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108-593: NASA management was concerned about losing the 400,000 workers involved in Apollo after landing on the Moon in 1969. Wernher von Braun , head of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center during the 1960s, advocated for a smaller space station (after his large one was not built) to provide his employees with work beyond developing the Saturn rockets, which would be completed relatively early during Project Apollo. NASA originally set up

216-486: A Charlie Chaplin moustache" and that he perceived him as "another Napoleon " who was "wholly without scruples, a godless man who thought himself the only god". Later examination of von Braun's background, conducted by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, suggests that his background check file contained no derogatory information pertaining to his involvement in the party, but it

324-652: A catalyst . Von Braun's engines used direct combustion and created fire, while the Walter devices used hot vapors from a chemical reaction, but both created thrust and provided high speed. The subsequent flights with the He-112 used the Walter-rocket instead of von Braun's; it was more reliable, simpler to operate, and safer for the test pilot, Warsitz. SS General Hans Kammler , who as an engineer had constructed several concentration camps , including Auschwitz , had

432-491: A corporate citizenship program centered on charitable contributions in five areas: education, health, human services , environment , the arts , culture, and civic engagement . In February 2012, Boeing Global Corporate Citizenship partnered with the Insight Labs to develop a new model for foundations to more effectively lead the sectors they serve. The company is a member of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition ,

540-759: A Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Technische Hochschule Berlin (now Technische Universität Berlin ), Germany. During a period in 1931, von Braun attended the ETH Zürich in Switzerland. During this time in Switzerland, von Braun assisted Professor Hermann Oberth in writing a book concerning the possibilities of creating and manufacturing liquid-propellant rockets. Shortly after this, von Braun founded his own private rocket development business in Berlin, and through which he made

648-486: A French resistance fighter who was a prisoner in Dora, testified in 1995 that, after an apparent sabotage attempt, von Braun ordered a prisoner to be flogged, while Robert Cazabonne, another French prisoner, stated that von Braun stood by as prisoners were hanged by chains suspended by cranes. However, these accounts may have been a case of mistaken identity. Former Buchenwald inmate Adam Cabala stated that von Braun went to

756-476: A Goddard patent". This was independently confirmed. He wrote that statements that he had lifted Goddard's work were the furthest from the truth, noting that Goddard's paper "A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes", which was studied by von Braun and Oberth, lacked the specificity of liquid-fuel experimentation with rockets. It was also confirmed that he was responsible for an estimated 20 patentable innovations related to rocketry, as well as receiving U.S. patents after

864-462: A Washington D.C.–based coalition of more than 400 major companies and NGOs that advocate a larger International Affairs Budget, which funds American diplomatic and development efforts abroad. A series of U.S. diplomatic cables show how U.S. diplomats and senior politicians intervene on behalf of Boeing to help boost the company's sales. In 2007 and 2008, the company benefited from over US$ 10 billion of long-term loan guarantees, helping finance

972-583: A copy of Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen (1923, By Rocket into Planetary Space ) by rocket pioneer Hermann Oberth . In 1928, his parents moved him to the Hermann-Lietz-Internat (also a residential school) on the East Frisian North Sea island of Spiekeroog . Space travel had always fascinated him, and from then on he applied himself to physics and mathematics to pursue his interest in rocket engineering. In 1928

1080-509: A diploma in mechanical engineering. His early exposure to rocketry convinced him that the exploration of space would require far more than applications of the current engineering technology. Wanting to learn more about physics, chemistry, and astronomy, von Braun entered the Friedrich-Wilhelm University of Berlin for doctoral studies and graduated with a doctorate in physics in 1934. He also studied at ETH Zürich for

1188-586: A number of simple Lunar Escape Systems as a means of returning two astronauts from the lunar surface to an orbiting CSM if the Lunar Module ascent-stage engine failed to ignite. Another plan for Apollo-based extended-duration crewed spaceflight would use a Saturn V to send three men on a Manned Venus Flyby , using the Saturn S-IVB stage as a " wet workshop ". First the S-IVB would boost itself and

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1296-685: A picture of himself standing behind Himmler, von Braun said that he had only worn the SS uniform that one time, but in 2002 a former SS officer at Peenemünde told the BBC that von Braun had regularly worn the SS uniform to official meetings. He began as an Untersturmführer (Second lieutenant) and was promoted three times by Himmler, the last time in June 1943 to SS- Sturmbannführer (Major). Von Braun later stated that these were simply technical promotions received each year regularly by mail. In 1932, von Braun received

1404-672: A potential downgrade to junk status . On November 1, 2024, the IAM endorsed an improved contract offer which would see a 38% pay rise over four years, a $ 12,000 ratification bonus, and the reinstatement of an annual bonus scheme. On November 5, 2024, Boeing workers accepted the pay deal, ending a seven-week-long walk out. The company's three divisions are: Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; and Global Services. In 2018 and 2019 , two Boeing 737 MAX narrow-body passenger airplanes crashed, leaving 346 people dead and no survivors. In response, aviation regulators and airlines around

1512-459: A pre-fabricated S-IVB workshop into the appropriate orbit, this enabled the "dry workshop" concept. This allowed the interior space to be better fitted out, although many design concepts from the "wet" workshop, notably the open flooring that allowed fuel to flow through it, were kept in Skylab. The concept of launching another Skylab into lunar orbit using a spare S-IVB was briefly discussed around

