- Biographical Sketch of Dr. Wernher Von Braun Dr. Wernher Von Braun, who served as the first Director of the Marshall Space Flight Center from 1960 to 1970, is most noted for directing the development of the giant Saturn V rocket that carried men to the moon for the first time in 1969. WERNHER VON BRAUN: Biography RECOLLECTIONS OF CHILDHOOD/EARLY EXPERIENCES IN ROCKETRY AS TOLD BY WERNHER VON ...history.msfc.nasa.gov/vonbraun/index.html