Thomas Paine

German-Born Space Pioneers Helped America Reach the Moon

By Bob Granath | October 22, 2025

In the months and years following the conclusion of World War II, Dr. Wernher von Braun and Dr. Kurt Debus led a team of German rocket experts who came to the United States and helped set the foundation for the utilization of space with the benefits for all of humankind. While their contributions now are a crucial part of everyday life, revisionist historians are attempting to erase the legacy of these pioneers. While their work resulted in development of the infamous V-2 missile, the goal of von Braun and Debus always was to explore space.

Adversaries’ Handshake in Space Leads to Decades of Cooperation

By Bob Granath | July 15, 2025

In the summer of 1975, 50 years ago, millions around the world watched an event that would have been unthinkable only a few years earlier. An American Apollo spacecraft docked with a Soviet Soyuz capsule leading to a handshake in Earth orbit. As the first international space mission, the Apollo Soyuz Test Project led to extensive cooperation ongoing today.

A Bold Step: Apollo 8 Sends First Human Flight Beyond Earth

By Bob Granath | July 6, 2019

On Dec. 21, 1968, NASA’s Mission Control gave the crew of Apollo 8 approval for TLI — trans-lunar injection — permission to become the first humans to leave Earth orbit. Their destination, 234,000 miles away, was the Moon.

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