1620-518: A profit of US$ 9.7 billion, laying off 14,862 workers since 2008, and increasing executive pay by 31% to US$ 41.9 million in 2010 for its top five executives. Boeing has been accused of unethical practices (in violation of the Procurement Integrity Act ) while attempting to submit a revised bid to NASA for their lunar landing project. The firm has been criticized for supplying and profiting from wars , including

1728-553: A reputation for brutality and had conceived the idea of using concentration camp prisoners as slave laborers in the rocket program. Arthur Rudolph , chief engineer of the V-2 rocket factory at Peenemünde, endorsed this idea in April 1943 when a labor shortage developed. More people died building the V-2 rockets than were killed by it as a weapon. Von Braun admitted visiting the plant at Mittelwerk on many occasions, and called conditions at

1836-402: A reserve airfield in the event of war), one of these latter aircraft was flown with its piston engine shut down during flight by Warsitz, at which time it was propelled by von Braun's rocket power alone. Despite a wheels-up landing and the fuselage having been on fire, it proved to official circles that an aircraft could be flown satisfactorily with a back-thrust system through the rear. At

1944-418: A small area near the ambulance shed, inmates tortured to death by slave labor and the terror of the overseers were piling up daily. But, Prof. Wernher von Braun passed them so close that he was almost touching the corpses. Von Braun later stated that he was aware of the treatment of prisoners, but felt helpless to change the situation. When asked if von Braun could have protested against the brutal treatment of

2052-457: A spaceship and that they felt the war was not going well; this was considered a "defeatist" attitude. A young female dentist who was an SS spy reported their comments. Himmler's unfounded allegations branding von Braun and his colleagues as communist sympathizers and accusing them of sabotaging the V-2 program, coupled with von Braun's regular piloting of a government-provided airplane that could facilitate an escape to Britain, led to their arrest by

2160-572: A suburb of Washington, D.C. The company said that this decision was made in part to concentrate on its defense work with "proximity to our customers and stakeholders". After the January 2024 Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 and other incidents, one shareholder proposed relocating the corporate headquarters back to the Seattle area in hopes of getting engineering and quality control teams on-site access to key decision-makers. Boeing's board soundly dismissed

2268-467: A surface stay time of nearly 200 days and use of an advanced lunar rover and a lunar flier as well as logistics vehicles to construct a larger shelter. The isolation of the CSM pilot was a concern for mission planners, so proposals that it would be a three-person landing team or that the CSM would rendezvous with an orbiting module were considered. The following phases were considered: The Apollo LM Taxi

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2376-420: A term from June to October 1931. In 1930, von Braun attended a presentation given by Auguste Piccard . After the talk, the young student approached the famous pioneer of high-altitude balloon flight, and stated to him: "You know, I plan on traveling to the Moon at some time." Piccard is said to have responded with encouraging words. Von Braun was greatly influenced by Oberth, of whom he said: Hermann Oberth

2484-666: Is organized into three primary divisions: Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA), Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS), and Boeing Global Services (BGS). In 2021, Boeing recorded $ 62.3   billion in sales. Boeing is ranked 54th on the Fortune 500 list (2020), and ranked 121st on the Fortune Global 500 list (2020). The Boeing Company started in 1916, when American lumber industrialist William E. Boeing founded Pacific Aero Products Company in Seattle, Washington. Shortly before doing so, he and Conrad Westervelt created

2592-452: Is responsible for about 11% of greenhouse gases emitted by the U.S. transportation sector. Aviation's share of the greenhouse gas emissions was poised to grow, as air travel increases and ground vehicles use more alternative fuels like ethanol and biodiesel . Boeing estimates that biofuels could reduce flight-related greenhouse-gas emissions by 60 to 80%. The solution blends algae fuels with existing jet fuel . Boeing executives said

2700-539: Is sustainable only as long as orders are good and delivery rates are increasing. From 2013 to 2019, Boeing spent over $ 60 billion on dividends and stock buybacks , twice as much as the development costs of the 787. In 2020, Boeing's second quarter revenue was $ 11.8 billion as a result of the pandemic slump. Due to higher sales in other divisions and an influx in deliveries of commercial jetliners in 2021, second quarter revenue increased by 44%, reaching nearly $ 17 billion. Revenues decreased 15 percent to $ 16.9 billion in

2808-438: The "B&W" seaplane . In 1917, the organization was renamed Boeing Airplane Company, with William Boeing forming Boeing Airplane & Transport Corporation in 1928. In 1929, the company was renamed United Aircraft and Transport Corporation , followed by the acquisition of several aircraft makers such as Avion, Chance Vought , Sikorsky Aviation , Stearman Aircraft , Pratt & Whitney , and Hamilton Metalplane. In 1931,

2916-749: The Apollo spacecraft to the Moon. In 1967, von Braun was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering , and in 1975, he received the National Medal of Science . Von Braun is a highly controversial figure widely seen as escaping justice for his awareness of Nazi war crimes due to the Americans' desire to beat the Soviets in the Cold War . He is also sometimes described by others as

