Eberhard Rees
Encyclopedia
Dr Eberhard Friedrich Michael Rees (1909 Trossingen
, Baden-Württemberg
- April 2, 1998 DeLand, Florida
) was a German-American (by becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States) rocketry pioneer and the second Director of the NASA
Marshall Space Flight Center
.
at the University of Stuttgart
, and graduated from the Dresden Institute of Technology in 1934 with his master's degree, he worked his way to become the assistant manager of a steel mill
in Leipzig, Germany, Rees arrived at the Army Research Center Peenemünde in the Spring of 1939 and managed V-2 rocket
fabrication and assembly. He served as Wernher von Braun's deputy from World War II through the Apollo program.
Rees was in the first group of Operation Paperclip
rocket scientists brought to the US by the Army Ordnance Corps, arriving at Logan Field on October 2, 1945, and serving first at the Army Aberdeen Proving Grounds, then at Fort Bliss
, in 1946 and in 1950, at the Redstone Arsenal
.
In August 1957, his team developed the ablative heat shield.
After serving as Deputy Director of Development Operations for the Army Ballistic Missile Agency
, Rees became the Marshall Space Flight Center
Deputy for Technical and Scientific Matters in 1960 and directed the Lunar Roving Vehicle
program.
On March 1, 1970, Rees was appointed as the Director of the Marshall Space Flight Center
, in Huntsville, Alabama
, from which he managed the Skylab
space station development and construction. He retired from NASA in 1973.
On April 2, 1998, Rees died in a DeLand, Florida
, hospital at the age of 89.
Trossingen
Trossingen is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in a region called Baar, between the Swabian Alb and the Black Forest. Stuttgart is about an hour away, Lake Constance about half an hour, and the source of the river Danube can be reached in about twenty minutes by car.Trossingen...
, Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
- April 2, 1998 DeLand, Florida
DeLand, Florida
DeLand is the county seat of Volusia County, Florida. In 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population to be 24,375. It is part of the Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 436,575 in 2006...
) was a German-American (by becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States) rocketry pioneer and the second Director of the NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
Marshall Space Flight Center
Marshall Space Flight Center
The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. The largest center of NASA, MSFC's first mission was developing the Saturn launch vehicles for the Apollo moon program...
.
Life
After studying engineeringEngineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
at the University of Stuttgart
University of Stuttgart
The University of Stuttgart is a university located in Stuttgart, Germany. It was founded in 1829 and is organized in 10 faculties....
, and graduated from the Dresden Institute of Technology in 1934 with his master's degree, he worked his way to become the assistant manager of a steel mill
Steel mill
A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel.Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. It is produced in a two-stage process. First, iron ore is reduced or smelted with coke and limestone in a blast furnace, producing molten iron which is either cast into pig iron or...
in Leipzig, Germany, Rees arrived at the Army Research Center Peenemünde in the Spring of 1939 and managed V-2 rocket
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
fabrication and assembly. He served as Wernher von Braun's deputy from World War II through the Apollo program.
Rees was in the first group of Operation Paperclip
Operation Paperclip
Operation Paperclip was the Office of Strategic Services program used to recruit the scientists of Nazi Germany for employment by the United States in the aftermath of World War II...
rocket scientists brought to the US by the Army Ordnance Corps, arriving at Logan Field on October 2, 1945, and serving first at the Army Aberdeen Proving Grounds, then at Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in the U.S. states of New Mexico and Texas. With an area of about , it is the Army's second-largest installation behind the adjacent White Sands Missile Range. It is FORSCOM's largest installation, and has the Army's largest Maneuver Area behind the...
, in 1946 and in 1950, at the Redstone Arsenal
Redstone Arsenal
Redstone Arsenal is a United States Army base and a census-designated place adjacent to Huntsville in Madison County, Alabama, United States and is part of the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area...
.
In August 1957, his team developed the ablative heat shield.
Army Ballistic Missile Agency
The Army Ballistic Missile Agency was the agency formed to develop the US Army's first intermediate range ballistic missile. It was established at Redstone Arsenal on February 1, 1956 and commanded by Major General John B...
, Rees became the Marshall Space Flight Center
Marshall Space Flight Center
The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. The largest center of NASA, MSFC's first mission was developing the Saturn launch vehicles for the Apollo moon program...
Deputy for Technical and Scientific Matters in 1960 and directed the Lunar Roving Vehicle
Lunar rover
The Lunar Roving Vehicle or lunar rover was a battery-powered four-wheeled rover used on the Moon in the last three missions of the American Apollo program during 1971 and 1972...
program.
On March 1, 1970, Rees was appointed as the Director of the Marshall Space Flight Center
Marshall Space Flight Center
The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. The largest center of NASA, MSFC's first mission was developing the Saturn launch vehicles for the Apollo moon program...
, in Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
, from which he managed the Skylab
Skylab
Skylab was a space station launched and operated by NASA, the space agency of the United States. Skylab orbited the Earth from 1973 to 1979, and included a workshop, a solar observatory, and other systems. It was launched unmanned by a modified Saturn V rocket, with a mass of...
space station development and construction. He retired from NASA in 1973.
On April 2, 1998, Rees died in a DeLand, Florida
DeLand, Florida
DeLand is the county seat of Volusia County, Florida. In 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population to be 24,375. It is part of the Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 436,575 in 2006...
, hospital at the age of 89.