Hugh L. Dryden's

Career in Aviation

and Space

by

Michael H. Gorn

NASA History Office

Code ZH

Washington, NAsA HeadquarterSDc 20546

Monographs in

Aerospace History

Number 5

1996

Foreword

This account ofthc lif_: of Dr. Hugh Latimer Dryden is cspccially appropriatc now. The NASA Hugh

L. Dryden Flight Rcscarch Center (DFRC) was named in his honor exactly 20 ycars ago. This year wc

also cclcbratc S0 years of flight research here. It is fitting that people associated with the Center, with

NASA as a wholc, and those outside of NASA who are interested in the history of aviation and space,

bc reminded of Hugh Dryden's enormous contributions.

Hugh Drvdcn was a research scientist of the highest order, an aeronautics pioneer, thc Director of the

National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), and then the first NASA Deputy Administrator. Dr. Hugh Dryden's special relationship to the Dryden Flight Research Center goes Far beyond its

name. Among Hugh Dryden's first actions after becoming the NACA's Director of Research in

Scptcmbcr 1947, was to infbrm Walt Williams, the director of the fli_t research operation here in

the desert, that the NACA Muroc organization, formed the previous year,, would now become a

pcrmancnt thcility known as the NACA Muroc Flight Test Unit. .....

Hugh 1)rydcn strongly supported the flight research conducted hcrc

aircraft. Hc represented the NACA on the inter_ Research Air

the beginnings of the critically important X-15 h at the HJ

-powered

vised

As Dr. Gorn recounts, Hugh Dryden had be in the

and in fhct it was hc who coined the b,

spccds at or near that of sound in the ;. Much

has concerned transonic flight, so link

Center.

Dr. Gorn also describes Hugh

flow," another very important

existence. This work continues

sonic I,aminar Flow CoJ

Finally, Hugh Dryden wr

motto of the Center th;

stated, "the real from

brief line more eff;e_

anything that has

For all of these =

Dryden Flight

biography that Dr. to write as a fol

a great service in brr_n_ging Hugh Dryden's accomplis]

Kenneth J'i Szalai _,

ector .......

!iii!iiiiiii!ii '!: ...............

Table of Contents

Introduction ................................................................................. 1

Early Years .................................................................................... 1

World War II ................................................................................ 5

The NACA Years .......................................................................... 7

Thc Transition fi'om the NACA to NASA ................................... 11

Earl}' NASA Ycars ....................................................................... 13

(7ontinucd Service in NASA ........................................................ 15

Final Years .................................................................................. 19

Notes ......................................................................................... 21

Key 1)ocumcnts .......................................................................... 25

1. The Nation's Manncd Space Flights, 1 October 1965 ...... 26

2. Joint US-USSR Talks on Cooperative Spacc Research

Projccts, Romc 1963 ........................................................ 45

3. Hugh L. 1)ryden to Senator Robert S. Kerr, 22 June

1961 ................................................................................ 66

4. A National Space Program for the United States, I,os

Angeles, California, 26 April 1958 .................................... 68

5. Scientists of Forty-Six Nations Study the Land, Sea,

and Air Around Us, 16 April 1956 .................................... 83

6. Trends in NACA Research and Development, Los

Angeles, California, 50ctobcr 1951 ................................. 91

7. The Dawn of the Supersonic Age, Berkely 24 May

1948 and Los Angeles 25 May 1948 ............................... 106

8. The hnportancc of Religion in American Lif_:,

12 March 1950 .............................................................. 123

Index ....................................................................................... 131

Cover photo: NASA Photo EC96 43457-1, bust of Hugh Latimer

Dryden tmveiled at the ceremony on March 26, 1976, renaming

the NASA Flight Research Center as the Hugh L. Dryden Flight

Research Center. The bust is a cast of an original bronze by Una

Hanbury, also dating from 1976. The copy now resides in building

4800 of the 1)ryden Flight Research (;enter. Photo by Dennis

Taylor.

Design and layout: Steven Lighthill, Visual Information Specialist,

Dryden Flight Research Center

HughDryden'sCareer

Introduction

Hugh Latimer Dryden led a lit}e rich in paradox. Born in obscurity, he attained international prominence. Indiff;erent to self:

advancement, he nonetheless rose to tile pinnacle of the aeronautics

profession and subsequently assumed a pivotal role in tile initial

period of space exploration. Although a research scientist of the first

order, he nurtured within himself a protbundly spiritual outlook.

Early Years

Hugh i)rydcn began his uncommon journey in remote and

rural Worcester County, Maryland, at the southern tip of the state.