3024-495: The Gestapo . Boeing The Boeing Company , or simply Boeing ( / ˈ b oʊ ɪ ŋ / ), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes , rotorcraft , rockets , satellites , and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support services. Boeing is among the largest global aerospace manufacturers ; it is the fourth-largest defense contractor in

3132-875: The Israel-Gaza war (2023-present) , demonstrations sought to block shipments of weapons for the Israel Defense Forces at Boeing facilities in St. Charles, Missouri , Tukwila, Washington , and Gresham, Oregon . Students at Florida State University , University of Washington , Saint Louis University , University of Missouri–St. Louis , and Washington University in St. Louis called for their institutions to break partnerships with Boeing. Research estimates that Boeing has made between $ 50 billion to $ 100 billion in revenue from sales to Israel. In 2024, students on hunger strike at Brown University named Boeing among

3240-462: The Raketenrummel or "Rocket Rumble" fad initiated by Fritz von Opel and Max Valier was highly influential on von Braun as a teenage space enthusiast. He was so enthusiastic after seeing one of the public Opel-RAK rocket car demonstrations, that he constructed his own homemade toy rocket car and caused a disruption in a crowded sidewalk by launching the toy wagon, to which he had attached

3348-583: The Simi Hills of eastern Ventura County in Southern California , had been contaminated by Rocketdyne with toxic and radioactive waste . Boeing agreed to a cleanup agreement with the EPA in 2017. Clean-up studies and lawsuits are in progress. On July 19, 2022, Boeing announced a renewed partnership with Mitsubishi to produce carbon-neutral and sustainable solutions. The airline industry

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3456-633: The V-2 . In 1963, von Braun reflected on the history of rocketry, and said of Goddard's work: "His rockets ... may have been rather crude by present-day standards, but they blazed the trail and incorporated many features used in our most modern rockets and space vehicles." Goddard confirmed his work was used by von Braun in 1944, shortly before the Nazis began firing V-2s at England. A V-2 crashed in Sweden and some parts were sent to an Annapolis lab where Goddard

3564-556: The V-2 rocket at Peenemünde during World War II . The V-2 became the first artificial object to travel into space on 20 June 1944. Following the war, he was secretly moved to the United States, along with about 1,600 other German scientists, engineers, and technicians, as part of Operation Paperclip . He worked for the United States Army on an intermediate-range ballistic missile program, and he developed

3672-485: The jatropha plant to see if it is a sustainable alternative to conventional fuel. A two-hour test flight using a 50–50 mixture of the new biofuel with Jet A-1 in a Rolls-Royce RB-211 engine of a 747–400 was completed on December 30, 2008. The engine was then removed to be studied to identify any differences between the Jatropha blend and regular Jet A1. No effects on performances were found. In 2008 and 2009, Boeing

3780-572: The "father of space travel", the "father of rocket science", or the "father of the American lunar program". He advocated a human mission to Mars . Wernher von Braun was born on 23 March 1912, in the small town of Wirsitz in the Province of Posen , Kingdom of Prussia , then German Empire and now Poland. His father, Magnus Freiherr von Braun (1878–1972), was a civil servant and conservative politician; he served as Minister of Agriculture in

3888-535: The Apollo CSM on a trajectory that would pass by Venus and return to Earth, then any remaining fuel would be vented to space, after which the astronauts would live in the empty fuel tanks until they separated from the S-IVB shortly before reentry on their return to Earth. When procurement of Saturn Vs other than those required for the lunar landing was stopped in 1968, focus shifted to AAP. Aside from attempting to show that Apollo presented value for money, NASA and

3996-639: The Apollo Logistic Support System Office to study various ways to modify the Apollo hardware for scientific missions. The AAP office was initially an offshoot of the Apollo "X" bureau, also known as the Apollo Extension Series. AES was developing technology concepts for proposed missions based on the Saturn IB and Saturn V boosters. These included a crewed lunar base , an Earth-orbiting space station ,

4104-678: The Baltic Sea. In 1933, von Braun was working on his creative doctorate when the Nazi Party came to power in a coalition government in Germany; rocketry was almost immediately moved onto the national agenda. An artillery captain, Walter Dornberger , arranged an Ordnance Department research grant for von Braun, who then worked next to Dornberger's existing solid-fuel rocket test site at Kummersdorf . Von Braun received his doctorate in physics ( aerospace engineering ) on 27 July 1934, from

4212-601: The Boeing 737 MAX 9. The FAA announced on January 12 that it was expanding its scrutiny of Boeing, with a production audit of the 737 MAX 9. On February 6, the National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report indicating that four bolts used to secure the panel had been removed, and appeared not to have been replaced, at Boeing’s factory in Renton, Washington . In March 2024,

4320-575: The Foreign Office in the 1970s, and a younger brother, Magnus von Braun , who was a rocket scientist and later a senior executive with Chrysler . The family moved to Berlin , Brandenburg , in 1915, where his father worked at the Ministry of the Interior. After his Confirmation , his mother gave him a telescope , and he developed a passion for astronomy . Von Braun learned to play both

4428-511: The German army until its publication in 1960. By the end of 1934, his group had successfully launched two liquid fuel A2 rockets that rose to heights of 2.2 and 3.5 km (2 mi). Von Braun continued his guided missile work throughout World War Two, and met with Adolf Hitler on several occasions, being formally decorated by Hitler twice, including being awarded the Iron Cross. At

