韦恩赫尔·冯·布劳恩(德語:Wernher von Braun,发音:[ˌvɛʁnheːɐ̯ fɔn ˈbʁaʊ̯n];1912年3月23日—1977年6月16日),全称布劳恩男爵韦恩赫尔·马格努斯·马克西米利安(德語:Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun),德国出身的美国火箭专家,二十世纪航太事业的先驱之一[2]。曾是纳粹德国著名的V2火箭的总设计师[3],二战结束后,美国将他和他的设计小组带到美国。移居美国后,冯·布劳恩任美国国家航空航天局的空间研究开发项目的主设计师,主持设计了阿波罗4号的运载火箭土星5号。NASA用以下的話來形容馮·布勞恩:「無庸置疑的,他是史上最偉大的火箭科學家。他最大成就是在擔任NASA馬歇爾太空飛行中心總指揮時,主持土星5号的研發,成功地在1969年7月首次達成人類登陸月球的壯舉。」[4]
1925年起,韦恩赫尔·冯·布劳恩进入了魏玛近郊位于埃特尔斯堡城堡的寄宿学校学习。1928年父母将他送至位于 Hermann-Lietz-Internat 学校学习,在那里冯·布劳恩閱讀了火箭先驱赫尔曼·奥伯特的著作《星际火箭》(Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen),并开始对星际旅行深深着迷。1930年,冯·布劳恩进入柏林工业大学,成为赫尔曼·奥伯特的学生,不久参加了奥伯特创始的德国空间旅行学会,并很快成为董事会成员,并在此后协助赫尔曼·奥伯特的液体火箭测试。1932年,冯·布劳恩大学毕业,还获得了飞机驾驶执照。受聘为瓦尔特·多恩伯格的主要助手。1934年7月27日,冯·布劳恩获得柏林洪堡大学物理学博士学位,导师为埃里希·舒曼。他写的毕业论文论述了液体推进剂火箭发动机理论和实验的各个方面。柏林洪堡大学把这篇论文评为最高等级——特优。这虽只是一篇毕业论文,但它对航天事业的发展意义重大。甚至在大约30年后,德国宇宙飞行协会还将该文作为其正式期刊的特刊重新出版。就这样,冯·布劳恩为自己的学生时代画上了一个闪光的句号,并开始迎接崭新的工作历程。
冯·布劳恩在冷战中最为“寒冷”的一段时期发表了他的关于空间站的构想。此时美国正采取措施应对苏联来自各方面的挑战。实际上空间站军事化在该时期依然可行,他的所构想的空间站一旦装备导弹,将会使美国在轨道武器以及轨道对地武器上获得领先。尽管冯·布劳恩斟字酌句,如将军事设施(military applications)改为“异乎寻常的恐怖(particularly dreadful)”的常规写法,然而他在其他的书中和文章中却精心描绘了此构想。在今天,这些鲜有和平色彩的构想已经由华盛顿国家航空航天博物馆的Michael J. Neufeld重新向公众展示了出来[10]。
Proposal for a Workable Fighter with Rocket Drive. July 6, 1939.
The proposed vertical take-off interceptor[16] for climbing to 35,000 ft in 60 seconds was rejected by the Luftwaffe in the autumn of 1941[17]:258 for the Me 163 Komet[18] and never produced. (The differing Bachem Ba 349 was produced during the 1944 Emergency Fighter Program.)
'Survey' of Previous Liquid Rocket Development in Germany and Future Prospects. 1945-05.[19]
A Minimum Satellite Vehicle Based on Components Available from Developments of the Army Ordnance Corps. September 15, 1954. It would be a blow to U.S. prestige if we did not [launch a satellite] first.[19]
The Mars Project, Urbana, University of Illinois Press, (1953). With Henry J. White, translator.
Arthur C. Clarke (编). German Rocketry, The Coming of the Space Age. New York: Meredith Press. 1967.
First Men to the Moon, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York (1958). Portions of work first appeared in '《这一周》杂志.
Daily Journals of Werner von Braun, May 1958-March 1970. 1970-03.[19]
History of Rocketry & Space Travel, New York, Crowell (1975). With Frederick I. Ordway III.
The Rocket's Red Glare, Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Press, (1976). With Frederick I. Ordway III.
Project Mars: A Technical Tale, Apogee Books, Toronto (2006). A previously unpublished science fiction story by Dr. von Braun. Accompanied by paintings from Chesley Bonestell and von Braun's own technical papers on the proposed project.
The Voice of Dr. Wernher von Braun, Apogee Books, Toronto (2007). A collection of speeches delivered by von Braun over the course of his career.
^Spires, Shelby G. Von Braun's brother dies; aided surrender. The Huntsville Times. 2003-06-27: 1A. Magnus von Braun, the brother of rocket pioneer Wernher von Braun who worked in Huntsville from 1950-1955, died Saturday in Phoenix, Ariz. He was 84. Though not as famous as his older brother, who died in 1977, Magnus von Braun made the first contact with U.S. Army troops to arrange the German rocket team's surrender at the end of World War II.
^Neufeld MJ. "Space superiority": Wernher von Braun's campaign for a nuclear-armed space station, 1946–1956. Space Policy(英语).使用|accessdate=需要含有|url= (帮助)
^Von Braun, Who Helped Put Men on Moon, Dies at 65: German-Born Scientist Succumbs to Cancer of Colon; Was Pioneer in Space Rocket Technology. 《洛杉矶时报》. 1977-06-17: A2 (英语).
^Wernher von Braun, Rocket Pioneer, Dies; Wernher von Braun, Pioneer in Space Travel and Rocketry, Dies at 65. 纽约时报. 1977-06-18 (英语). Wernher von Braun, the master rocket builder and pioneer of space travel, died of cancer Thursday morning. He was 65 years old.使用|accessdate=需要含有|url= (帮助)
^
Klee, Ernst; Merk, Otto. The Birth of the Missile:The Secrets of Peenemünde. Hamburg: Gerhard Stalling Verlag. 1963, English translation 1965: 89,95.引文使用过时参数coauthors (帮助); 请检查|date=中的日期值 (帮助)
^Dornberger, Walter. V2—Der Schuss ins Weltall. Esslingan: Bechtle Verlag. 1952 – US translation V-2 Viking Press:New York, 1954: 164.请检查|date=中的日期值 (帮助)