Page numbers followed by the letter n, plus a number, refer to endnotes.
A-2 rockets, 19
A-3 rockets, 21
A-4 missiles, 43; continued backing of, 33–34; development of, 25–30; waning support of, 31. See also V-2 missiles
A-9 missiles, 52
A-10 boosters, 52
Able, 122
ABMA (Army Ballistic Missile Agency), 93–94, 98, 113–14, 119, 124, 125
Across the Space Frontier, 87, 89
Agnew, Spiro T., 176
Air Force Arnold Engineering Development Center, U.S., 76
Alabama Agricultural & Mechanical College, 170
Alaska, 208
Aldrin, Edwin E. “Buzz,” Jr., 1, 9, 163
Allen, William, 7
American Rocket Society, 4, 95–96, 226
Amis, Reese T., 80
Anders, Bill, 160
Angele, Wilhelm, 58
Apollo 7, 160
Apollo 8, 160
Apollo 9, 160
Apollo 10, 160
Apollo 12, 178
Apollo 17, 208–9
Apollo Project, 121–22, 128–29, 131–32, 155; aftermath of, 175–83; cost of, 162; launch of Apollo 11, 162–67; legacy of, 168–74; maximizing returns of, 159–60; significance of, 156
Apollo-Saturn program, 138
Apollo-Soyuz program, 176, 214, 222
Appler, Gilbert, 64
Armstrong, Neil A., 1, 9, 15, 163, 164–65, 216
Army, German, 17–18, 19–20, 21, 31, 51
Army, U.S., 34, 63, 70, 87; national security and, 91–92; satellites and, 97–98
Army Ordnance Missile Command, 126
Army Ordnance Rocket Center, 73
ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency), 119
Asimov, Isaac, 211
Associated Press, 8
astronauts, 131, 139–40, 154, 160, 161
ATR (Airline Transport Rating), 144–45
ATS (Applied Technology Satellite), 206–8
Atwood, J. Leland, 155
autographs, 2–3
Aviation Week & Space Technology, 8–9
Balch, Jackson “Jack,” 153
Baldwin, James, 217
Barnard, Christiaan, 7
Bay of Pigs, 1
Beale, Betty, 186–87
Becker, Karl Emil, 18, 21, 26, 32
Benedict, Howard, 87, 123–24, 165, 221
BIS (British Interplanetary Society), 91, 92
Bleicherode, 55
Boehm, Josef, 122–23
Bohemian Club, 7
Bonestell, Chesley, 88
booster rockets, 127
Borman, Frank, 160
Bosche, William R., 91
Bova, Ben, 211
Brauchitsch, Walther von, 31, 32–33
Brewer, Albert P., 181
Brown Engineering, 172
Brucker, Clara, 232n14
Brucker, Wilber M., 6, 97, 111, 115
Bucher, George C., 82
Buckbee, Edward O., 171
Bush, George H. W, 264n37
Bylinski, Gene, 137
Caidin, Martin, 156
Cape Canaveral, 80–81, 84, 98, 132, 149
Carson, Johnny, 211
Centaur missiles, 130
Chaffee, Roger B., 139–40, 155
Chappell, Rick, 87
Charlottenberg Institute, 17
Chrysler Corporation, 85
Churchill, Winston, 37, 51–52, 55, 73
CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), 3
CIC (Counter-intelligence Corps), 56
civil rights, 172–74
Clark, Mark, 7
Clarke, Arthur C., 7, 66, 87, 101, 141, 165, 192, 211, 219
Clinton, Rankin A. “Randy,” 120, 174, 252n43
Cobb, Hamner, 143
Collier’s Magazine, 83, 87, 88, 91–92
Collins, Michael, 1, 163, 223–24
Conquest of the Moon, 87
Conrad, Charles “Pete,” Jr., 178, 210
Cook, Truman F., 112
Cooper, L. Gordon, Jr., 135
Cousins, Norman, 217
Cox, Archibald, 217
Cronkite, Walter, 7, 87, 142, 166–67, 211
Crow, Alwyn Douglas, 60
Crusader for Space, 46–47
