Member of German rocket team dies in Alabama

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) - A member of the German rocket team that helped build America's space program in north Alabama has died.

An announcement from a funeral home in Huntsville says Dieter E. Grau died Wednesday at age 101.

A worker says relatives are still working on the arrangements and further details weren't immediately available.

Grau came to the United States after World War II with other German rocket scientists led by Wernher von Braun.

Grau moved to Huntsville to work at Redstone Arsenal in 1950. He was in charge of quality control programs.

Together the engineers helped design and build early U.S. rockets including the Saturn V, which first took astronauts to the moon in 1969. Grau was one of the NASA executives who gave final approval for lunar launch.

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