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4536-612: The Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into the Alaska Airlines blowout. In March 2024, CEO Dave Calhoun and board chairman Larry Kellner both announced they would be stepping down from their positions. In 2006, the UCLA Center for Environmental Risk Reduction released a study showing that Boeing's Santa Susana Field Laboratory , a site that was a former Rocketdyne test and development site in

4644-553: The McDonnell-Douglas civil aircraft business, and some defense patents were to be made available to competitors. In 2020, Quartz reported that after the merger there was a "clash of corporate cultures, where Boeing's engineers and McDonnell Douglas's bean-counters went head-to-head", which the latter won, and that this may have contributed to the events leading up to the 737 MAX crash crisis. Boeing's corporate headquarters moved from Seattle to Chicago in 2001. In 2018,

4752-657: The National Socialist Party. At this time I was already Technical Director at the Army Rocket Center at Peenemünde (Baltic Sea). The technical work carried out there had, in the meantime, attracted more and more attention in higher levels. Thus, my refusal to join the party would have meant that I would have to abandon the work of my life. Therefore, I decided to join. My membership in the party did not involve any political activity. It has not been ascertained whether von Braun's error with regard to

4860-725: The Nazi regime, Himmler was conspiring to use Kammler to gain control of all German armament programs, including the V-2 program at Peenemünde. He therefore recommended that von Braun work more closely with Kammler to solve the problems of the V-2. Von Braun stated that he replied that the problems were merely technical and he was confident that they would be solved with Dornberger's assistance. Von Braun had been under SD surveillance since October 1943. A secret report stated that he and his colleagues Klaus Riedel and Helmut Gröttrup were said to have expressed regret at an engineer's house one evening in early March 1944 that they were not working on

4968-473: The Nazis using slave labour to manufacture these rockets. In 1936, von Braun's rocketry team working at Kummersdorf investigated installing liquid-fuelled rockets in aircraft. Ernst Heinkel enthusiastically supported their efforts, supplying a He-72 and later two He-112s for the experiments. Later in 1936, Erich Warsitz was seconded by the RLM to von Braun and Heinkel, because he had been recognized as one of

5076-611: The Party on 12 November 1937, and was issued membership number 5,738,692. Michael J. Neufeld , an author of aerospace history and chief of the Space History Division at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum , wrote that ten years after von Braun obtained his Nazi Party membership, he signed an affidavit for the U.S. Army, though he stated the incorrect year: In 1939, I was officially demanded to join

5184-576: The S-IVB stage, used on both rockets, as the primary station structure. A modified S-IVB would be launched into orbit, the second stage carrying a docking module and large solar panels in the area normally carrying the LM . A CSM would then be able to dock with the second stage and enter the now-empty fuel tanks. It was also suggested that the Apollo Telescope and Survey Mission modules might be docked to

5292-666: The University of Berlin for a thesis titled "About Combustion Tests." His doctoral supervisor was Erich Schumann. However, this thesis represented only the public aspect of von Braun's work. His actual thesis, entitled "Construction, Theoretical, and Experimental Solution to the Problem of the Liquid Propellant Rocket" (dated 16 April 1934), detailed the construction and design of the A2 rocket. It remained classified by

5400-580: The V-2 rockets, but there were victims on both sides...A war is a war, and when my country is at war, my duty is to help win that war." The engineer who designed the V2, Wernher von Braun, came to be feted as a hero of the space age . The Allies realised that the V-2 was a machine, unlike anything they had developed themselves. — V-2: The Nazi rocket that launched the space age , BBC, September 2014. In response to Goddard's statements, von Braun said "at no time in Germany did I or any of my associates ever see

5508-607: The Wet Workshop to create a modular space station. The "Planetary Grand Tour" was moved to the Mariner program as "Mariner Jupiter-Saturn", which was later calved off into the Voyager program . Two probes were launched in 1977 on Titan IIIE rockets, with Voyager 2 completing the full Grand Tour in 1989. Originally, AAP missions would alternate with Apollo lunar missions, starting in 1969. However, when NASA's 1969 budget

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5616-453: The airplane was malfunctioning, and ultimately plummeted nose-down to the ground at terrifying speed". While the investigations into the crashes of the 737 MAX were proceeding, the Boeing 777X , the company's largest capacity twin jet and the largest ever built, made its maiden flight on January 25, 2020, but also experienced problems. Following an incident during flight testing in 2021,

5724-442: The attempt. In February 2023, Boeing announced plans for laying off approximately 2,000 of its workers from finances and human resources. In May 2023, Boeing acquired autonomous eVTOL air taxi startup Wisk Aero . In June 2024, Boeing agreed to re-acquire Spirit AeroSystems , its longtime supplier of airplane parts, which had been established in 2005 when Boeing spun-off its Wichita division to an investment firm. The deal

5832-406: The cancellation of further Saturn V production. LESA would use a new Lunar Landing Vehicle to land payloads on the lunar surface and extended CSM and LM Taxi hardware derived from the basic Apollo program would allow crews to be rotated to the ever-expanding, and eventually permanent, lunar base. A nuclear reactor would provide power. Phases: To support longer stays on the Moon, NASA also studied