Cunningham, Walter, 160
Dahm, Werner, 69–70, 77, 90, 177, 265n20
Daily Express, 222
Daimler-Benz, 261n3
Daniels, James L. “Jim,” 105, 184, 189–90, 191–92, 198–99, 201, 202
Dannenberg, Konrad, 60, 64, 177
Davis, Bette, 7
Davis, Jan, 261n25
Davis, Larkin, 82
DeBakey, Michael, 148
Denton, Jeremiah, 158
Denver, John, 7
Derrick, Curtis E., 158
Dingell, John D., 68
Dodds, James Ian, 200
Dönitz, Karl, 34
Donley, Edwin, 181
Doolittle, James H. “Jimmy,” 7
Dora camp, 45–46
Dornberger, Walter, 17–18, 19, 20, 22, 24, 32, 199, 243n45; bound for America, 55; encounters with Hitler, 32, 33; fate after the war, 61; quotes from, 29; on V-2 missile development, 44; von Braun and, 39, 40
Douglas, Donald, 7
Douglas Aircraft, 171
Downs, Hugh, 7, 129, 136, 211, 216
Durant, Frederick C., III, 92, 95, 223
Earth Resources, 137–38
Earth satellites, 95–99
Ebert, Friedrich, 11
Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule, 16
Einstein, Albert, 16–17
Eisele, Donn, 160
Eisenhower, Dwight D., 7, 51–52, 58, 116, 117, 237n13; dedication of Marshall Center, 126–27; as doubter of Project Apollo, 129; Sputnik and, 112; Vanguard Project and, 96
Ellender, Allen Joseph, 96
El Paso Times, 68
Emme, Eugene, 222–23
Engel, Rolf, 15
England: attacks against, 42–44, 51–52, 60; death of von Braun and, 221–22; V-2 missile launches of, 61
Evans, Ron, 209
Explorer 2, 118
FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), 144–45
Fairchild Industries, 2, 204–9
Farrior, James S., 141
FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), 67
Fel’s Planetarium, 7
First Man on the Moon, 166
Fletcher, James C. “Jim,” 198–99, 202–3, 211, 223, 264n37
forced labor, 45–51
Fort Bliss, 63–74
Foster, J. N. “Jay,” 102, 104, 107, 134, 144, 151–52, 160, 177, 184, 191, 195, 201
France, 42
Franklin Institute, 7
Frau im Mond, 14
Freedom 7, 127
Fricke, Wolfgang, 261n3
Friedman, Herbert, 105
Friedrich-Wilhelms University of Berlin, 19
From East Prussia to Texas, 85
Frutkin, Arnold, 191
Gandhi, Indira, 208
Gavin, James M., 7, 84–85, 96–97
Gemini 9, 160
Gemini program, 135
General Electric Company, 66, 173, 192
Generales, Constantine D. J., 16–17, 234n9, 234n11
Gengelbach, Werner, 65
George C. Marshall Space Flight Center. See MSFC (Marshall Space Flight Center)
German Society of Pennsylvania, 8
Germany. See specific topics
Gestapo, 39
Gilruth, Robert R. “Bob,” 121–22, 128, 130, 139, 175
Glennan, T. Keith, 120–21, 125
Glenn, John H., Jr., ix, 9, 131, 136, 218, 261n25
Goddard, Robert H., 9, 14, 44, 225–26, 239n14, 267n2
Goldwater, Barry, 211
Goodrum, John C., Sr., 84, 146, 197
Göring, Herman, 33–34
Gorman, Harry, 173
Graham, Donald I., Jr., 145
Grissom, Virgil I. “Gus,” 129, 135, 139–40, 155
Gröttrup, Helmut, 39, 53, 243n39
Grubbs, Edward “Skeets,” 144–45, 146–47, 164
Gruene, Hans F., 78
Haeussermann, Walter, 67, 128, 129–30, 158, 253n10
Hagen, John P., 98
Hager, Karl, 85
Hagerty, James, 117
Haley, Foster A., 100, 170, 172
Halsey, William, 111
Hamill, James P. “Jim,” 60, 62, 63, 64, 72–73
