Walt Disney introduced Ludwig Von Drake 65 years ago as a brilliant, eccentric uncle of Donald Duck who explained science to Sunday-night TV audiences. According to an Ars Technica retrospective, the character was partly inspired by the rocket scientists and science popularizers Disney consulted for earlier space-themed episodes: Wernher von Braun, Heinz Haber, and Willy Ley. The latter two contributed to Von Drake's breadth of knowledge, while von Braun informed his expertise and personality.
Von Drake's name appears to have been a deliberate nod as well. When Disney introduced the character for the 1963 episode “Inside Outer Space,” he reportedly stumbled: “Professor Wernher von … I mean … Ludwig Von Drake.”
That episode recycled animation from Disneyland TV specials first aired in 1957, two months after Sputnik. By 1963, cosmonauts and American astronauts had already flown, so some speculative material was already dated. The source notes this contrast but does not suggest the reused footage hurt ratings; it simply highlights how quickly space history moved past early TV forecasts.