Office for permission to marry her. However, the engagement ended because his mother opposed the marriage. Later that year, while in Paris preparing V-2 launch sites, he had a relationship with a French woman. After the war, she was imprisoned for collaborating with enemy forces and later faced financial hardship.

During his time at Fort Bliss, von Braun proposed marriage to Maria Luise von Quistorp, his mother’s niece, in a letter to his father. They married in a Lutheran church in Landshut, Bavaria, on 1 March 1947. Von Braun was 35, and his bride was 18. He joined the Evangelical Church shortly after the marriage. He returned to Manhattan with his wife, father, and mother on 26 March 1947. The von Brauns’ first daughter, Iris Careen, was born on 8 December 1948 at Fort Bliss Army Hospital. They later had two more children: Margrit Cécile, born in 1952, and Peter Constantine, born in 1960.

On 15 April 1955, von Braun officially became a citizen of the United States.

Death

In 1973, von Braun was found to have kidney cancer during a regular medical checkup. He kept working for a few years after this. In 1975, President Gerald R. Ford gave him the highest science award in the country, the National Medal of Science in Engineering. He was too sick to attend the ceremony at the White House. In January 1977, while very ill, he left his job at Fairchild Industries.

Von Braun died from pancreatic cancer on June 16, 1977, in Alexandria, Virginia, at the age of 65. He is buried at Ivy Hill Cemetery on Valley Road in Alexandria. His gravestone includes a quote from Psalm 19:1 in the King James Version of the Bible: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork."

Recognition and critique

• Apollo program director Sam Phillips said he believed the United States might not have reached the Moon as quickly without von Braun’s help. Later, after talking with colleagues, he changed his mind and said he did not think the United States would have reached the Moon at all.
• In a TV interview in July 1969, Helmut Gröttrup, who worked in Peenemünde and later led a group in the Soviet rocket program, argued that automatic space probes could collect the same scientific information for only 10 to 20 percent of the cost. He said the money should be used for other purposes. Von Braun defended the cost of sending people to space by saying, “I think space flights give humans a chance to become immortal. If Earth can no longer support life, we may be able to move to other places that are better for living.”
• In 1984, attention returned to von Braun’s use of forced labor at Mittelwerk when Arthur Rudolph, a top assistant from the A-4/V2 rocket program through the Apollo missions, agreed to give up his U.S. citizenship and move abroad to avoid being tried for war crimes.
• A science and engineering-focused high school in Friedberg, Bavaria, was named after von Braun in 1979. After criticism grew, a school committee decided in 1995, after long discussions, to keep the name but teach about von Braun’s complex history in advanced classes. In 2012, David Salz, a survivor of a Nazi concentration camp, spoke in Friedberg and urged people to “do everything to remove this name from the school.” The school was renamed “Staatliches Gymnasium Friedberg” in February 2014.
• An arena and entertainment complex in Huntsville, Alabama, is named the Von Braun Center in his honor. The complex opened in 1975.

Summary of SS career

• SS number: 185,068
• Nazi Party number: 5,738,692

• SS- Anwärter: 1 November 1933 (Candidate; received the rank when joining the SS Riding School)
• SS- Mann: July 1934 (Private)

(left the SS after completing training at the school; received a higher rank in 1940, with the start date changed to 1934)

• SS- Untersturmführer: 1 May 1940 (Second Lieutenant)
• SS- Obersturmführer: 9 November 1941 (First Lieutenant)
• SS- Hauptsturmführer: 9 November 1942 (Captain)
• SS- Sturmbannführer: 28 June 1943 (Major)

In popular culture

Von Braun has appeared in many films, television shows, and other media:

• "Man in Space," "Man and the Moon," and "Mars and Beyond" – episodes of the Disneyland television series that first aired on 9 March 1955, 28 December 1955, and 4 December 1957, respectively.
• I Aim at the Stars (1960) – also called Wernher von Braun and Ich greife nach den Sternen ("I Reach for the Stars"). In this film, von Braun is played by Curd Jürgens, and his wife is played by Victoria Shaw. A line from the film, "But sometimes I hit London," is spoken by actor James Daly, who plays a character representing an American press officer.
• The Search for Truth (1962) – a film made by Brigham Young University and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It includes a clip of von Braun talking about the connection between science and a divine creator.
• Frozen Flashes (1967) – based on a documentary called The Secret of Huntsville. In this film, von Braun is referred to as the "rocket baron" and played by Dietrich Körner.
• Perfumed Nightmare (1977) – the main character, a Filipino who dreams about space, starts a Wernher von Braun fan club in Laguna, Philippines.
• Voyagers! (1983) – in Season 1, Episode 16, titled "Pursuit," time travelers ensure that von Braun and his scientists surrender to American forces so the U.S. can win the race to the moon.
• From the Earth to the Moon (TV, 1998) – von Braun is played by Norbert Weisser.
• October Sky (1999) – a film about the life of Homer Hickam, who is inspired by von Braun (played by Joe Digaetran).
• Planetes (a 2003 anime series): A spacecraft is named after von Braun. It uses a "tandem mirror fusion engine" and aims to reach Jupiter with a crew.
• Space Race (TV, 2005) – a BBC co-production with other networks. In this series, von Braun is played by Richard Dillane.
• The Lost Von Braun – a documentary by Aron Ranen. It includes interviews with scientists and others who worked with von Braun, such as Ernst Stuhlinger and Bonnie Holmes, his NASA secretary.
• Wernher von Braun – Rocket Man for War and Peace – a three-part documentary from DW-TV. The original German version is Wernher von Braun – Der Mann für die Wunderwaffen by Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk. In this film, von Braun is played by Ludwig Blochberger.
• American Genius (2015): In Season 1, Episode 5, titled "Space Race," von Braun is played by Corey Maher.
• Timeless (2016): In Season 1, Episode 4, titled "Party at Castle Varlar," von Braun is played by Christian Oliver.
• Project Blue Book (2019): In Season 1, Episode 4, titled "Operation Paperclip," von Braun is played by Thomas Kretschmann.
• For All Mankind (2019): In Season 1, Episodes 1, 2, and 6, von Braun is played by Colm Feore.
• Hunters (2020): In Season 1, Episode 8, titled "The Jewish Question," von Braun is played by Victor Slezak.

Several fictional characters are based on von Braun:

• Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964): The character Dr. Strangelove is partly based on von Braun.
• Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023): The film's main antagonist, Dr. Jürgen Voller, is partly modeled on von Braun, according to his actor, Mads Mikkelsen.

• In Warren Ellis's graphic novel Ministry of Space, von Braun is a supporting character who moves to Britain after World War II and helps create the British space program.
• In Jonathan Hickman's comic book series The Manhattan Projects, von Braun is a major character.
• Satirist Mort Sahl suggested that von Braun's book I Aim at the Stars needed a subtitle: "But sometimes I hit London."

• The Good German by Joseph Kanon: The story mentions that von Braun and other scientists were involved in using slave labor at Peenemünde. Their move to the U.S. is part of the book's plot.
• Space by James Michener: Von Braun and other German scientists are brought to the U.S. and help the country reach space.
• Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon: The book includes a gyroscopic equation for the V-2 rocket and a quote from von Braun: "Nature does not know extinction; all it knows is transformation."
• V-S Day by Allen Steele: A fictional story where the Space Race happens during World War II, led by Robert H. Goddard and von Braun.
• Moonglow by Michael Chabon: The book includes a fictional account of von Braun's capture by the U.S. Army, his role in the Nazi V-2 program, and his later work in the U.S. space program.
• V2 by Robert Harris: A novel that focuses on five days in November 1944 at Peenemünde, where von Braun and his team worked.

• Rocket City, Alabama, a stage play by Mark Saltzman: The story mixes von Braun's real life with a fictional plot about a young Jewish woman in Huntsville, Alabama, who learns about his Nazi past.
• Infinite Journey (1962): A music album that includes von Braun as a narrator, combining sounds from the Apollo program with music by Johann Sebastian Bach.
• Wernher von Braun (1965): A song by Tom Lehrer, performed on an episode of That Was The Week That Was. The song satirizes von Braun's attitude toward his work during the Nazi era.
• The Last Days of Pompeii (1991): A rock opera by Grant Hart's band Nova Mob, which includes a song titled "Wernher von Braun."
• Von Braun at Nuremberg (2009): A song by Drakkar Sauna that references von Braun's book title and Mort Sahl's satirical subtitle.