His ththcr, Samuel Isaac 1)rydcn, renounced the fhrming tradition

common to the Eastern Shore and taught school in Pocomoke City,

onc of the county's f;ew population centers. Inhabited by only

1,000 people in the late 19th century, this working class town on

the quiet Pocomokc River tbund itself isolated by crude roads and

hard travel from the sophistication of Baltimore and Washington,

D.C. Samuel Dryden married a local woman named Zenovia Hill

Culver, and in an ambitious venture, turned from teaching to

operating a general store at a country crossroads known as West

Post Office. The young couple had three sons; the first was born on

July 2, 1898, and named Hugh Latimer. Raymond fbllowed soon

after, and Leslie was born many years later.]

Like the rest of rural America at the turn of the century, the

people of Worcester County lived in comparative isolation, but

economic fbrces bound them to national and international financial

events. Depressions often seized the country during the 19th

century and another was suffered in 1901. Like earlier episodes, it

spread extensive unrest and unemployment. In 1907, the nation

experienced yet one more of these temblors when several of the

large New York banks underwent runs on their assets because of

their speculative excesses. To repay depositors, loans were called in

throughout the country, credit contracted everywhere, and many

businesses fhiled.

Samuel Dryden suft_:red a hard fhtc in the Panic of 1907, one

that transfbrmcd his fhmily's fbrtunes. The cider Dryden had to

abandon his general store and decided to start afresh with his wifie

and sons in Baltimore. For him, this move symbolized the end of

ambition; he fbund work as a streetcar conductor and remained one

the rest of his life.

For young Hugh Dryden, Baltimore opened opportunities that

were unthinkable in Southern Maryland. Indeed, in the big city he

showed extraordinary promise. He cntcrcd Baltimore (;it), Collcge

(a high school, despite its name) and received his diploma at age 14,

the youngest ever to graduate. Not merely the youngest, he ranked

first in a class of 172 and won the Peabody Prize for excellence in

mathematics.

If not a prodigy_ then certainly highly precocious, the quiet and

diligent student continued to blossom. Despite slender fhmily

resources, he received admission (on scholarship) to Johns Hopkins,
Hughl)rvdcn'sCareer

the universityfimndcdby Baltimorc'sthmous

Quakermerchant.Drydenprovedhimselfespeciallygiftedin physicsandmathematicsandbegan

advancedstudywith Prot;cssorloscphAmes,an

importantfigure on campus. Amcs not only

hcadcd the Physics Dcpartmcnt but alsc_ cvcntually

bccamc Prcsidcnt of Johns Hopkins. More impof

rant to Dryden's dcvclopmcnt, Iris proR:ssor would

one day chair thc National Adviscwv (;ommittcc

fbr Aeronautics (NACA), an institution at the

vanguard of aircrat_ research. In l)rydcn, Ames

had discovcrcd a star pupil, whom hc called, "the

brightcst young man [I ] cvcr had, without exception." He took his Bachelor's dcgrcc with honors

in three },cars and in 1918 completed a Masters

thcsis ctitlcd "Airplanes: An Introduction to the

Physical Principlcs Embodied in their Use." Ames

had introduced Drydcn to a subjcct that would

occupy the rcst of Iris litk. 2

Certain of Amcs' encouragement and assistance, Dryden dccidcd to work toward his doctoratc. Two obstacles blockcd the way: lack of money

and the military drat_. Thc United States cntcred

World War I in April 1917, but only in thc dcspcratc Battlc of the Marnc the fi)llowing year did American R)rccs

sul'fcr heavy losses. Ultimately, about 50,000 U.S. soldiers died on

or over the fields of Francc. Drydcn fhccd conscription but was

spared the dangers and disruptions because of age; thc Selcctivc

Scrvicc Act of 1917 exempted young men until their twenty-first

birthday. Hc would bc sati: until luly 1919.

Ames fimnd a means by which Dryden could satist_, both Iris

patriotic instincts and his nced t_r cash. The proR:ssor had placed

scvcral of his students at thc National Bureau of Standards (NBS) in

suburban Maryland and ill Iulle 191 8 fi)und a summer job for

Hugh as an inspector of munitions gauges. Dryden accepted gratefully, expecting to return to school in the fall. While the position

entailed a long train ride each day and a streetcar connection

cnroutc from Baltimore to thc Burcau, it also opencd somc fine

opportunities. Within weeks, Amcs pcrsuaded Dryden to transfier to

the Burcau's new Aerodynamics Section, at the heart of which

stood onc of the nation's first wind tunnels. More important, the

Johns Hopkins prot;cssor now appeared regularly in Washington on

NACA business and took thc occasion to offer courscs to his NBS

studcnts. Dryden could thus work a filll schedule at NBS (for thc

salary of $100 a month ) and use thc wind tunnel R)r after hours

doctoral research under Amcs' watchfifl cyc.

