Dr Wernher von Braun

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

In 1957, the space race was heating up http://bbc.in/1avnAcd

After the Soviet Union launched Sputnik into orbit, the United States was desperate to catch up.

Dr Wernher von Braun and other top engineers struggled to find a solution to the US rocket programme's failures, so they turned to Mary Sherman Morgan.

While von Braun became a familiar figure in newspapers and on television screens across the country, Mary Sherman Morgan's story is more obscure.

In his book Rocket Girl, George D Morgan tells the story of his mother, the female scientist who helped US win space race.