Georg von Tiesenhausen

Georg von Tiesenhausen
Born (1914-05-18) May 18, 1914
Riga, Latvia, Russian Empire
Fields Mathematics
Institutions Wehrmacht, Peenemünde Army Research Center,
U.S. Army, NASA
Alma mater Hamburg University
Known for Operation Paperclip, Lunar Rover

Georg F. von Tiesenhausen (born May 18, 1914) is a retired German-American rocket scientist. After being brought to the United States in 1953 as part of Operation Paperclip, he was part of Wernher von Braun's team at the U.S. Army, and later, NASA. He is credited with the first complete design of the Lunar Rover and made a variety of other contributions to the space program.

Early years

Tiesenhausen was born in Riga, Latvia, in the Russian Empire to a Baltic-German family that also had Scottish ancestors. In 1941 he fought in the Wehrmacht at the Eastern Front (World War II). He was allowed to continue his studies and in 1943 graduated from Hamburg University. After his graduation he was sent to Peenemünde to work at a military research centre.

Career

Tiesenhausen worked with Wernher von Braun developing V-2 rockets in Germany during World War II. He came to America in 1953 as part of Operation Paperclip, where he again worked with von Braun on guided missiles such as the Redstone, this time for the U.S. Army at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. He was later transferred to NASA, where he worked on various spaceflight programs, including the Apollo program which landed men on the Moon. He continued to work for NASA well into the Shuttle era.

After NASA

Between 1987 and 2010, von Tiesenhausen frequently volunteered at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, lecturing to students in Space Camp programs about the future of space exploration and other topics.

Awards

In 2007, he became one of the original inductees into the Space Camp Hall of Fame.[1] On February 3, 2011, he was presented with the U.S. Space and Rocket Center's Lifetime Achievement Award for Education by Neil Armstrong.[2] "Dr. von T is one of those rare individuals who has a natural ability to inform and inspire, to educate and motivate, and, most remarkably, to endure," Armstrong said.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Space Camp, Hall of Fame, paragraph: Georg von Tiesenhausen
  2. ↑ William T. Martin: Von Braun team member Dr. von Tiesenhausen honored by U.S. Space and Rocket Center In: http://www.huntsvillenewswire.com/2011/02/03/von-braun-team-member-von-tiesenhausen-honored-space-rocket-center/
  3. ↑ http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/02/neil_armstrong_1.html
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