Dryden wasted no time. In spring 1919, hc rcceivcd the Ph.1).

degree in applicd physics, at 20 the youngcst pcrson cvcr to earn a

Johns Hopkins Univcrsity doctorate. His disscrtation, titled "Air

Forccs on Circular Cylinders" dcscribcd the scale effects of air

flowing around columns pcrpcndicular to thc wind and launched

him in the rising field of acrodynamics. 3

Htoh 1)rvdcn at age 17 as hc

appcarcd i_ thc Johns Hopkins

yearbook ca. 1917. (NASA photo

76-H-545 from a Johns Hopkins

University original)
Hugh Dryden's Carccr

1)rvdcn at 30 ca. 1928. (NASA

photo 76-H-546 Ji'om a Johns

Hopkins Universi U original)

Not content merely to receive his doctorate and obtain his first

profi:ssional position bc*brc he could vote, Dryden experienced

equally noteworthy events in 1920. In January of that ),car, hc

married Mary Libbic Travers, a young woman hc had met some

years before at Sunday School in the Appold Methodist Church,

Baltimore. Outgoing and fun-loving, she provided counterpoint to

her young husband's reserved and laconic manner, perhaps somewhat mitigating his ways over the ),cars. At first, they lived in Baltimore, but when he awoke one evening in New Jersey after falling

asleep on the homeward bound train, they decided to relocate their

household to Washington, D.C. Finally, during the same )'car, hc

won promotion to Chief of the Aerodynamics Section and henceforth directed the Bureau's wind-tunnel research and operations. 4

Dryden's scientific standing rested largely on the theoretical

insights, the experiments, and the publications dating from his first

six )'cars in this position. Very carl), in his tenure, hc selected the

field of high-speed aerodynamics, concentrating on problems

associated with flight at or near the speed of sound. Because ahnost

no one had yet studied velocities in this range, the choice suggests

the audacity of youth. Indeed, when hc began his inquiries in 1920,

the winncr of the Schneider Cup Race--a competition among the

tastest aircrat_ in the world, pressed to their limits--fiew at a nacre

107 miles per hour.

Nonetheless, working with his friend, mcntor, and thc fumrc

director of NBS Dr. Lyman Briggs, Dryden sought to unravel thc

strange phcnomenon known as compressibility. At the time, it

dcnotcd unexplained boundary-layer separation and buffet cncountcrcd by propellcr tips rotating at very high speeds. The problem

arosc as engincs of incrcasing power drovc thc

blades thster and fastcr. The Dryden-Briggs

rcscarch was conducted at large compressor plants

during thc mid-1920s bccausc wind tunnels could

not yet supply the needed vclocity. This research

rcsultcd in somc of thc first cxpcrimcntal observations of aerodynamic drag approaching the spccd

of sound, in very carly insights rcgarding the

cffi:cts of compressibility on lit_ and drag, and in

invaluablc data for propeller manufacturers designing high velocity airtbils. Drydcn and Briggs'

findings also stimulated additional transonic

rcsearch and ultimatcly promptcd thc construction of supersonic wind tunnels capable of testing

theoretical design concepts applicable not only to

aircraft but later to rockets and missiles. He and

Briggs obtained the first U.S. wind-tunnel data

showing lift and drag for airfbils above the speed

of sound. Thus, the young physicist quickly

established his reputation.

Drydcn attractcd yet morc notice with his

breakthroughs in wind-tunncl dcsign. In the late

1920s, hc and A.M. Kucthc, a Burcau collcaguc,

discovcrcd a dilcmma: an airship modcl had bccn
Hughl)rvdcn's (ia,ccr

tcstcd at both the NBS wind tunncl and thc onc at the Navv Yard in

Washington, D.C. Thc drag data rcsuhs wc,'c 100 pcrccnt at _dds

with cach othcr.

To quanti_ _accuracy, Dryden and his associate c,nploycd a hot

wirc ancmomctcr, riggcd ingcniously to mcasurc rapid air fluctuations. They discovered that cvcn slight variations in mrbulcncc

insidc wind mnncls could cause large cxpcrimcntal discrcpancics.

Using thc spccial ancmomctcr, 1)rvdcn rcdcsigncd existing thcilitics

to hclp compensate tbr such dift;crcnccs and also suggcstcd ncw

methods of wind tunncl construction that would grcatly rcducc

incidcntal turbulcncc.

His rcscarch benefitted fiom these morc nearly accurate and

consistcnt instruments. Thcsc instruments allowcd him to obscrvc

with grcat prccision the crucial transition from laminar to turbulent

flow within thc boundary lavcr. 'l'hc application of more exacting

mcasurcmcnts, in turn, opcncd the xvav tor wing and propcllcr

dcsigns that maximized laminar tl()_v, thus reducing drag. s Morc

importantly, his findings vcrificd cxpcrimcntally thc pivotal laminar

flmv conccpts thcorizcd in 1907 by the Gcrman I,udwig Prandtl,

thus winning ['or Drvdcn widc acclaim among thc world's acrodvnamics practiti(mcrs.