• A starship in System Shock 2 is named the Von Braun.
• A character in the tutorial of Kerbal Space Program is named "Wernher von Kerman."

Published works

• Helped develop liquid rocket technology through building, theory, and experiments. PhD Thesis at the University of Berlin, July 27, 1934. The German title is Konstruktive, theoretische und experimentelle Beiträge zu dem Problem der Flüssigkeitsrakete.
• Designed a fighter plane using rocket power, July 6, 1939. The plane was meant to climb to 35,000 feet in 60 seconds. The Luftwaffe rejected the idea in 1941. The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet was not built. However, the Bachem Ba 349 was made later in 1944.
• Reviewed past liquid rocket work in Germany and future possibilities, May 1945.
• Wernher von Braun, Willy Ley, Fred Whipple, Joseph Kaplan, Heinz Haber, Oscar Schachter. Edited by Cornelius Ryan, Across the Space Frontier, Viking Press, 1952.
• Proposed a satellite using parts from the Army Ordnance Corps, September 15, 1954. Launching a satellite first would be important for the United States' reputation.
• The Mars Project, Urbana, University of Illinois Press, 1953. Translated by Henry J. White.
• Willy Ley; Wernher Von Braun; Chesley Bonestell (1956). The Exploration of Mars, Viking.
• Saturn Rockets for Space Exploration, New Mexico, 1963.
• Arthur C. Clarke, editor (1967). German Rocketry, The Coming of the Space Age, New York: Meredith Press.
• First Men to the Moon, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York (1960). Parts of this work first appeared in This Week Magazine.
• Daily Journals of Wernher von Braun, May 1958 – March 1970.
• History of Rocketry & Space Travel, New York, Crowell (1975). With Frederick I. Ordway III. Estate of Wernher von Braun; Ordway III, Frederick I & Dooling, David Jr. (1985) [1975]. Space Travel: A History (2nd ed.), New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 978-0061818981.
• The Rocket's Red Glare, Garden City, New York: Anchor Press, 1976. With Frederick I. Ordway III.
• New Worlds, Discoveries From Our Solar System, Garden City, New York: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1979. With Frederick I. Ordway III. Von Braun's final work, completed after his death.
• Project Mars: A Technical Tale, Apogee Books, Toronto (2006). An unpublished science fiction story by von Braun. Includes paintings by Chesley Bonestell and von Braun’s technical papers on the project.
• Willhite, Irene E. (2007). The Voice of Dr. Wernher von Braun: An Anthology, Apogee Books Space Series. Collector's Guide Publishing. ISBN 978-1894959643. A collection of speeches given by von Braun throughout his career.

Additional reading

• Bilstein, Roger (2003). Stages to Saturn: A Technological History of the Apollo/Saturn Launch Vehicles. University Press of Florida. ISBN 978-0813026916.
• Dunar, Andrew J.; Waring, Stephen P. (1999). Power to Explore: A History of Marshall Space Flight Center, 1960–1990. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office. ISBN 978-0160589928. Saved from the original on September 1, 2000.
• Freeman, Marsha (1993). How we got to the Moon: The Story of the German Space Pioneers (Paperback). 21st Century Science Associates. ISBN 978-0962813412.
• Lasby, Clarence G. (1971). Project Paperclip: German Scientists and the Cold War. New York: Atheneum. ASIN B0006CKBHY.
• Neufeld, Michael J. (1994). The Rocket and the Reich: Peenemünde and the Coming of the Ballistic Missile Era. New York: Free Press. ISBN 978-0029228951.
• Petersen, Michael B. (2009). Missiles for the Fatherland: Peenemünde, National Socialism and the V-2 missile. Cambridge Centennial of Flight. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521882705. OCLC 644940362.
• Tompkins, Phillip K. (1993). Organizational Communication Imperatives: Lessons of the Space Program. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195329667.