The German A4 Rocket, later renamed the V2, was first launched on October 3rd, 1942 was the first rocket
to escape Earth's atmosphere. It was launched from Peenemunde, Germany on the
Baltic Sea. After WW2 the Russians captured V2s, and around 50 V2s were launched in the United States as research flights. The
V2 is
the Great Grand Daddy of all modern rockets and was a key learning step in
landing men on the moon. Wernher von Braun was the A4's inspiration and
team leader. This picture was taken September 18, 1999 in Peenemunde at an
Old Timers reunion.
 Picture
of a model of Peenemunde, Germany's Test Stand 7 where the V2 (A4 Rocket) was
launched during its development. The rocket on the right is on
the launching location, and the rocket in the tower to the left (tail of rocket
can be seen) is a test stand
where the A4 could be tested for the entire launch cycle, from engine start to
engine cut off.
 Test
Stand 7 launching site, September 19th, 1999, 55 years after the last
launch. Peenemunde was captured by the Russians and destroyed at the end
of WW2. Since then it was an East Germany military base and the trees have
grown, with no one being allowed into the area. It was a thrill to
be at the cradle of modern space flight!
 Reinhold
Kruger and Konrad Dannenberg looking at documents of Peenemunde's Test Stand 7
-at- Test Stand 7! Both of these men were involved in the development of
modern rocketry and worked in Peenemunde on the A4 in the 1940s. Konrad
later came to the United States with Wernher von Braun. Konrad's NASA office later
awarded the contracts to build the mighty Saturn 5 moon rocket.
 Three
Rocket Scientist and a duck! I could not resist when this duck got in
line, guess he wanted to hear all the old stories being told! This picture
was taken September 18th, 1999 on Ruden Island off the coast of Peenemunde Germany
in the Baltic Sea. Ruden had instrumentation on it to track the rocket
testing being conducted in Peenemunde.
 Klaus
(son), Konrad (dad), and Kerry (grandson) Dannenberg on the Greifswalden
(Island) Oie September 19th, 1999 off the coast of Peenemunde in the Bearing
sea. The von Braun team was launching A3 rockets from the Oie in the late
1930s while Peenemunde was being built as a rocket development center. The
A3 was unsuccessful in itself, but the lessons learned were priceless and led to
A4 successes.
 Kummersdorf,
Germany. Wernher von Braun started his rocket career at the Army Research
Center at Kummersdorf. We were told this was the A4 Engine development
test stand, but that is now in question. It may have been built after von Braun
was at Kummersdorf. This has been a military base and off limits for
almost 60 years to civilians. Ron Caswell in front with Konrad Dannenberg
pointing.
 Portrait
of Herman Oberth hanging in his home. Dr. Erna Roth-Oberth (Herman's
daughter), Konrad, Klaus, and Kerry Dannenberg on September 24th, 1999.
Herman Oberth was Wernher von Braun's mentor and friend for all of von Braun's
career.
 Alpen
Hotel in southern Germany. This is the hotel where General Dornberger and
Wernher von Braun were staying at the end of WW2. They drove for days to
get here to surrender to the Americans. They rightly thought they could
continue their rocket research in the United Stated.
 Fred
Durant, Zelime Braun and Konrad Dannenberg at the 50th International Astronomical
Federation (IAF) meeting in Amsterdam. Konrad and I ended our month long
tour of Germany and his friends at the IAF. This year's IAF (2000) is in
Rio De Janeiro!
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