A lot of people feel a strong need to participate in a conversation whether or not they have anything to contribute.
So they bring up Von Braun when the topic of space stuff comes up because they don't really know much about space but they want to participate in the conversation so they think of the closest pop culture thing that they can think of.
It's one of my biggest pet peeves when talking about space stuff because I'm a super passionate layman who has taking a few astrophysics and astronomy courses.
Any adult who is even vaguely interested in space knows very well who Von Braun was and his history. This is the start of space exploration. So yes I tend to agree with you, but this is a general forum, don't expect much more.
So they bring up Von Braun when the topic of space stuff comes up because they don't really know much about space but they want to participate in the conversation so they think of the closest pop culture thing that they can think of.
It's one of my biggest pet peeves when talking about space stuff because I'm a super passionate layman who has taking a few astrophysics and astronomy courses.