5940-490: The cello and the piano at an early age and at one time wanted to become a composer. He took lessons from the composer Paul Hindemith . The few pieces of von Braun's youthful compositions that exist are reminiscent of Hindemith's style. He could play piano pieces of Beethoven and Bach from memory. Beginning in 1925, he attended a boarding school at Ettersburg Castle near Weimar , Free State of Thuringia , where he did not do well in physics and mathematics. There he acquired

6048-567: The company opened its first factory in Europe at Sheffield , UK, reinforced by a research partnership with the University of Sheffield . In May 2020, the company cut over 12,000 jobs due to the drop in air travel during the COVID-19 pandemic with plans for a total 10% cut of its workforce or approximately 16,000 positions. In July 2020, Boeing reported a loss of $ 2.4 billion as a result of

6156-517: The company was collaborating with Brazilian biofuels maker Tecbio , Aquaflow Bionomic of New Zealand, and other fuel developers around the world. As of 2007, Boeing had tested six fuels from these companies, and expected to test 20 fuels "by the time we're done evaluating them". Boeing also joined other aviation-related members in the Algal Biomass Organization (ABO) in June 2008. Air New Zealand and Boeing are researching

6264-419: The company's hiding of information from the safety regulators: a criminal monetary penalty of $ 243.6 million, $ 1.77 billion of damages to airline customers, and a $ 500 million crash-victim beneficiaries fund. In September 2022, Boeing was ordered to pay a further $ 200 million over charges of misleading investors about safety issues related to these crashes. In March 2023, Boeing disputed in court filings that

6372-408: The company. The average salary at Boeing was $ 76,784 in 2011, as reported by former employees. In 2022, Rory Kennedy made a documentary film, Downfall: The Case Against Boeing , streamed by Netflix . She said about the 21st-century history of Boeing "There were many decades when Boeing did extraordinary things by focusing on excellence and safety and ingenuity. Those three virtues were seen as

6480-412: The concentration camp to pick slave laborers: ... also the German scientists led by Prof. Wernher von Braun were aware of everything daily. As they went along the corridors, they saw the exhaustion of the inmates, their arduous work and their pain. Not one single time did Prof. Wernher von Braun protest against this cruelty during his frequent stays at Dora. Even the aspect of corpses did not touch him: On

6588-515: The crashes through a disintegration of workplace morale . In June 2020, the Federal Aviation Administration found several 737 MAX defects that Boeing deferred to fix, in violation of regulations . In September 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives concluded its own investigation and cited numerous instances where Boeing dismissed employee concerns with a 737 MAX flight stabilizing feature ( MCAS ) that caused

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6696-418: The estimated first delivery of the aircraft was delayed until 2024. After further technical problems were discovered in the aircraft in 2022, the release was delayed again until 2025, six years after the original date. On January 5, 2024, on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 , a door plug blowout occurred on a 737 MAX 9 jetliner after the plane had reached just over 16,000 feet, leaving a door-sized hole in

6804-530: The federal government during the Weimar Republic . His mother, Emmy von Quistorp (1886–1959), traced her ancestry through both parents to medieval European royalty and was a descendant of Philip III of France , Valdemar I of Denmark , Robert III of Scotland , and Edward III of England . He had an older brother, the West German diplomat Sigismund von Braun , who served as Secretary of State in

6912-416: The field of astronautics. According to historian Norman Davies , von Braun was able to pursue a career as a rocket scientist in Germany due to a "curious oversight" in the Treaty of Versailles which did not include rocketry in its list of weapons forbidden to Germany. Von Braun was an opportunist who joined the Nazi Party to continue his work on rockets for Nazi Germany . He applied for membership in

7020-458: The first rocket fired by gasoline and liquid oxygen. In 1932, having caught wind of von Braun's rocket business, the German Army connected with von Braun to pursue basic missile research and weather data experimentation. Von Braun said that the German government financed the development of test stands and facilities for experimentation in Darmstadt, Germany. In 1939, von Braun was appointed a technical advisor at Peenemünde Army Research Center on

7128-441: The first time since 2008. On October 12, 2024, the company announced plans to cut 17,000 jobs, about 10% of its global workforce, "to align with our financial reality". It would also delay the first deliveries of its 777X airliner by a year and recorded $ 5 billion in losses in the third quarter of the year. On October 28, Boeing initiated a significant share sale, valued at nearly $ 19 billion, to address cash-flow issues and avoid

7236-442: The following year. In 1940, von Braun joined the SS and was given the rank of Untersturmführer in the Allgemeine-SS and issued membership number 185,068. In 1947, he gave the U.S. War Department this explanation: In spring 1940, one SS-Standartenführer (SS-Colonel) Müller from Greifswald, a bigger town in the vicinity of Peenemünde, looked me up in my office...and told me that Reichsführer-SS Himmler had sent him with

7344-438: The fuselage and the aircraft made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport successfully with several people onboard injured, although all had subsequently been "medically cleared". The FAA mandated immediate inspections of all 737 MAX 9s fitted with door plugs, thereby grounding 171 aircraft. United Airlines found loose bolts on jets grounded by the FAA, raising questions about possible systemic problems with