Yet paradoxically, his daily routine at the NBS incrcasingly

involvcd m_t only basic rcscarch but als_ a widc va,'ictv ofcnginccring projccts. During the late 1920s_ hc investigated the cflkcts _t"

wind prcssurcs (m skyscrapcrs and chimneys. During thc carh, 1930s

hc tound himsclflcading a classic Dcprcssion-cra inquiry (m ncw

materials and tcchniqucs fin" low-cost housing. The young physicist

also bccamc activc in automotivc streamlining and cvcn rcscarchcd

watcr circulation in thc plumbing of the Empire Statc Building.

Dcspitc thc hcavv load ot's(_ltltions (_ricntcd rcscarch, which

divcrtcd him fi'om (but did not prcvcm) thc pursuit of fundamcntal

studics in his choscn ficld, l')rvdcn rcmaincd at NBS. In thct, hc

undcrtook these new assignmcnts with the same firm purpose as

cvcr. Perhaps the nccds of a growing fhmilv supprcsscd any secret

dcsircs fbr more basic research. Hugh, lr._ was born in 192,; and

Mary Ruth arrived two vcars later. Thc economic hardships of thc

time may also have brcd a dcgrcc (_t'caution. More likely, though,

Hugh 1)rvdcn's pcrsonality and rcligious fi'amc ofrct_:rcncc anchored him to NBS. (_cnt|inclv sclf cflhcing, his instincts rcvoltcd

against careerism and self-promotion. Just as compclling, his private

vet intense spirituality--he had bccn a lay Mcthodist ministcr smcc

his tccns--rcndcrcd him all but deaf to the call of ambition. In any

cvcnt, hc workcd stcadih' and diligcntly at thc Bureau, imprcssing

his collcagucs as much with his modesty as his intellect.

l)rvdcn rosc in rank almost in spite ofhimsclE In 1934, hc

bccamc (_hicfofthc Mechanics and Sound Division, which included

his own Acrodvnamics Scction. (' This promotion sccmcd to inauguratc a cascadc of rccognition, both in America and abroad. First, hc

was clcctcd to the Philosophical Socictv of Washington and bccamc

a Fellow of the Amc,'ican Association for thc Advancement of

Science. Then in 1934, hc travelled to Europc to prcscnt a paper at

thc Fourth Intcrnational Congrcss of Applied Mcchanics. Entitled

4
Hugh1)rvdcn'sCarccr

"BoundaryI,avcr Flow Ncar Flat Plates," it f'urthcr cnhanccd

1)rvdcn's standing bccausc of its significant contribution to describing thc mcchanics of laminar flow. Two vcars latcr Acrodvncrmic

7boo W, a book of cssavs by the most cmincnt international authoritics, rollcd offthc prcsscs in Bcrlin and includcd a scction by

1)r.vdcn on aerodynamic cooling. Finally, to crown thcsc rcmarkablc

years, in 1938 hc was invitcd to dclivcr the Wilbur \Vright I,ccturc

sponsorcd by thc Institutc of the Aeronautical Scicnccs, thc first

Amcrican so honorcd. Hc presented a magistcrial survey of the

cxisting statc of rcscarch in a lccturc called "Turbulcncc and the

Boundary Laycr." Thc Bureau responded to this cxtraordinarv

chain of profi:ssional succcsscs by naming Drvdcn its Chief Physicist. 7

World War II

Whcn Drvdcn cclcbratcd Iris 40th birthday in July 1938, hc

unknowingly ncarcd anothcr milcstonc. I.ikc millions ofothcrs, Iris

path would bc rcfi'actcd by war. Evcnts in Europc and Asia portcndcd anothcr worldwidc conflict and a sharp risc in military

projects at thc Burcau confirmcd it. Until now, his career cntailcd

thc management of small numbers of'tcchnical pcoplc who used

rclativcly simplc cquipmcnt to arrivc at narrowly dcfincd objcctivcs.

Hc knew cvcrv mcmbcr of his staff; their work, and thcir capacities.

Shortly, hc tbund himself directing large numbers of pcoplc from a

variety of institutions, commanding an imprcssivc array of rcsourccs,

and assuming rcsponsibility tbr undcrtakings of thc highcst national

importance, s

The vcncrablc NACA opcncd thcsc opportunities tbr Drydcn

and many othcrs. In 1940 its ncw chairman, Dr. Vanncvar Bush,

directed NACA's Exccutivc Secretary lohn F. Victory to draft

congressional lcgislation fin" a National Dcf;ensc Rcscarch Committcc. Thc proposal would systcmatically cnlist and cmploy civilian

scientists in the war cftbrt. When the idea borc fruit in the creation

of the Officc of Scicntific Rcscarch and Dcvclopmcnt (OSRD),

Bush left the NACA to hcad OSI_D. Shortly af_cr his arrival, a call

was issued fi)r scientists to discuss the fcasibility of guidcd missilcs.

