KONRAD DANNENBERG: AN AMBASSADOR FOR SPACE

摘要

Space exploration has been a fantasy of mankind since we first turned our heads to the night sky. KonradDannenberg spent most of his life making that fantasy a reality. Born in the town of Weissenfels, Germany, as ayoung man he quickly realized his fascination with space; and later earned a degree in mechanical engineering atHanover 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 and eventually aided the US in rocketdesign as a part of Operation Paperclip. While working for the US Army he helped to develop systems such as theJupiter and the Redstone rockets. He also helped in the development of NASA's Saturn Ⅴ liquid-fuel expendablerocket engines. This achievement allowed man to walk on the moon in 1969, as well as the first US orbiting spacelaboratory, Skylab, in 1973. Though his work greatly helped man succeed in our quest for space exploration, he alsohad another major contribution to the space community. In retirement Dannenberg became a respected educator atNASA's US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where he inspired the next generation of astronautsand engineers, making him truly an ambassador for space.