posted 02-16-2009 10:53 AM               

Konrad Dannenberg in 2007 (Credit: The New York Times)

A 2006 NASA profile briefly described Dannenberg's role in space history:

Born in 1912 in Weissenfels, Germany, Dannenberg moved with his family to Hannover, Germany, where he earned his Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the Hannover Technical University.

Inspired by Austrian amateur rocketeer Max Valier, who advocated the use of rockets for space flight, and automobile engineer Fritz Von Opel, who built the world's first rocket-powered automobile engine in 1928, Dannenberg and his colleagues began building their own rockets.

Drafted by the German Army in the 1930s as a horseman, Dannenberg was eventually released from military duty because he was deemed unsuitable to ride horses. Because of his engineering background, Dannenberg was chosen to work at Peenemünde, which would become Germany's premier rocket development and test site.

His first job there was studying the injection system of rocket motors. In those days, igniting rocket engines posed a big problem because most blew up at the time of ignition. Dannenberg became a specialist and ultimately designed the mixing nozzles of a working combustion chamber.

Dannenberg worked alongside some of the rocketry greats like Wernher von Braun and Kurt Debus. In the closing days of World War II, Dannenberg was one of over one hundred engineers from Peenemünde chosen to travel to the U.S. to work on the American rocket program under the project name of "Operation Paperclip."

In January of 1947, Dannenberg and the other rocket engineers worked tirelessly at Fort Bliss, Texas, designing, building and testing rocketry systems. The test launches took place at the White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico. Two of the last missiles were taken to Florida, where they were launched from an area now known as Cape Canaveral.

The Army relocated Dannenberg and a group of scientists to the Redstone Arsenal in Alabama, where they designed and developed the first large U.S. ballistic missile, the Redstone.

By 1960, Dannenberg was transferred to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville as deputy manager of the Saturn program. With President John F. Kennedy's pronouncement in 1961 to land a man on the moon before the end of the decade, Dannenberg developed the largest rocket ever built. He was ultimately awarded NASA's Exceptional Service Medal for his contributions.

Dannenberg retired from Marshall Space Flight Center in 1973 as deputy director of the Program Development Mission and Payload Planning Office and as International Space Station program manager for the then-fledgling project.

posted 02-16-2009 12:23 PM               

Always a gentleman - he talked with anyone about what he saw as Man's greatest accomplishment and what he believed in: Space Exploration.

Our hearts go out to his lovely wife.

posted 02-16-2009 12:35 PM               

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Jürgen P Esders
Berlin, Germany

International Director (Europe), Space Unit
Vice President, Weltraum Philatelie e. V.

posted 02-16-2009 02:27 PM               

Rest in Peace Konrad. Hugs and oodles of love Jackie. We're thinking of you.

posted 02-16-2009 03:15 PM               

I had the honor of meeting him just two summers ago in Huntsville.

posted 02-16-2009 05:42 PM               

I am so sorry to hear of Konrad's passing! May he forever rest in peace high above all of us in space-heaven, so-to-speak!

I'll always remember with much admiration, great respect, and cherish the special friendship we had during our many visits together here on Florida's Space Coast, in my home, seeing the Cape together (especially in visiting some of the old launch pads), and the last lunch we had together at Kennedy Space Center with Art and Guenter near the VAB. Those are only a few of many more wonderful memories that I'll never forget in having the opportunity and unique privilege in knowing Konrad (and Jackie).

posted 02-17-2009 08:50 AM               

Yes, Konrad Dannenberg played a huge role in creating the rocket that took man to the moon.

But he served an equally important function in motivating future engineers and astronauts as a lecturer at Space Camp for years after his retirement from NASA.

Dannenberg, who died Monday morning at the age of 96, gave immediate credibility to the program at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center when he signed on as an educator. He didn't just stand in a classroom and give children lessons on propulsion.