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Werner von Braun's goal as a scientist/engineer was always to travel past Earth. That the V-2 (and later U.S. military rockets) were stepping stones to that goa

Werner von Braun's goal as a scientist/engineer was always to travel past Earth. That the V-2 (and later U.S. military rockets) were stepping stones to that goal did not seem to bother him as long as he made progress. Oft quoted regarding the V-2, perhaps apocryphal: "The rocket worked perfectly, except for landing on the wrong planet."

T-A 8y ago
It's been a few years since I last posted this, so I think I'm in the clear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEJ9HrZq7Ro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEJ9HrZq7Ro "Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down. That's not my department, says Wernher von Braun."
- spking 8y ago
  Another fun one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXIDFx74aSY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXIDFx74aSY
- fake-name 8y ago
  Tom Lehrer is brilliant. We will all go together when we go (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIoBrob3bjI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIoBrob3bjI) is my favourite.
- bullen 8y ago
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80DzifHHIxk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80DzifHHIxk
maxxxxx 8y ago
As a German I have very mixed feelings about von Braun. On the hand he was an impressive engineering leader but he was also a war criminal that used slave labor under terrible conditions without hesitation. I would have prefer him going to jail for a few years after the war.
- mikeash 8y ago
  On the plus side, he helped the Nazis waste a tremendous amount of resources that could have prolonged the war if used more effectively. I don’t know how much credit you can give him for that since it wasn’t his intent, but it’s something.
  - kristianp 8y ago
    On the V2, or something else?
    - mikeash 8y ago
      On the V-2. It cost the Germans more than it cost the Americans to develop the atomic bomb, and had no military benefit for the Germans.
      - jopsen 8y ago
        Most notably, the Americans had more funds to burn through..
        mikeash 8y ago
        Right. It’s not that it cost them more, relative to their much smaller economy. It just cost more, period.
      - tobylane 8y ago
        Not specifically disagreeing with the "no military benefit" but this is a map of V-2 use on England. https://www.wrsonline.co.uk/big-ben-rocket-strikes/1944-v2-rocket-attacks-map/ https://www.wrsonline.co.uk/big-ben-rocket-strikes/1944-v2-r...
        mikeash 8y ago
        Now compare with the locations of military bases, war-related factories, etc. It’s not precisely zero. The civilian casualties had an economic impact which would have affected the war effort, and at least a few soldiers were killed as well. But it’s negligible.
ilyagr 8y ago
From the "trivia" section of the article (not sure what their source is). "Von Braun was heard to say that it would have been preferable to develop rocketry for space travel rather than war. But if it was necessary to develop a war rocket to reach space, he was willing to do so. Dornberger ordered von Braun not to mention space in Hitler's presence" Terryfying, considering that the V2 led to space and eventually the moon exactly according to his plan.

T-A 8y ago

It's been a few years since I last posted this, so I think I'm in the clear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEJ9HrZq7Ro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEJ9HrZq7Ro "Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down. That's not my department, says Wernher von Braun."

spking 8y ago
Another fun one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXIDFx74aSY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXIDFx74aSY
fake-name 8y ago
Tom Lehrer is brilliant. We will all go together when we go (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIoBrob3bjI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIoBrob3bjI) is my favourite.
bullen 8y ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80DzifHHIxk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80DzifHHIxk

maxxxxx 8y ago

As a German I have very mixed feelings about von Braun. On the hand he was an impressive engineering leader but he was also a war criminal that used slave labor under terrible conditions without hesitation. I would have prefer him going to jail for a few years after the war.

mikeash 8y ago
On the plus side, he helped the Nazis waste a tremendous amount of resources that could have prolonged the war if used more effectively. I don’t know how much credit you can give him for that since it wasn’t his intent, but it’s something.
- kristianp 8y ago
  On the V2, or something else?
  - mikeash 8y ago
    On the V-2. It cost the Germans more than it cost the Americans to develop the atomic bomb, and had no military benefit for the Germans.
    - jopsen 8y ago
      Most notably, the Americans had more funds to burn through..
      - mikeash 8y ago
        Right. It’s not that it cost them more, relative to their much smaller economy. It just cost more, period.
    - tobylane 8y ago
      Not specifically disagreeing with the "no military benefit" but this is a map of V-2 use on England. https://www.wrsonline.co.uk/big-ben-rocket-strikes/1944-v2-rocket-attacks-map/ https://www.wrsonline.co.uk/big-ben-rocket-strikes/1944-v2-r...
      - mikeash 8y ago
        Now compare with the locations of military bases, war-related factories, etc. It’s not precisely zero. The civilian casualties had an economic impact which would have affected the war effort, and at least a few soldiers were killed as well. But it’s negligible.

ilyagr 8y ago

From the "trivia" section of the article (not sure what their source is). "Von Braun was heard to say that it would have been preferable to develop rocketry for space travel rather than war. But if it was necessary to develop a war rocket to reach space, he was willing to do so. Dornberger ordered von Braun not to mention space in Hitler's presence" Terryfying, considering that the V2 led to space and eventually the moon exactly according to his plan.