Haney, Paul, 140
Hardeman, Ted, 114
Harris, David G., 75
Harz Mountains, 54
Hayden Planetarium, 88–89
Hazzard, R. P. “Hap,” 97
HE-112 jet aircraft, 22
HEAO (High Energy Astronomical Observatory), 209
Heflin, Howell, 158
Heimburg, Karl, 29, 76, 107, 210, 253n10
Heller, Gerhard B., 95, 141–42, 164
Hermann, Rudolf, 24, 25, 58, 170–71
Hess, Rudolf, 39
Hewitt, Charles “Chuck,” 35, 206–7, 211
Hickam, Homer, Jr., 256n34
Hilchey, John D., 182–83
Hill, Lister, 76
Hilten, Heinz, 45
Himmler, Heinrich, 33–35, 36, 38–40, 51, 54
Hindemith, Paul, 11
Hinkle, David, 101
Hitler, Adolf, 19, 23; A-4 missiles and, 31, 42; death of, 55; visit to an R & D facility, 32
Hoey, James K., 81–82
Hoffman, Sam, 84
Holland, 42
Holmes, Bonnie, 82–83, 100, 103, 104, 108, 132, 137, 179, 184–85, 213, 222, 255n24
Hoover, George, 95
Hope, Bob, 211
Horn, Helmut, 24
Hornet, USS, 165
hovercrafts, 146
Hufen, Hermann, 45
Humphrey, Hubert, 211
Huntsville, Alabama, 75–86, 168–74
Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, 169
Huntsville Times, xii, 80, 138–39
Huzel, Dieter, 36
hydrogen bombs, 93
IAF (International Astronautical Federation), 91
I Aim at the Stars, 6–7
IBM, 171
IGY (International Geophysical Year), 94
India, 207–8
INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service), 73–74
Jackson, Guy B., 173
James, Kathleen, 166
James, Lee B., 134, 152, 162–63, 166, 177–78, 194–95
Jewish Mafia, 195–96
Joffrion, A. Emile, 142–43
Johnson, Kenneth, 181–82
Johnson, Lyndon B., 7, 112, 120, 128, 133–34
Josephine III, 200–201
Juno I vehicles, 122
Juno II vehicles, 122
Jupiter, 159–60
Jupiter-C, 248n19
Jupiter IRBM (intermediate-range ballistic missile), 93, 97–98, 118, 122
Jurgens, Curt, 7
Justice Department, U.S., 157–58
Kathmandu, 3
Kefauver, Estes, 76
Kennedy, John F., 1, 7, 127, 128, 131–34, 170
Kennedy, Robert, 252n43
Kersten, Dorette. See Schlidt, Dorette (Kersten)
Kertes, Julia E. “Julie,” 185, 187, 188–91, 200–201, 202
Khrushchev, Nikita, 127
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 7
Kingsbury, James, 106–7
Kissinger, Henry, 211
Klauss, Ernst, 23–24
Klein, Johann J. “Hans,” 57, 65, 243–44n13
Kleis, Fred, 117
Korea, 73
Korolyov, Sergei, 266n4
Kraehe, Otto, 21
Kraemer, Fritz, 70
Kraft, Christopher Columbus “Chris,” 121, 130, 185–86
Küchen, Hartmut, 35–36
Kuettner, Joachim, 114–15, 251n21
Kummersdorf-Schiessplatz, 21
Kütbach, Ernst, 35
Laika, 113
Lake Champlain, USS, 127
Langley Medal, 158
Laue, Max von, 19
Lehnert, Richard, 27
Lehrer, Tom, 6
Leonard, Jonathan Norton, 89–90
Ley, Willy, 14, 15, 19, 43, 88, 89, 91, 150, 198
Lietz boarding schools, 12, 13
Lilly, William E., 195
Lindbergh, Charles, 129, 162, 211
Link, Ed, 142
liquid hydrogen, 124–25
Lockheed, 171
London Times, 111
Look, 88
Lovell, Jim, 160
Low, George M., 155, 175, 177, 187, 194–96, 202–3, 264n37
Lucas, William R., 7, 85, 102, 106, 138, 209, 210, 215, 222, 250n42
Luftwaffe (German air force), 19–20, 22, 33, 51
Luna 1, 122
Luna 15, 161–62
Lunar Roving Vehicle, 175–76