Because of his famc in acrodynamics, Drydcn assumed a lcading

role. Mcantimc, thc U.S. Naw's Burcau of Ordnancc reckoned the

potential military value of such weapons and asscmblcd a group of

its own cmployccs, as well as a cadre of prot}essors fi'om the Massachusctts Institute of Tcclanology. The OSRD lcadcrs askcd Drydcn

to takc chargc of this group, known as the Bureau of Ordnancc

Expcrimental Unit. Hcadquartcrcd at the NBS, thc projcct also

incorporated Dryden's own staff:

For much of World War II, 1)rydcn immerscd himself in the

immcnsc task of concciving, dcsigning, testing, and finally procuring operational units fi)r thc Navv. The sense of wartime cmcrgcncy

addcd to thc prcssurc. 1)rvdcn fimnd rclicffi'om thcsc dcmands--as

well as dclight--in thc birth of his third child, Nancy, who arrivcd

in 1940.

Thc missilc, called thc Bat, consistcd of an aircraft-launclacd
Hugh Dryden's Career

gravity bomb capable of self correction in flight. As transmittcrs in

its front end bcamed radar waves to encmv vessels, a receiver (also

embedded in the Bat) picked up thc rcflcctcd pulses and sent

appropriate signals to the missile's control surfaces, steering it

toward the target. Bomber crews could thus release the weapon

from a considcrable distance and fly away with the confidence that

the weapon would reach the target on its own. To realize this great

advance in naval warfare, Dryden divided his researchers in three

catcgorics: Navy personnel tbr munitions development and testing

(on barges in Chesapeake Bay and on Liberty Ships in the Atlantic),

the M.I.T. contingent tbr homing system cxpcrinqents, and the NBS

team for aerodynamics work. Despite formidable technical and

administrative obstacles, Dryden and thc Bat enjoyed a significant

success. Indeed, although sevcral automatic guided missiles were

developed by the U.S. during the war, only the Bat proved efl_:ctivc

under fire. It appcarcd first in the Pacific in April 1945 at the Battle

of Okinawa. Aircraft of Fleet Wing One not only sank several

Japanese ships with the new weapon but also employed it succcssfhlly against land targets. 9

Fresh from the experience of guided missile development,

Dryden undertook a second wartime assignment. In thc fhll of 1944

hc received a call for assistance from long-time friend and colleague,

Dr. Theodore yon K_irm_in, a man known as nmch fbr wit and

charm as fbr brilliance. The world-rcnowncd Hungarian physicist

had been persuaded by Commanding General of the Arm}, Air

Forces Henry H. Arnold to lead a group of scientists to Europe to

assess war-related breakthroughs in flight. Dr. von ILirm_.n reluctantly agreed and turned to his trusted confidant Hugh Dryden to

bc his parmcr. They fhccd grcat challenges. General Arnold ascribed

the highest national importance to their mission, demanding not

just a report on the existing state of aeronautical knowledge with

Pearl Harbor in mind, he also wanted a forecast e_'long-range developments necessary to prevent (or deter) fl_ture devastating air attacks

on American cities. Beginning in December 1944, Dryden would

devote the better part of a year assisting yon K_rm_n in this endcavor.

During several months of preparati(m in the Pentagon Dryden

and von ICirnffm assembled some of the nation's most able figures

in the various flight sciences. The team, known collectively as the

Army Air Forces Scientific Group, departed in April 1945 to Europe, with hopes of visiting the U.S.S.R. as well. In London,

Dryden and yon Kfirm,in donned unilbrlns bearing the simulated

ranks of colonel and major general, respectively, and moved R)rward

to Paris. They advanccd to the German border and crossed it on

learning of a highly secret aeronautics laboratory just unearthed at

Braunschweig. This complex, brilliantly concealed in a setting of

woods and Farms, had been reduced to ruins by the invading U.S.

troops. Dryden interviewed many of thc remaining scientists about

their projects and pored ovcr technical data relating to swept-wing

aerodynamics, high-speed human physiology, and other surprising

research. He then parted from yon K,irmfin and traveled to

Munich, where Dr. Wernhcr von Braun, General Walter

6
Hughl)rydcn'sCareer

|!

