Wernher Von Braun

Von Braun, Wernher (1912–77), German rocket engineer who designed the first self-contained missile, the V-2, which was used against the United Kingdom in 1944. In 1945 he was brought to the United States, where he led the team that put the first U.S. artificial satellite in orbit (1958). He later developed the Saturn rocket used in the Apollo moon-landing program, and he pioneered the concept of the space shuttle.

See also: Rocket.