Lundquist, Charles A., 93–94, 121, 153
Lunetta, 13
Lutheran Church of America, 217
Mailer, Norman, 162
Man and the Moon, 91
Manchester Guardian, 42
Man in Space, 91
Manned Spacecraft Center, 175
Mark, Hans, 200
Mars and Beyond, 91
Marshall Center. See MSFC (Marshall Space Flight Center)
Mars Project, 178
Maurois, André, 146
Maus, Hans H., 253n10
Maxfield, James R., 181, 211, 213
MBWA (management by walking around), 108
McCall, Jerry, 107
McDaniel, John L., 169
McDivitt, James, 160
McDonnell, 171
McElroy, Neil, 111, 112, 113–14
McKellar, Kenneth D., 76
McNamara, Robert, 128
Medaris, John Bruce, 6, 93–94, 98, 111, 114, 158, 181, 213, 222
Mercury Project, 121
Merman, Ethel, 211
Mesta, Perle, 7
Midway, USS, 70
Millikan, Clark, 57
Mirak II rocket, 18
Mississippi Test Facility, 151, 153
Mitchell, Edgar D., 198
Mittelwerk (Central Plant), 8, 38, 45–51
Mohlere, Edward D., 53, 80, 94, 102, 150, 154, 196
Monroe, C. E. “Ed,” 214
Moon. See Project Apollo
Moore, Frances, 78–79
Moore, George, 155
Moore, Patrick, 19
Moore, Robert, 78–79
Moynihan, Patrick, 208
Mrazek, W. A. “Willy,” 136, 253n10
MSFC (Marshall Space Flight Center), 125, 126, 138–39, 144–45, 154–55, 222, 257–58n47; airplane of, 255n15; departure of von Braun, 179–81; funding and, 158–59; role of, 185–86
Mueller, Fritz, 27
Mueller, George E., 134–35, 176, 187
Murrow, Edward R., 7
NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics), 120
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), 6, 34, 120, 130, 137–40, 161, 176; departure of Paine, 192–93; funding and, 158–59; Germans and, 209–10; new leadership of, 194–203. See also MSFC (Marshall Space Flight Center)
National Air and Space Museum, 6
National Medal of Science, 218
national security, 91–92
National Socialists, 34
Nazi party, 19
Nernst, Walter, 19
Neubert, Erich W. “Maxe,” 26, 58, 59, 61, 243n46, 253n10
Neufeld, Michael J., 34, 35, 36, 40, 45–46, 50, 236n25
neutral buoyancy simulator, 153–54
Newby, David, 109, 137–38, 144
Newell, Homer E., 195
New York Times, 221
New Zealand, 3
Nixon, Richard M., 7, 165, 187, 192–93, 262–63n38
Noa, USS, 131
North American Rockwell, 154–55
Northrop Services, 159
Notre Dame University, 8
NSI (National Space Institute), 206, 210–11, 216, 265n22
Oakwood College, 170
Oberammergau, 55
Oberth, Hermann, 12–13, 14–15, 162, 163–64; consultant role of, 26–27; on von Braun, 37–38
Oberwiesenthal, 19
O’Connor, Ken, 91
Odom, James B., 151
Odom, Pat R., 159
O’Hallaren, Bill, 56
O’Keefe, John, 98–99
O’Neal, Reavis, Jr., 78
Operation Backfire, 61
Ordnance Department (Germany army), 18, 21, 31
Ordway, Frederick, 3–4, 6, 36, 46–47, 101, 109, 125, 215–16, 217, 232n19
Ordway, Maruja, 4
OSI (Office of Special Investigations), 157–58
Ostrander, Donald, 130
Ostrander Affair, 129–30
Paine, Thomas O. “Tom,” 160, 165, 176, 177, 178, 179, 186, 187, 196–97, 264n37
Palomar, 152
paperclippers, 165–66, 179, 209–10; background checks of, 242n33; Fort Bliss experience of, 63–74; housing in Alabama, 78–79. See also Peenemünde and Peenemünders
