BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The last known surviving member of the German engineering team that came to the United States and designed the rocket that took astronauts to the moon has died.
Oscar Carl Holderer died Tuesday at age 95 in Huntsville, Alabama. Son Michael Holderer says his father suffered a stroke last week and didn't recover.
The German-born Holderer came to the United States in 1945 with a group of rocket engineers led by Wernher von Braun.
In Huntsville, the von Braun team worked at Redstone Arsenal designing the Saturn V rocket that first lifted astronauts to the moon.
Holderer says his father worked in several areas and designed the wind tunnel that was used to develop Saturn. Holderer retired from NASA in 1974.
Survivors include his wife, two sons and two stepchildren.
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