7452-453: The group merged its four smaller airlines into United Airlines . In 1934, aircraft manufacturing was required to be separate from air transportation. Therefore, Boeing Airplane Company became one of three major groups to arise from the dissolution of United Aircraft and Transport; the other two entities were United Aircraft (later United Technologies ) and United Airlines. In 1960, the company bought Vertol Aircraft Corporation , which at

7560-414: The highest-ever tax breaks at the state level in 2013. Boeing's spent US$ 16.9 million on lobbying expenditures in 2009. In the 2008 presidential election , Barack Obama "was by far the biggest recipient of campaign contributions from Boeing employees and executives, hauling in US$ 197,000 – five times as much as John McCain , and more than the top eight Republicans combined". Boeing has

7668-630: The largest firework rockets he could purchase. He was later taken in for questioning by the local police, until released to his father for disciplinary action. The incident highlighted the young von Braun's determination to "dedicate his life to space travel". In 1930, von Braun attended the Technische Hochschule Berlin , where he joined the Spaceflight Society ( Verein für Raumschiffahrt or VfR), co-founded by Valier, and worked with Willy Ley in his liquid-fueled rocket motor tests in conjunction with others such as Rolf Engel , Rudolf Nebel , Hermann Oberth or Paul Ehmayr . In spring 1932, he graduated with

7776-403: The late 1930s and early 1940s was complex. He said that he had been so influenced by the early Nazi promise of release from the post–World War I economic effects , that his patriotic feelings had increased. In a 1952 memoir article he admitted that, at that time, he "fared relatively rather well under totalitarianism ". Yet, he also wrote that "to us, Hitler was still only a pompous fool with

7884-752: The list of corporations to divest from. Five protesters in solidarity with the Palestinian cause were arrested on felony charges after blocking entrances to a Boeing facility in Heath, Ohio . The student union at Washington University in St. Louis passed a resolution calling on the university to divest from Boeing. The key trends of Boeing are (as at the financial year ending December 31): Between 2010 and 2018, Boeing increased its operating cash flow from $ 3 to $ 15.3   billion, sustaining its share price, by negotiating advance payments from customers and delaying payments to its suppliers. This strategy

7992-488: The main contractors of Boeing , Grumman , North American Aviation and Rockwell also hoped to put off the inevitable scaling down of staff and facilities following the completion of the first Moon landing. Three AAP proposals were selected for development: In the meantime several of the Earth-orbit "checkout" missions for Apollo had been canceled, leaving a number of Saturn IBs unused. The plans were changed to use

8100-458: The matter was of highly political significance for the relation between the SS and the Army, I called immediately on my military superior, Dr. Dornberger. He informed me that the SS had for a long time been trying to get their "finger in the pie" of the rocket work. I asked him what to do. He replied on the spot that if I wanted to continue our mutual work, I had no alternative but to join. When shown

8208-503: The most experienced test pilots of the time, and because he also had an extraordinary fund of technical knowledge. After he familiarized Warsitz with a test-stand run, showing him the corresponding apparatus in the aircraft, he asked: "Are you with us and will you test the rocket in the air? Then, Warsitz, you will be a famous man. And later we will fly to the Moon – with you at the helm!" In June 1937, at Neuhardenberg (a large field about 70 km (43 mi) east of Berlin, listed as

8316-457: The order to urge me to join the SS. I told him I was so busy with my rocket work that I had no time to spare for any political activity. He then told me, that...the SS would cost me no time at all. I would be awarded the rank of a[n] "Untersturmfuehrer" (lieutenant) and it were [ sic ] a very definite desire of Himmler that I attend his invitation to join. I asked Müller to give me some time for reflection. He agreed. Realizing that

8424-506: The pandemic and the Boeing 737 MAX groundings , and that it was in response planning to make more job and production cuts. On August 18, 2020, CEO Dave Calhoun announced further job cuts; on October 28, 2020, nearly 30,000 employees were laid off, as the airplane manufacturer was increasingly losing money due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2022, Boeing announced plans to move its global headquarters from Chicago to Arlington, Virginia ,

8532-487: The plant "repulsive", but stated that he had never personally witnessed any deaths or beatings, although it had become clear to him by 1944 that deaths had occurred. He denied ever having visited the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp, where 20,000 died from illness, beatings, hangings, and intolerable working conditions. Some prisoners state that von Braun engaged in brutal treatment or approved of it. Guy Morand,

8640-630: The purchase of their commercial aircraft in countries including Brazil, Canada, Ireland, and the United Arab Emirates , from the Export-Import Bank of the United States , some 65% of the total loan guarantees the bank made in the period. In December 2011, the non-partisan organization Public Campaign criticized Boeing for spending US$ 52.29 million on lobbying and not paying taxes from 2008 to 2010, instead getting US$ 178 million in tax rebates , despite making

8748-506: The rockets that launched the United States' first space satellite Explorer 1 in 1958. He worked with Walt Disney on a series of films, which popularized the idea of human space travel in the U.S. and beyond from 1955 to 1957. In 1960, his group was assimilated into NASA , where he served as director of the newly formed Marshall Space Flight Center and as the chief architect of the Saturn V super heavy-lift launch vehicle that propelled

