Georg von Tiesenhausen

{{Short description|German and American rocket scientist (1914–2018)}}

{{Infobox scientist

| name = Georg Heinrich Patrick Baron von Tiesenhausen [http://obits.al.com/obituaries/huntsville/obituary.aspx?n=georg-h-p-baron-von-tiesenhausen&pid=189241030&fhid=23833 Georg H. P. Baron von Tiesenhausen obituary], The Huntsville Times, June 10, 2018.

| image = Georg von Tiesenhausen.jpg

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|mf=y|1914|05|18}}

| birth_place = Riga, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire

| death_date = {{Death date and age|mf=y|2018|06|03|1914|05|18}}

| death_place = Huntsville, Alabama, U.S.

| resting_place =

| fields = Mathematics, Engineering

| workplaces = Wehrmacht, Peenemünde Army Research Center,
United States Army, NASA

| alma_mater = HAW Hamburg

| known_for = Operation Paperclip, Lunar Roving Vehicle

| spouse = Asta Esch Von Tiesenhausen {{cite web|url=http://brigittegastelancestry.com/royal/crommelin/heinrichtiesenhausendesc1843.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230906045608/http://brigittegastelancestry.com/royal/crommelin/heinrichtiesenhausendesc1843.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=September 6, 2023 |title=Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels Freiherrliche Haeuser|access-date=11 March 2023}} {{ill|Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels|de|Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels}}[https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/georg_f._von_tiesenhausen_biography.pdf Georg F. von Tiesenhausen Biography] Marshall Space Flight Center

| children = Evamaria, Georg Jr.[http://kdhnews.com/news/science/space-pioneer-georg-von-tiesenhausen-dies-at-alabama-home/article_526c44f7-0ef2-5786-aa76-61cc44bce2e4.html Space pioneer Georg von Tiesenhausen dies at Alabama home], kdhnews.com; accessed June 10, 2018. and Jutta

}}

Georg Heinrich Patrick Baron von Tiesenhausen (May 18, 1914 – June 3, 2018)[https://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2018/06/dr_georg_von_tiesenhausen_last.html Dr. Georg von Tiesenhausen, last of German rocket team, dies in Alabama], al.com; accessed June 10, 2018.{{cite web |title=The Marshall Star - NASA |url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/marshall/the-marshall-star-197/ |access-date=24 December 2023 |date=6 June 2018}} was a German and American rocket scientist.

After being brought to the United States in 1953 as part of Operation Paperclip, he was part of Wernher von Braun's team at the United States Army, and later, NASA. He is credited with the first complete design of the Lunar Roving Vehicle which was driven on the Moon on the Apollo 15, 16, and 17 missions, and made a variety of other contributions to the space program.

Early years

Tiesenhausen was born in Riga, Latvia, in the Russian Empire[http://obits.al.com/obituaries/huntsville/obituary.aspx?n=georg-h-p-baron-von-tiesenhausen&pid=189241030&fhid=23833 Georg H. P. Baron von Tiesenhausen], al.com; accessed June 19, 2018. to a Baltic German noble family Tiesenhausen from his father's side, while his mother was of Scottish ancestry. He studied engineering in Hamburg, but was conscripted to the Luftwaffe in 1939 and sent to the Eastern Front. He was allowed to continue his studies and in 1943 and graduated from University of Hamburg. After his graduation he was sent to the Peenemünde Army Research Center.[https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn48105 Oral history interview with Georg von Tiesenhausen] December 16, 1988. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum{{cite web| url=https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/peenemunde-interviews-project-1989-1990| title=Peenemunde Interviews Project, 1989-1990| work=National Air and Space Museum| accessdate=June 20, 2018}}

Career

Tiesenhausen worked with Wernher von Braun developing V-2 rockets in Germany during World War II. He came to America in 1953 as part of Operation Paperclip, where he again worked with von Braun on guided missiles such as the Redstone, this time for the United States Army at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. He was later transferred to NASA, where he worked on various spaceflight programs, including the Apollo program, which landed men on the Moon.[https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/19881129_georg_von_tiesenhausen.pdf MSFC History Project Georg Von Tiesenhausen conducted by A. Dunar and S. Waring], nasa.gov, November 29, 1988.

