(1912-77), German-born rocket engineer. A pioneer in the development of rockets for defense and space exploration, von Braun was a major force behind the idea of manned space flights and landing humans on the moon. After developing the German V-2 rocket used against the Allies during World War II, he came to the United States, where he helped develop the Jupiter-C rocket, which carried Explorer I, the first U.S. satellite, into orbit. In 1960 von Braun became director of the Marshall Space Flight Center of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), where he developed the Saturn rockets used in the Apollo moon program.