8856-557: The same time, Hellmuth Walter 's experiments into hydrogen peroxide based rockets were leading toward light and simple rockets that appeared well-suited for aircraft installation. Also, the firm of Hellmuth Walter at Kiel had been commissioned by the RLM to build a rocket engine for the He-112, so there were two different new rocket motor designs at Neuhardenberg: whereas von Braun's engines were powered by alcohol and liquid oxygen, Walter engines had hydrogen peroxide and calcium permanganate as

8964-854: The same time, but no justification could be found for it, so the project was abandoned early on. The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project involved a docking in Earth orbit between a CSM and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft. The mission lasted from July 15 to July 24, 1975. Although the Soviet Union continued to operate the Soyuz and Salyut space vehicles, NASA's next crewed mission would not be until STS-1 on April 12, 1981. Wernher von Braun Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun ( US : / ˈ v ɜːr n ər v ɒ n ˈ b r aʊ n / VUR -nər von BROWN , German: [ˈvɛʁnheːɐ̯ fɔn ˈbʁaʊn] ; 23 March 1912 – 16 June 1977)

9072-508: The satellite segment of Hughes Electronics . In December 1996, Boeing announced its intention to merge with McDonnell Douglas , which, following regulatory approval, was completed on August 4, 1997. The delay was caused by objections from the European Commission , which ultimately placed three conditions on the merger: exclusivity agreements with three US airlines would be terminated, separate accounts would be maintained for

9180-519: The second quarter of 2024, compared to the same time period in 2023. The company's operating loss amounted to $ 1.39 billion and its net loss to $ 1.43 billion, while plane deliveries fell to 92 (from 136 in 2023). The company's employment totals are listed below. Approximately 1.5% of Boeing employees are in the Technical Fellowship program, a program through which Boeing's top engineers and scientists set technical direction for

9288-635: The slave laborers, von Braun team member Konrad Dannenberg (a member of the Nazi party since 1932) told The Huntsville Times : "If he had done it, in my opinion, he would have been shot on the spot." According to André Sellier, a French historian and survivor of the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp, Heinrich Himmler had von Braun come to his Feldkommandostelle Hochwald HQ in East Prussia in February 1944. To increase his power-base within

9396-565: The so-called Grand Tour of the Outer Solar System , and the original Voyager program of Mars Lander probes. The Apollo lunar base proposal saw an uncrewed Saturn V used to land a shelter based on the Apollo Command/Service Module (CSM) on the Moon. A second Saturn V would carry a three-person crew and a modified CSM and Apollo Lunar Module (LM) to the Moon. The two-person excursion team would have

9504-485: The time, Germany was highly interested in American physicist Robert H. Goddard 's research. Before 1939, German scientists occasionally contacted Goddard directly with technical questions. Von Braun used Goddard's plans from various journals and incorporated them into the building of the Aggregat (A) series of rockets. The first successful launch of an A-4 took place on 3 October 1942. The A-4 rocket became well known as

9612-483: The time, was the biggest independent manufacturer of helicopters . During the 1960s and 1970s, the company diversified into industries such as outer space travel, marine craft, agriculture, energy production and transit systems. In 1995, Boeing partnered with Russian, Ukrainian, and Anglo-Norwegian organizations to create Sea Launch , a company providing commercial launch services sending satellites to geostationary orbit from floating platforms. In 2000, Boeing acquired

9720-500: The two fatal accidents, prioritized deadline and budget constraints over safety , and lacked transparency in disclosing essential information to the FAA. It further found that the assumption that simulator training would not be necessary had "diminished safety, minimized the value of pilot training , and inhibited technical design improvements". On January 7, 2021, Boeing settled to pay over $ 2.5 billion after being charged with fraud over

9828-492: The victims of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 (the 2019 crash) experienced any pain and suffering in the final six minutes as the plane was nosediving into the ground, citing "speed of sound" as a defence. Boeing's claim was described as "preposterous" by HuffPost : Passengers aboard the plane, the plaintiffs argued in court, "undeniably suffered horrific emotional distress, pain and suffering, and physical impact/injury while they endured extreme G-forces, braced for impact, knew

9936-529: The war concerning the advancement of rocketry. Documented accounts also stated he provided solutions to a host of aerospace engineering problems in the 1950s and 1960s. On 22 December 1942, Adolf Hitler ordered the production of the A-4 as a "vengeance weapon", and the Peenemünde group developed it to target London. Following von Braun's 7 July 1943 presentation of a color movie showing an A-4 taking off, Hitler

10044-493: The war in Yemen where its missiles were found to be used for indiscriminate attacks, killing many civilians. In 2017 Boeing signed a deal with Saudi Arabia which included Saudi Arabia buying military aircraft and guided missile systems. In 2023, it was reported that Boeing sent 1,000 small diameter bombs for the first week of Israeli air attacks on Gaza that were shipped from a US Air Force base by Israeli Air Force . During

10152-405: The world grounded all 737 MAX airliners. A total of 387 aircraft were grounded. Boeing's reputation, business, and financial rating suffered after the groundings, as Boeing's strategy, governance, and focus on profits and cost efficiency were questioned. In 2022, Netflix released an exposé, Downfall: The Case Against Boeing , claiming Boeing's corporate merger with McDonnell Douglas led to

