Wernher Von Braun was Sonny's hero and inspiration growing up. Braun was a German rocket engineer and space architect. He worked for the Nazis during WWII, but later defected to the U.S. where he continued his work on rockets. He is know as the "Father of Rocket Science." Braun worked on the U.S. army's intermediate range ballistics missile (IRBM) before being moved to working for NASA. While with NASA his greatest work was on the Saturn V rocket. He lead the team that worked on the boasters of the rockets, that would later help man land on the moon. Braun died on June 16, 1977 of pancreatic cancer. He died in Alexandria Virgina at the age of 65.