Later Life
Oberth retired in 1962 at the age of 68. From 1965 to 1967 he was a member of the National Democratic Party, which was considered to be far right. In July 1969, Oberth returned to the United States to witness the launch of the Apollo project Saturn V rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida that carried the Apollo 11 crew on the first landing mission to the Moon.
The 1973 petroleum crisis inspired Oberth to look into alternative energy sources, including a plan for a wind power station that could utilize the jet stream. However, his primary interest during his retirement years was to turn to more abstract philosophical questions. Most notable among his several books from this period is Primer For Those Who Would Govern.
Oberth returned to the United States to view the launch of 61A, the space shuttle Challenger launched October 30, 1985.
Oberth died in Nuremberg, West Germany, on 28 December 1989, just shortly after the fall of the Iron Curtain that had for so long divided Germany into two countries.
Read more about this topic: Hermann Oberth
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