Gerhard B. Heller (January 24, 1914 - October 1, 1972) was a German-American rocket scientist and member of the " von Braun rocket team." He worked at

Peenemünde Army Research Center The Peenemünde Army Research Center (, HVP) was founded in 1937 as one of five military proving grounds under the German Army Weapons Office (''Heereswaffenamt''). Several German guided missiles and rockets of World War II were developed by ...

during World War II and later, through

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

, moved to develop rockets for the U.S., eventually becoming employed at the

Marshall Space Flight Center Marshall Space Flight Center (officially the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center; MSFC), located in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama (Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville postal address), is the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government's ...

Biography

Heller was born in

Eschwege Eschwege (), the district seat of the Werra-Meißner-Kreis, is a town in northeastern Hesse, Germany. In 1971, the town hosted the eleventh ''Hessentag'' state festival. Geography Location The town lies on a broad plain tract of the river Wer ...

in 1914. He attended university at the

Technische Universität Darmstadt The Technische Universität Darmstadt (official English name Technical University of Darmstadt, sometimes also referred to as Darmstadt University of Technology), commonly known as TU Darmstadt, is a research university in the city of Darmsta ...

, where he majored in

physical chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mech ...

, earning his BS in 1938 and his MS in 1940. After graduating, Heller worked in the rocket team at Peenemünde from 1940 until the end of World War II in 1945. In 1945, Heller was scouted through Operation Paperclip as part of a team to restore a

V-2 rocket The V2 (), with the technical name ''Aggregat (rocket family), Aggregat-4'' (A4), was the world's first long-range missile guidance, guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed during the S ...

. He and his family traveled to the U.S. aboard an army ship, likely the ''Argentina'', and arrived in New York. From there they took a train to Texas, where Heller was initially stationed at

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Established in 1848, the fort was renamed in 1854 to honor William Wallace Smith Bliss, Bvt.Lieut.Colonel William W.S. Bliss (1815–1853 ...

. In 1950, he and his family traveled to

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...

to continue his work. After arriving in Huntsville, Heller began work with 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 v ...

. Beginning in 1951, he taught at the

Redstone Arsenal Redstone Arsenal is a United States Army base adjacent to Huntsville, Alabama in the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge. A census-designated place in Madison County, Alabama, United States, it is part of the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistica ...

Institute of Graduate Studies as a lecturer in Thermodynamics. After the founding of the Marshall Space Flight Center in 1960, Heller made the move to the new organization, becoming deputy director of the Research Projects Division. By 1969 he had become Chief of the Space Thermodynamics Division of the MSFC's Space Sciences Laboratory. Heller died in 1972 after an automobile accident. After his death, his widow, Ms. Hertha Heller, created the Gerhard B. Heller Memorial Scholarship at the

University of Alabama in Huntsville The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) is a public research university in Huntsville, Alabama, United States. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and comprises eight colleges: arts, humanities ...

, where she was faculty.

References

External links

Gerhard B. Heller Collection, The University of Alabama in Huntsville Archives and Special Collections

Stages to Saturn History Project oral interview with Heller, part 1
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part 2
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The University of Alabama in Huntsville Oral History Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heller, Gerhard B. American aerospace engineers German aerospace engineers German rocket scientists 1914 births 1972 deaths People from Eschwege Technische Universität Darmstadt alumni Early spaceflight scientists Peenemünde Army Research Center and Airfield NASA people Operation Paperclip German emigrants to the United States Road incident deaths in Tennessee