Paperclip Project, 59
Paris Match, 49–50
Patriot of the Year award, 8
Pearson, Drew, 34
Peenemünde and Peenemünders, 20, 21, 22; attacks against, 37–38; development of A-4 rocket, 25–30; forced labor at, 36–37, 45–51; Himmler and, 38; moral responsibility of workers, 51; move to, 23; prewar days in, 25–30. See also paperclippers
Petroff, Peter, 184
Pétrone, Rocco, 209–10
Phillips, Samuel, 131, 155, 167
Philyaw, George, 186
Philyaw, Pam, 186
Piccard, Jacques, 154
Pickering, William H. “Bill,” 113, 114, 115–16, 117, 151, 215, 252n32
Pioneer 4, 122
Piszkiewicz, Dennis, 238n3, 247n18
platinum, 67
Poland, 26
Popular Science, 149
Porter, Richard W., 56, 58, 66, 98
Preston, Sarah Sanders, 149–50
Project Apollo, 121–22, 128–29, 131–32, 155; aftermath of, 175–83; cost of, 162; launch of Apollo 11, 162–67; legacy of, 168–74; maximizing returns of, 159–60; significance of, 156. See also specific Apollo shuttles
Project Fire-Ball, 67
“Project Icebox,” 67
Project Mars, 178
Project Mercury, 121
Project Paperclip, 59
Project Slug, 95
Project Vanguard, 249n23
propellants, 124–25
Prüfstand (Test Stand) XII, 44–45
RAF (Royal Air Force), 37, 38, 51
Raketenflugplatz Berlin, 16
Ramm, Heinrich, 25
Randolph, USS, 129
Redstone Arsenal, 73, 75, 93, 102, 168–74
Redstone missiles, 80–81, 83–84, 93, 122
Rees, Eberhard, 53, 125, 169, 199, 216; bound for America, 61; on flying with von Braun, 28–29; politics and, 154–55; positions of, 139, 179; resignation of, 209
Reisig, Gerhard, 34–35, 47, 50
Reitsch, Hanna, 20
Republic Aviation, 4
Reynolds, William, 7
Rhett, Harry Moore, Jr., 143
Richardson, David, 149
Rickhey, Georg, 46
Right Stuff, The, 218
Rio Grande, 63–64
Rocket and the Reich, The, 50
Rocket City Astronomical Observatory and Planetarium, 169
rocket development, 23
Rocketdyne, 171
Rocket into Interplanetary Space, The, 12–13
Rommel, Marshal Erwin, 34
Rosen, Milton W., 88–89, 95–96, 136
Ross, Mike, 189
Rotary Club (El Paso), 68
Roth, Ludwig “Lutz,” 52, 69, 72
Rudolph, Arthur, 20–21, 45, 46, 84, 156–58, 234–35n24, 253n10
Ryan, Cornelius “Connie,” 87, 247n5
S-2 stage, 154–55
Sadron, Charles, 48
Sahl, Mort, 6
Salk, Jonas, 217
Salmon, Louis, 77
Samaniego, Ramon, 74
Saturday Evening Post, 88
Saturn I, 126, 129, 134, 156, 204
Saturn V, 132, 134–37, 154–55, 156–57, 163; importance of, 166–67; personnel for, 137–38; success of, 160
Saturn Vehicle Evaluation Committee, 124–25
Sauckel, Fritz, 51
Sauerkraut Hill, 78
Saurma, Friedrich von, 232n1
Saurma, Ruth von, 104, 138, 160
Sayre, Francis B., Jr., 223
Scheufelen, Klaus, 27
Schirra, Walter M. “Wally,” 135, 160
Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr., 217
Schlidt, Dorette (Kersten), 25, 28, 35, 37, 38, 64, 69, 71, 178
Schmitt, Harrison “Dr. Rock,” 209
Schneiker, Fred P., 56
Schriever, Bernard “Bennie,” 98, 124, 128
Schroedinger, Erwin, 19
Schubert, Godomar, 47
Schultz, Fred S., 173
Schweickart, Russell “Rusty,” 160
Schweitzer, Albert, 7