10260-620: The world based on 2022 revenue and is the largest exporter in the United States by dollar value. Boeing was founded by William E. Boeing in Seattle , Washington, on July 15, 1916. The present corporation is the result of the merger of Boeing with McDonnell Douglas on August 1, 1997. As of 2023, the Boeing Company's corporate headquarters is located in the Crystal City neighborhood of Arlington County, Virginia . The company

10368-467: The year was deliberate or a simple mistake. Neufeld wrote: Von Braun, like other Peenemünders, was assigned to the local group in Karlshagen; there is no evidence that he did more than send in his monthly dues. But he is seen in some photographs with the party's swastika pin in his lapel – it was politically useful to demonstrate his membership. Von Braun's later attitude toward the Nazi regime of

10476-642: Was a German-American aerospace engineer and space architect . He was a member of the Nazi Party and Allgemeine SS , the leading figure in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany , and later a pioneer of rocket and space technology in the United States . As a young man, von Braun worked in Nazi Germany's rocket development program. He helped design and co-developed

10584-413: Was a multi-person surface-to-surface flying vehicle. The basic Apollo hardware would evolve into AES (Apollo Extension Systems), followed by ALSS (Apollo Logistics Support System), and then LESA (Lunar Exploration System for Apollo). The result would be ever-expanding permanent stations on the Moon. LESA (Lunar Exploration System for Apollo) represented the last lunar base concept studied by NASA prior to

10692-705: Was cut, focus was shifted to the Skylab space station proposal, which managed to accommodate the equipment already specified for some of the AAP missions. Specifically, Skylab included the Apollo Telescope Mission (renamed the Apollo Telescope Mount) attached to the docking station used by the CSMs. Since the first two stages of the Saturn V had enough payload capability by themselves to place

10800-507: Was doing research for the Navy. If this was the so-called Bäckebo Bomb , it had been procured by the British in exchange for Spitfires ; Annapolis would have received some parts from them. Goddard is reported to have recognized components he had invented and inferred that his brainchild had been turned into a weapon. Later, von Braun said: "I have very deep and sincere regret for the victims of

10908-486: Was essentially the basic Apollo LM modified for extended lunar surface stays. This was expected to be the workhorse of both Apollo Applications Extended Lunar Surface Missions beginning in 1970 and to larger Lunar Exploration System for Apollo in the mid-to-late 1970s. The Apollo LM Shelter was essentially an Apollo LM with ascent stage engine and fuel tanks removed and replaced with consumables and scientific equipment for 14 days' extended lunar exploration. The MOBEV F2B

11016-417: Was found that he had numerous letters of commendation for outstanding performance of duties during his time working under the Nazi party. Overall FBI conclusions point to von Braun's involvement in the Nazi Party to be purely for the advancement of his academic career, or out of fear of imprisonment or execution. Von Braun joined the SS horseback riding school on 1 November 1933 as an SS- Anwärter . He left

11124-616: Was initially discussed in March of the same year before being closed on June 30 at $ 4.7 billion. On September 12, 2024, a vote was held among Boeing machinist workers who are also members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) labor union, with 94.6% of participating members rejected a contract offer that the union's bargaining committee had endorsed, with 96% voting to strike. At 12:01 am on September 13, Boeing workers went on strike for

11232-496: Was launched toward England on 7 September 1944, only 21 months after the project had been officially commissioned. Doug Millard of the Science Museum, London states: The V-2 was a quantum leap of technological change. We got to the Moon using V-2 technology but this was technology that was developed with massive resources, including some particularly grim ones. The V-2 programme was hugely expensive in terms of lives, with

11340-525: Was salvaged and most of the engineering team remained unharmed; however, the raids killed von Braun's engine designer Walter Thiel and Chief Engineer Walther, and the rocket program was delayed. The V-2 became the first artificial object to travel into space by crossing the Kármán line with the vertical launch of MW 18014 on 20 June 1944. The first combat A-4, renamed the V-2 ( Vergeltungswaffe 2 "Retaliation/Vengeance Weapon 2") for propaganda purposes,

11448-420: Was second on the list of Top 100 US Federal Contractors , with contracts totaling US$ 22 billion and US$ 23 billion respectively. Between 1995 and early 2021, the company agreed to pay US$ 4.3 billion to settle 84 instances of misconduct, including US$ 615 million in 2006 in relation to illegal hiring of government officials and improper use of proprietary information. Boeing secured

11556-544: Was so enthusiastic that he personally made von Braun a professor shortly thereafter. By that time, the British and Soviet intelligence agencies were aware of the rocket program and von Braun's team at Peenemünde, based on the intelligence provided by the Polish underground Home Army . Over the nights of 17–18 August 1943, RAF Bomber Command 's Operation Hydra dispatched raids on the Peenemünde camp consisting of 596 aircraft, and dropped 1,800 tons of explosives. The facility

11664-429: Was the first who, when thinking about the possibility of spaceships, grabbed a slide-rule and presented mathematically analyzed concepts and designs... I, myself, owe to him not only the guiding-star of my life, but also my first contact with the theoretical and practical aspects of rocketry and space travel. A place of honor should be reserved in the history of science and technology for his ground-breaking contributions in

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