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Wernher Von Braun

Wernher Von Braun
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 6 to 7
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   7.41

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    spur, aerospace, further, persuasion, suspicion, passion, military, astronomy, budget, civilian, forbade, successful, death, maintain, planes, launch
     content words:    Medieval European, Interplanetary Space, Herman Oberth, Technical University, Von Braun, Spaceflight Society, In October, United States, Fort Bliss, From July

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Wernher Von Braun
By Mary Lynn Bushong 		  
1     What kind of a person is a rocket scientist? You might think they are just a bunch of skinny geeks, but nothing could be further from the truth.
 
2     Wernher von Braun was born in Wirsitz, Prussia, on March 23, 1912. Related to most of the Medieval European royalty, he did not lack for much socially. As an active, curious child, he once got into trouble for attaching fireworks to a toy wagon and setting it off in a busy street.
 
3     When his mother gave him a telescope, he discovered a passion for astronomy. Coupled with a fascination for rockets, he dreamed one day of going into space.
 
4     In school, Wernher did well in most subjects except physics and math. It wasn't until he read the book The Rocket into Interplanetary Space by Herman Oberth that he understood how important those two subjects were to his dreams. Instead of giving up, he worked harder.
 
5     He began attending the Technical University in Berlin in 1930, where he worked with Oberth. In 1934, he received a doctorate in aerospace engineering. Von Braun was part of the civilian "Spaceflight Society," and he got a grant to do experiments.

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