1)_ydcn, Dr. Ben Lockspciser

(Great Britain), Theodore pon

IGirm_n, and Dr. A.P. Rowe

(Great Britain) in occupied

Germany, 9 May, ]945. (NASA

photo 76-H-547 from a Johns

Hopkins Unipersitv or(qinal)

Dornbcrgcr, and some 400

scientists of the Pccnemiindc

rocket facility had been relocated. There Dryden conducted

intense interrogations about the

V-1 cruise missile and the V-2

ballistic missile. Meanwhile, yon

K_rm_n flew to Moscow, and

I)rydcn rcturned to Germany to

finish the job. At one point, his

quiet but determined style was

put to the test. When hc discovered an uncrated Swiss willd

tunnel, he pressed to have it

shipped immediately to Wright

Field fbr investigation. Despite

the crusla of transatlantic air

freight, he proved persuasive;

prccious space was found on a B-17 bomber. After fiarthcr exploratory trips to the United Kingdom (U.K.), Switzerland, and France,

Dryden returned home.

The whole Scientific Advisory Group reunited in Washington,

D.C., that summer to draft Wherc Wc Stand, which recounted the

existing state of air power technology. A second fi)reign tour then

got underway, to Europe again and to Asia. Once it was completed,

General Arnold would receive his much anticipated long-range

fbrccast. Rather than travel with the others, Hugh Dryden remained

in Washington to act as general cditor of the ensuing report, which

was due to the general on December 15, 1945. During November

and earl), December the task all but inundated him. In just a fi:w

weeks the 25 contributors produced 33 essays, all requiring

Dryden's close scrutiny for unifying conceptual themes, technical

accuracy, and substantive editing. As hc finished, he cablcd each

article to yon Kfirm/m, who had remained in Paris to write a long

introductory essay titled "Science, the Key to Air Supremacy."

Along with the rest, Dryden also reviewed the text of his great

friend and managed to write two scctions himself on guided missiles. The resulting thirteen volumes--known togethcr as Toward

New Horizons---touched on every aspect of air power research, from

aerodynamics to propulsion, from fuels to radar. It made a lasting

impression on General Arnold and the U.S. Army Air Forccs.

Thanks in large part to Dryden's exacting standards of scientific

rigor, logical consistency, and written claritT, the conclusions imparted one clear and lasting thought to the Army Air Forces (and

later to the U.S. Air Force): To deter attack, modern air power

required the constant application of" the latest and best scientific

thinking. For his labors he received the National Mcdal of Freedom

from President Truman.l°

The NACA Years

Dryden returned to thc NBS upon completion of Toward New
Hugh l)rvdcn's (Luccr

Hori_.,ons, but like so mare'

scientists who engaged in warrclatcd rcscarch and administration, hc had substantially outgrown his old responsibilities.

Whcthcr hc sought it or not, the

war had carncd him a staturc _f

conscqucncc in acronautics, and

this new standing rcccivcd

almost immediate recognition.

In January 1946, hc bccamc the

Bureau's Assistant 1)ircctor and

six months latcr, its Associate

1)ircctor. Yet soon and suddcnly,

Dryden's carccr attaincd fifll

flower. Since 1919, thc fi)rmidablc cnginccr Gcorgc W. Lewis had

bccn thc NACA's Dircctor of Acronautical Rcscarch, its chict'of

day to-day opcrations. Thc organization multiplicd during World

War II: from 500 employees in 1939 to 6,000 in 1945 and from

onc laboratory when he began to fivc rcscarch t'acilitics shorth' after

thc war. I,cwis" health collapscd tllldCl" the cxcrtions associated with

thc NA(_A's wartimc responsibilities, and in 1947 his resignation

became imminent. Whcn thc NA(_A ,\lain Committcc (its governing board) tact in Washington, 1).(L, to considcr succcssors, they

fimnd a leading candidatc close at hand. Fcw could match Drvdcn's

rccord of'sparkling scicntific achicvcmcnt and wide administrative

cxpcricncc. Hugh Dr.vdcn assumed the position in Scptcmbcr,

bccoming pcrhaps thc most influcntial civilian figu.'c in Amcrican

flight rcscarch. 11

1)rvdcn's new importance rested in part on thc very size and

superiority ogthc NACA's physical plant, which constituted a sort of

legacy from Lcwis to Drvdcn. Thc first ficld location had arisen cm

rcmotc marsh land in Hampton,

Virginia, and opened in 1920.

By the 1c_a0s, the l,anglcy

Memorial Aeronautical l,aboratory housed a t'ull-scalc wind

tunncl and many other unique

picccs of"rcscarch cquipmcnt. _I_

Noncthclcss, striking Europcan

ac.'onautical advanccs bcf0rc

World War II prompted Congrcss to allocatc funds fi_r thc

NACA's cxpansion. Gradually,

Langley doublcd its capacity to

undcrtakc new projects. In thc

mcantinlc, an immense laboratory was planncd fin" Mofl'ctt

Ficld near San Francisco, (_alitbrnia. l)csigncd to augmcnt the

aeronautical rcscarch of Wcst Coast aircraft manufacturers, the

fhcilitics built in 1939 and 1940, bccamc known as thc Ames

Acronautical Laboratory (tot l)rvdcn's mcntor Joseph Ames). Its 12

High-speed n,i,M tumzcl at

Lm(_l O, Memorial Aero_lautical

Laboratoo, , Lallfll O, Field, VA.