Schwinghamer, Robert “Bob,” 126, 127, 131, 134, 179, 182, 239n12
Scott, David, 160
Scrivener, Nina, 185
sea launches, 44–45
Seamans, Robert C., Jr., 125
Searcy, Robert B. “Speck,” 76
Sedov, Leonid, 249n23
segregation, 172–74
Senate Committee on Aeronautics and Space Sciences, 207
Shaner, Thomas L. “Tom”: on Jewish Mafia, 196; on move to Washington, 178, 184–85, 186; on von Braun, 6, 100–101, 102–3, 104, 105, 107–8, 148, 179
Shaver, Charlie, 77
Shea, Joseph, 155
Sheen, J. Fulton, 211
Shepard, Alan Bartlett, Jr., 1, 9, 124, 127, 128, 140, 198, 211, 251n21
Shepherd, James T., 122, 139, 151, 153, 154, 155, 173, 175, 210
Sherrod, Robert, 197–98
Silverstein, Abe, 124–25
Skylab, 106, 152, 175, 176, 192, 210
Slattery, Bart, 179
Slug Project, 95
Solar Research Institute, 215
Soviet Union, 1, 84–85, 91–92, 258n21; Earth satellites and, 95–96, 99; first man in space, 127; launch of the Cold War, 73; space race and, 112–14, 161–62; V-2 personnel and, 53, 60
space age, 111–25
Space Programs in the Year 2000, 192
Space Shuttle program, 176, 192, 199, 202
Space Transportation Center, 176
Spain, 208
Speer, Albert, 32–33, 34, 36, 38, 40, 49, 51
Spragins, M. Beirne, 77
Sputnik, 99, 111, 112–14, 116–17
Sputnik III, 120
SS (Schutzstaffel), 34–36, 47, 54–55
Stafford, Thomas, 160
Stalin, Joseph, 57
Stanton, Austin, 164
Stanton, Margaret, 164
Stapler, Vachel “Val,” 124
Steen, Kevin, 189
steering sensors, 129–30
Steinhoff, Ernst, 26, 33, 55, 71
Steurer, Wolfgang, 66
Stewart, Jimmy, 162
Storms, Harrison B. “Stormy,” Jr. 154–55
Strughold, Hubertus, 71–72
Studeman, William O., 48
Stuhlinger, Ernst, 29, 90, 108, 163–64, 188, 216, 223; on Dornberger, 20; on Jewish friends, 106; recollections of, 3, 11, 35, 46–47, 64, 65, 95, 101, 125, 141–42, 235n24; Sedov and, 249n23
Sun, 221–22
Swanson, Gloria, 7
Symposium on Space Travel, 88–89
Teague, Olin E. “Tiger,” 150, 151, 211
Teledyne Brown Engineering Company, 33
television, 90–91
Teller, Edward, 7
Tessman, Bernhard R., 27–28, 45
Thiel, Walter, 37
This Is Your Life!, 6
Thomas, Lowell, 256n24
Thompson, Lee, 6–7
Tiesenhausen, Georg von, 45, 118
Toftoy, Hazel, 242n32
Toftoy, Holger N. “Ludy,” 57, 58–59, 63, 67–68, 70, 84, 95, 181
Top Hat Lounge, 149–50
Trahern, Arlie R., 84
Treaty of Versailles, 31
Trento, Joseph, 197
Tsiolkovskii, Konstantin, 14
Turner, Tom, 206
U-2 spy planes, 120
U-boats, 44–45
Uhl, Edward G. “Ed,” xi–xii, 1–2, 10, 143–44, 204–9, 214, 216–17, 218
United States, 44, 53, 112–14, 118–19
University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), 170–71, 215
University of Alabama Research Institute, 170–71
V-2 missiles, 6–7, 42–53, 51–52; fate after the war, 57; launches in the United States, 66–67, 70–71; London and, 60–61; seagoing version of, 70–71
Van Allen, James A., 114, 115, 116, 211
Vanguard Project, 95, 98–99, 111, 115, 118
Verne, Jules, 9
VfR (Verein für Raumschiffahrt), 14, 15
von Braun, Emmy von Quistorp, 10, 11, 60, 69, 85, 246n41
von Braun, Iris Careen, 71, 186
