Konrad Dannenberg: An Ambassador for Space
- Paper number
IAC-12,E4,3B,5,x14629
- Author
Mr. William Helms, Univeristy of Alabama in Huntsville, United States
- Year
2012
- Abstract
Space exploration has been a fantasy of mankind since we first turned our heads to the night sky. Konrad Dannenberg spent most of his life making that fantasy a reality. Born in the town of Weissenfels, Germany as a young man he quickly realized his fascination with space and later earned a degree in mechanical engineering at Hanover University. In 1939 he was called into military service for Germany as World War II broke out. In mid 1945, Dannenberg and other German engineers surrendered to the US Army to eventually aid the US in rocket design as apart of Operation Paperclip. While working for the US Army he helped develop systems such as the Jupiter and Redstone rockets. He also helped in the development of NASA's Saturn V liquid-fuel expendable rocket engines. This achievement allowed man to walk on the moon in 1969 as well as the first orbiting space laboratory, Skylab, in 1973. Though his work greatly helped man succeed in our quest for space exploration he also had another major contribution to the space community. In retirement Dannenberg became a respected educator at NASA's US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama where he inspired the next generation of astronauts and engineers, making him truly an ambassador for space.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-12,E4,3B,5,x14629.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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