(NASA photo LMAL 28410)

NACA 16-fi_ot wMd tu,a,acl at

A rues Aero_a utica l Laborator),,

Moffett Field, CA. (NASA photo)
Hugh 13rvdcn's (farter

Httsh Dryden, Director of

NACA preparing to board a

Lockheed Constellation enrout¢ to

_qivc the 37th Wilbur Wright

Lecture before the Royal Aeronautical Societ); E#ancl, in

April 1949. (NASA photo 76-H549 fi, om a Johns Hopkins University or(ainal)

by 24 meter wind tunnel dwartbd the fbrmcr world's champion at

I.anglcy. In 1940, vet anothcr impressive center, this one devoted to

propulsion, received congressional approval. Upon the death of

George l.cwis in 1948, this thcilitv erected in (_lcvcland, Olaio,

assumed the name of the I.cwis Flight lh'opulsion I.aboratorv.

Finally, two test operations came into being. To explore flight

characteristics in the transonic range, a tormcr naval station over

looking Chesapeake Bay was pressed into service as the Pilotless

Aircraft Rcscarch Station at Wallops Island, Virginia in 1945. To

gather flight data on transonic and laigh-vclocity cxpcrimcntal

aircralk, the NACA opened the Muroc Flight Test Unit in 1946 (m

the dry lakcbcd near the desert outpost ofMojavc, Califi_rnia. After

1954, this unit was renamed the NACA High Speed Flight Station.

Yet the wind tunnels, runways, tcst stands, hangars, and fhbrication shops that comprised the NACA in 1947 accounted Rn" onlv a

part of Lewis' legacy to Drvdcn. Perhaps to a

greater dcgrcc, the NA(]A's strength lay in its

unusual stall: In the face of the Great Depression,

malay Of the nation's best young aeronautical

cnginecring minds turncd to the NACA tbr

rclativclv secure employment. The work was not

just steady, but intcrcsting. Bctbrc World War II,

the NACA concentrated on theoretical studies

and basic acrodvnamic research. Once the Unitcd

Statcs joincd the conflict, it conccntratcd on drag

"cleanup" tbr American aircraft. The contributions bctbrc and during thc war wcrc immcnsc. A

fhmily of pioneering airtbil shapes, cowlings fin.

radial cngincs, and imaginativc wind-tunnel types

and designs only begin to express the achievements. Even more than these advances, the body

of knowledge contained in the NACA technical

publications had become an international standard

R)r acronautics research. It also employed such

genuine luminaries in thc acrodynamics profi:ssion

as Max Munk, Fred Weick, Eastman lacobs,

Pdchard Whitcomb, Robert T. Jones, and lohn

Stack. 12

Yet, the NACA directed by Hugh l)ryden (after 1949 as

Dircctor rather than simply Director of Research) would diffi:r fi'om

that of his predecessor. The new research director did have extensive

administrative cxpcricncc but regarded himself principally as a

scientist among scientists, one who pointed his staff and his agency

toward new discoveries. Indeed, at the time of assuming his duties,

hc had already bccn editor of The Journal _¢'th¢ Institute of the

Aeronautical Sciences fbr six years (a post he continued to fill until

1956). In addition Dryden helped fbund and sat on the board of

editors of The Qnartcrly of'Applied Mechanics. As readers of these

publications knew, 1)rydcn had devoted his entire research career to

high-speed flight. Now, hc would lcad the NACA in this direction.

He took courage in this objective in ()ctobcr 1947 when hc

learned, just after arriving at the NA(_A, that Captain Charlcs E.

9
Ht, gh 1)rvdcn's (;arccr

Ycagcr had flown a rockct-powercd aircraft past the speed of sound.

The event gave Dryden occasion to state clearly the NACA's future

COLIFSC:

During the first 25 ),cars--until World War ll--most

of the NACA's research was concentrated on aerodynamic problems... [and] the NA(:A produced a

wcalth ofinfbrmation that was used to good advantage by America's aircraft industry. This was a course

of action that paid handsome dividends, in directly

uscfhl information, on the taxpayers' investment.

