Oswald H. Lange
From The Space Library
 Oswald Lange (ca. 1965) | |
| Birth Name | Oswald Hermann Lange |
|---|---|
| Birth Date | 1913 |
| Birth Place | Haynau, Germany |
| Date of Death | Feb 20 2000 |
| Place of Death | Bluffton South Carolina USA |
| Occupation | Engineer, Scientist |
| Nationality | USA, Germany |
| Notable Works | Space Carrier Vehicles |
Contents |
Early Life and Education
Lange was born in Haynau in the Prussian Province of Silesia, Germany. He went to schools there and earned a Master of Science degree at the University of Breslau in mathematics, physics and chemistry.
He went to the Heinrich Hertz Research Institute in Berlin on an assistantship to work in electronic research. There he earned his Doctor of Science degree in mathematics, physics and electronics from Berlin University.
Peenemunde
He was drafted to the Army Development and Test Center in Peenemunde on the Baltic Sea in 1939 where he joined the Wernher von Braun group of rocket scientists and worked on ballistic missiles and air defense. A pioneer in missile development, Dr. Lange served from 1939 to 1945 at the German Army Missile Center in Peenemuende where he worked on V-2 guidance and control and later was in charge of the "Wasserfall" surface-to-air missile.
RAE Farnborough
In 1947 he moved to England where he worked on defense technology as principal scientific officer of the British Ministry of Defense at the British Royal Aircraft Establishment in Farnborough, England. His primary concern there was the development of surface-to-air guided missiles.
ABMA and NASA
In 1954, he moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where he worked in the Advance Design Department of the Glenn L. Martin Co. He moved to Huntsville, Ala., in 1956 to join the "rocket team" at the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. He was a member of the ABMA computation laboratory until 1959. He became an American citizen on May 5, 1959.
When the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Marshall Space Flight Center was established, Dr. Lange became Project Director of the Saturn I, Saturn IB and Saturn V launch vehicles. He was Assistant Center Director (Scientific and Technical Analysis) at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center from 1963 to 1965
He joined the Army again in 1965 to be active in his preferred area of defense technology and defense systems. As chief scientist for the Nike-X program, Sentinel and Safeguard systems and general ballistic missile defense programs until he retired in Huntsville in 1976.
He moved to Bluffton South Carolina in 1992 where he died in 2000.
