43 Facts About Arthur Rudolph

Arthur Louis Hugo Rudolph was a German rocket engineer who was a leader of the effort to develop the V-2 rocket for Nazi Germany.

Arthur Rudolph worked within the US Army and NASA, where he managed the development of several systems, including the Pershing missile and the Saturn V Moon rocket.

Arthur Rudolph's family were farmers, with a long tradition in the area.

When Ida noticed young Arthur had a mechanical gift, she decided he should attend technical training.

From 1921 on, Arthur Rudolph attended the technical school in Schmalkalden for three years.

On May 1,1930, Arthur Rudolph began working for the Heylandt Works in Berlin where he met rocketry pioneer Max Valier.

Valier had use of the factory grounds for his experiments in rocketry and Arthur Rudolph became interested, working with Valier in his spare time along with Walter Riedel.

Arthur Rudolph already had some interest in rocketry, having read Wege zur Raumschiffahrt by Hermann Oberth and having seen the 1929 film Woman in the Moon.

Dr Paulus Heylandt forbade further rocket research, but Arthur Rudolph continued secretly with Riedel and Alfons Pietsch.

Arthur Rudolph then developed an improved and safer version of Valier's engine while Pietsch designed a rocket car.

Arthur Rudolph joined the Nazi Party in 1931, then later the SA.

Arthur Rudolph first met Wernher von Braun when he visited a meeting of the Verein fur Raumschiffahrt.

In May 1932 Arthur Rudolph was laid off and looking for work when he encountered Pietsch.

Arthur Rudolph's engine was used in the Aggregat series of rockets.

The Kummersdorf facilities were inadequate for continued operations, so the von Braun team was moved to Peenemunde in May 1937 where Arthur Rudolph was tasked with the building of the A-3 test stand.

Arthur Rudolph was in charge of moving the equipment from Peenemunde to Mittelwerk, working under Albin Sawatzki.

Arthur Rudolph was transferred to the British to participate in Operation Backfire from July to October 1945.

In January 1947 Arthur Rudolph was moved to the Ordnance Research and Development Division at Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, where his family finally joined him in April.

On June 25,1950, Arthur Rudolph was transferred to Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Alabama, and his group was re-designated as the Ordnance Guided Missile Center.

Arthur Rudolph was naturalized as an American citizen on November 11,1954, in Birmingham, Alabama.

In 1950 Arthur Rudolph was appointed as the technical director for the Redstone missile project.

Arthur Rudolph was assigned as the project manager for the Pershing missile project in 1956.

Arthur Rudolph specifically selected The Martin Company as the prime contractor for the program.

Arthur Rudolph chose the Eclipse-Pioneer division of Bendix to develop the guidance system after he personally inspected the plant in Teterboro, New Jersey.

Arthur Rudolph received an honorary doctorate of science degree from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, on February 23,1959.

Arthur Rudolph received the Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service, the highest Army award for civilians, for his work on Pershing.

Arthur Rudolph became the assistant director of systems engineering, serving as liaison between vehicle development at Marshall Space Flight Center and the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston.

Arthur Rudolph later became the project director of the Saturn V rocket program in August 1963.

Arthur Rudolph developed the requirements for the rocket system and the mission plan for the Apollo program.

Arthur Rudolph was then assigned as the special assistant to the director of MSFC in May 1968 and subsequently retired from NASA on January 1,1969.

In September 1982, Arthur Rudolph received a letter requesting an interview by the OSI.

Arthur Rudolph believed this was one of the series of interrogations he had gone through since his arrival in the US The first of three interviews, it centered on his attitudes on racial superiority, his early participation in the Nazi Party and a possible role in the treatment of prisoners at Mittelwerk.

On November 28,1983, Arthur Rudolph, purportedly, according to his attorneys, under duress and fearful for the welfare of his wife and daughter, signed an agreement with the OSI stating that he would leave the United States and renounce his United States citizenship.

West Germany protested to the United States Department of State, as Arthur Rudolph now had no citizenship in any country.

Arthur Rudolph had not told his friends of the investigation, but the OSI issued a press release after his departure.

Arthur Rudolph applied for a visa in 1989 to attend a 20th anniversary celebration of the first Moon landing, but was denied by the State Department.

Arthur Rudolph sued to regain his US citizenship, but the case was dismissed in 1993.

In November 1996, Martha Arthur Rudolph wrote to Henry Hyde, then chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

Arthur Rudolph continued to be defended by Pat Buchanan, Lyndon LaRouche and Friedwardt Winterberg.

Arthur Rudolph was defended by Holocaust deniers like Robert H Countess and Martin Hollmann.

Arthur Rudolph married Martha Therese Kohls on October 3,1935, in Berlin.

Arthur Rudolph died in Hamburg on January 1,1996, from heart failure.

Arthur Rudolph's name is linked to several conspiracy theories, particularly UFOs and Area 51.