Gerhard Herbert Richard Reisig (March 3, 1910 - March 9, 2005) was a German-American engineer and rocket scientist. He worked at the

Peenemünde Army Research Center The Peenemünde Army Research Center (german: Heeresversuchsanstalt Peenemünde, HVP) was founded in 1937 as one of five military proving grounds under the German Army Weapons Office (''Heereswaffenamt''). Several German guided missiles an ...

during World War II and later, through

Operation Paperclip Operation Paperclip was a secret United States intelligence program in which more than 1,600 German scientists, engineers, and technicians were taken from the former Nazi Germany to the U.S. for government employment after the end of World War ...

, at the Marshall Space Flight Center.

Biography

Reisig was born in Leipzig on March 3, 1910. As a child, he attended school at the Nikolaischule. Reisig attended university at the

Technical University of Dresden TU Dresden (for german: Technische Universität Dresden, abbreviated as TUD and often wrongly translated as "Dresden University of Technology") is a public research university, the largest institute of higher education in the city of Dresden, th ...

, where he received a BS in engineering physics in 1932 and a ''Diplom-Ingenieur'' in 1934. Years later, in 1963, he received his Doctor of Engineering from the

Technical University of Braunschweig The Technische Universität Braunschweig (unofficially University of Braunschweig – Institute of Technology), commonly referred to as TU Braunschweig, is the oldest ' (comparable to an institute of technology in the American system) in Germany. ...

. After university, Reisig worked from 1935 to October 1937 at the Siemens Co. In 1937 he was hired by

Wernher von Braun Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun ( , ; 23 March 191216 June 1977) was a German and American aerospace engineer and space architect. He was a member of the Nazi Party and Allgemeine SS, as well as the leading figure in the develop ...

at Peenemünde, where Reisig joined von Braun's rocket team and continued to work until 1945. Reisig worked on the A3 and A5 designs of the Aggregat rocket series as well as sounding rocket missions using the

V-2 rocket The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name ''Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was develop ...

. In 1943 he began working under

Walter Dornberger Major-General Dr. Walter Robert Dornberger (6 September 1895 – 26 June 1980) was a German Army artillery officer whose career spanned World War I and World War II. He was a leader of Nazi Germany's V-2 rocket programme and other projects a ...

on the ultimately unfinished

Wasserfall The ''Wasserfall Ferngelenkte FlaRakete'' (Waterfall Remote-Controlled A-A Rocket) was a German guided supersonic surface-to-air missile project of World War II. Development was not completed before the end of the war and it was not used operati ...

missile project. Reisig was acquired in Operation Paperclip and traveled to the U.S. with von Braun's team, arriving December 6, 1945. Reisig first worked at

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President Zachary Taylor, Ft. Bliss h ...

before moving to Huntsville in 1951, teaching at the Redstone Arsenal Institute of Graduate Studies beginning in 1952 as a lecturer in Aerodynamics. At some point after its founding in 1956, he was employed at the

Army Ballistic Missile Agency The Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) was formed to develop the U.S. Army's first large ballistic missile. The agency was established at Redstone Arsenal on 1 February 1956, and commanded by Major General John B. Medaris with Wernher von ...

. He began work at the Marshall Space Flight Center in 1962 as a specialist in environmental effects on rockets. Reisig stayed at the MSFC until his retirement in 1973, after which he taught at the

University of Tennessee Space Institute A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

and Concordia College in Minnesota.

References

External links

Dr. Gerhard Reisig Collection Collection, The University of Alabama in Huntsville Archives and Special Collections

Video interview with Gerhard Reisig and Konrad Dannenberg

Video interview on Gerhard Reisig with his daughter Dr. Godela Reisig Iverson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reisig, Gerhard American aerospace engineers German aerospace engineers German rocket scientists 1910 births 2005 deaths Scientists from Leipzig TU Dresden alumni Technical University of Braunschweig alumni Early spaceflight scientists Peenemünde Army Research Center and Airfield NASA people Operation Paperclip German emigrants to the United States