He continued to work for NASA well into the Shuttle era.[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2018/06/05/georg-von-tiesenhausen-rocket-scientist-obituary Georg von Tiesenhausen, rocket scientist – obituary], The Telegraph, June 5, 2018.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwrAl0gLuaI George von Tiesenhausen], Youtube.com interview by Dr. Donald Tarter on January 1, 1987. Later he worked on space tether missions.

After NASA

Between 1987 and 2010, von Tiesenhausen frequently volunteered at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, lecturing to students in Space Camp programs about the future of space exploration and other topics.{{cite web|url=http://www.rzbt.haw-hamburg.de/dankert/Absolventen/Absolventen-Jahrgang_1943/Georg_von_Tiesenhausen/georg_von_tiesenhausen.html|title=Georg von Tiesenhausen|accessdate=June 11, 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.haw-hamburg.de/rzbt/dankert/Absolventen/Absolventen-Jahrgang_1943/Georg_von_Tiesenhausen/georg_von_tiesenhausen.html&ei=fS3ZScviL5KeMq_k_eoO&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=8&ct=result&prev=/search?q=%2522georg+von+tiesenhausen%2522&hl=en&sa=N&start=10|title=Google Translate|website=Translate.google.com|accessdate=June 10, 2018}}

Awards

In 2007, he became one of the original inductees into the Space Camp Hall of Fame.[http://www.spacecamp.com/halloffame Space Camp, Hall of Fame], paragraph: Georg von Tiesenhausen On February 3, 2011, he was presented with the U.S. Space & Rocket Center's Lifetime Achievement Award for Education by Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong.William T. Martin, [http://www.huntsvillenewswire.com/2011/02/03/von-braun-team-member-von-tiesenhausen-honored-space-rocket-center "Von Braun team member Dr. von Tiesenhausen honored by U.S. Space and Rocket Center"], huntsvillenewswire.com, February 3, 2011. "Dr. von T. is one of those rare individuals who has a natural ability to inform and inspire, to educate and motivate, and, most remarkably, to endure," Armstrong said.[http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/02/neil_armstrong_1.html Neil Armstrong visits U.S. Space and Rocket Center to present education award], blog.al.com, February 2011.

Neil Armstrong gave a brief but impressive summary of Georg von Tiesenhausen achievements: "He is and has been a person who imagines what can be, and he has the skills to convert that image into reality."[https://www.techtimes.com/articles/229561/20180606/georg-von-tiesenhausen-last-surviving-member-of-german-rocket-team-dies-at-104.htm Georg Von Tiesenhausen, Last Surviving Member Of German Rocket Team, Dies At 104] Tech Times 06 June 2018

References

Sources

[https://web.archive.org/web/20121004221119/http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/local.ssf?%2Fbase%2Fnews%2F1242292570317880.xml&coll=1 Birthday surprise leaves von Tiesenhausen giddy.] The Huntsville Times May 14, 2009
[http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/01/neil_armstrong.html Neil Armstrong landing at U.S. Space and Rocket Center to present award.] January 27, 2011
[https://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&tbs=bks:1&q=+VON+TIESENHAUSEN%2C+GEORG+F4+research+engineer+space+missions%3B+b.+Riga%2C+Latvia%2C+May+18%2C+1914%3B+&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&pbx=1&fp=fb5c6b2e4422f17c Who's who in frontiers of science and technology: Volume 2]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ofOEyjV294 Remembering Dr. Georg von Tiesenhausen] YouTube

Category:1914 births

Category:2018 deaths

Category:20th-century American inventors

Category:20th-century German inventors

Category:American aerospace engineers

Category:American men centenarians

Category:American people of Baltic German descent

Category:American people of Scottish descent

Category:Early spaceflight scientists

Category:German aerospace engineers

Category:German men centenarians

Category:German people of Scottish descent