von Braun, Magnus Alexander Maximilian, 10, 16, 19, 23, 31, 60, 68–69, 85, 205, 244n21, 246n41
von Braun, Magnus (brother), 28, 49, 55–56, 65–66, 67, 85
von Braun, Margrit Cecile, 86, 149, 186
von Braun, Maria Louise (von Quistorp), 54, 68–69, 79, 80, 101, 149, 177–78, 187, 200, 216, 241n1
von Braun, Peter, 149, 164, 186
von Braun, Sigismund, 11–12, 246n41
von Braun, Wernher: accusations against, 5–6, 225–26; appearance of, 24, 56, 181; astronauts and, 131, 161; as an aviator, 28–29, 144–46; birth and early life of, 10–13, 232n1; bound for America, 53, 54–62; challenge of the Moon, 126–40; character of, 18, 37–38, 81–82, 90, 119–20, 150–51, 188, 190, 255n24; citizenship of, 73–74, 86; comments about Nazi leaders, 34; community interests and, 168–74; correspondence of, 132–33; death of, 218–20, 221–24; dream of space travel, 27, 52, 65, 72, 90, 116–17; early career of, 14–22; education of, 15–16, 19; encounters with Hitler, 31–41; English of, 65; finances of, 103, 149; first steps toward the cosmos, 93–99; forced labor and, 47–48, 49–51; Fort Bliss and, 63–74; fundraising duties of, 14–15, 150–51; Glenn on, ix; health of, 181, 211–12, 213–20; Himmler and, 38–40; hobbies of, 141–50; honors and awards of, 7–8, 158, 169, 181–82, 218, 255n18, 259n3, 259n37; jail experience of, 39–41; jealousy of, 195–97; lifestyle of, 245n16; management style of, 152–55; marriage of, 68–69, 236n25, 241n1; on moral responsibility in Hitler’s Germany, 227–29; move to Alabama, 75–86; move to Washington, 176–83; musical talent of, 11, 25, 188; NASA and, 120–22, 124, 176–83; Nixon and, 262–63n38; Oberth and, 14–15; patents of, 239n12, 239n14; personal failings of, 100–110, 152–53; politics and, 120–21, 130, 138, 154–55, 175–76; popularity of, 1–9, 190–91, 205–6; private sector and, 204–9; relationship with media, 87–92, 106, 138–39, 162, 245n46; retirement from NASA, 202–3; social life of, 79–80; space age and, 111–25; speeches of, 68, 77, 91, 103, 113, 140, 150, 191; spiritual side of, 77–78, 217–20; SS and, 34–36; travels of, 147–49, 160, 199–201, 207, 208–9, 214; V-2 missile and, 6–7, 44; Washington and, 176–83, 184–93, 194–203; weapons development and, 23; writings of, 13, 19, 71, 88, 217, 225–26, 227–29, 233n21. See also paperclippers; Peenemünde and Peenemünders; Project Apollo
Von Braun Civic Center, 214
von Quistorp, Alexander, 54, 256n27
von Quistorp, Maria Louise. See von Braun, Maria Louise (von Quistorp)
Wallace, George C, 173
Ward, Bob, xi–xiii, 6, 162, 163–64
Webb, James E. “Jim,” 128, 139, 161, 166, 173, 196–97, 264n37
Webb, Patricia, 209
Weidner, Hermann, 108, 153, 196, 253n10
White House, 96
White Sands Proving Ground (Missile Range), 63, 66–67, 70–71
Wiesman, Walter, 59–60, 65, 210, 219
Williams, Francis “Frank,” 4, 104, 107, 121, 184, 194, 200, 201
Wilson, Charles E., 98
Winterstein, William E., 72
Wolfe, Tom, 218
Woman in the Moon, 14
Wood, George B., 222
Wyatt Earp, 189
York, Herbert, 114
Young, Robert, 7
Zierdt, John G, 57, 109, 114, 242n33
Zwicky, Fritz, 56–57