The NACA's eflbrt in World War II was devoted

largely to applied research, the business of finding

'quick fixes' to improve the pcrfbrmance of existing

airplancs and to make production engines more

powerful. By thc close of\Vorld War II, the end had

comc fbr development of the airplane as conccivcd

by the Wright Brothers. Now, it was possible to

build usefhl rocket engines, and with this development came the possibility of flight at velocities

exceeding the speed of sound and to altitudes highcr

than the earth's atmosphere. 13

Dryden turned immcdiatch' to constructing the necessary

infrastructure to achieve his goal. Wind tunnels capablc of simulating velocities up to ten times Math 1 now became imperative and

national figures, such as Air Force Sccrctarv W. Stuart Symington,

supported the idea (although more for reasons of Cold War superiority than scientific inquiry). Nonetheless, Congress voted tbr a

National Unitary Wind Tunnel Plan shaped by Dryden's vision of

aeronautical research, which

allocated these immense and

costly rcsourccs on a systematic

basis and distributed them

equitably among the NACA and

thc U.S. Air Force for supersonic and hypersonic testing.

This task completed, Dryden

and his laboratorics concerned

themselves with flight vehicles.

Before and during the 1950s,

the NACA made invaluable

aerodynamics contributions to

the USAF high-velocity Century

Series fighter aircraft. In 1954,

he assumed the chairmanship of

the new Air Force-Navy-NACA

Rcscarch Airplanc Committee.

This group surveyed the data from such cxpcrimcntal programs as

the X-l, X-2, X-3, X-4, X-5, YF-92A, D-558-1 and -2 and conceived of the hypersonic X-15 rocket planc. Dryden provided more

than a guiding hand in the delibcranons. Year after ycar, in a time of

NA CA Executive Committee

meeting at La,(8le:v Research

Center June 2, 1950. (NASA

photo)

10
Hughl)rvdcn'sCareer

NACA mccti,qt at Lewis Laboratot3; October 195Z (NASA

photo)

pinchcd budgcts, hc achicvcd

consistcnt congressional support

tbr thc X-15 during thc early

National Acronautics and Space

Administration (NASAl) period

(scc bclow). Evcntuallv flying as

thst as 4,520 milcs pcr hour and

as high as 67 milcs above the

planet, thc X-15 program lcnt a

solid tcchnical basis to the early

U.S. human space program,

cmbodicd in Projcct Mcrcury.

(Scc bclow fin" a discussion of

thc morc purely aeronautical

rcsults of the X-15 flight rcscarch.) Finally, the NACA

Director pressed fbr solutions to the problem of rc-entrv heating

encountered by vehicles such as missiles, aircraft, and capsules,

penetrating the atmosphcrc froln high altitudcs. The NACA scientists tbund answers in thc bhmt body shape discovcred by H. Julian

Allen of thc Ames l,aboratory and in the principle of ablation

rcsulting from the matc,ials rcscarch of Robcrt Gilruth at Langley.

Dryden's carlicst and clcarcst position on fully realized space

fight occurrcd in 1955 after Iris election as Home Secretary of the

National Acadcmy of Scicnccs. In this capacity, hc was askcd to

review satellite programs proposcd tbr thc Imcrnational Geophysical

Ycar (IGY). Skcptical of expensive and unproven vcnturcs, the

NACA Dircctor at first balked at the rcquestcd S 100 million annual

appropriation (which, at_er all, rivallcd the entire ycarly budget of

thc NACA). Hc relented oncc a sct ofclcar scientific objectives had

bccn tbrmutatcd. Under his dircction, the NACA assisted the IGY

projects significantly. The Langlcy Laboratory R)rmcd a Satcllite

Vehicle Group to cxplorc spacecraft structures, trajcctorics, and

guidance; its Pilotless Aircraft Rcscarch Division initiatcd rocket

studies.

Thus, by the mid-1950s Dryden had accustomed the NACA to

the idea that high-spccd research and, ultimately, space endeavors

loomed large and would assumc cvcn greater ilnportancc in timc.

Of course, in 1957 Drydcn still tbcuscd his organization's 8,000

employees mainly on atmospheric flight. Although hc had shifted an

increasing part of his staff and resources to space-rclatcd projccts,

until a firm national commitment to space exploration emcrged,

Dryden and the NACA--whose final A, after all, stood tbr aeronautics-could only accomplish limited objectives in research and flight

outside the atmosphere. Once the Prcsident and Congress gave

their assent, however, Hugh Dryden could summon within his

organization a cadre of experienced scientists and engineers able to

assunte pivotal roles in the new endeavor. 14

The Transition from the NACA to NASA

Of course, thc spur to spacc camc not from within the U.S. but

11
HughDryden'sCareer

ff()moutsidcit. Thc launchof thcSovietSputnik

I satcllitconOctober4, 1957,rclcascdalmost

palpableshockwavesacrossthc country.At once,

Sputnikrcprescntednot onlythc capacityof a

hostilepowerto fly without challengc ovcr American tcrritory; it also destroycd thc COlnplacent

belief that U.S. technology surpasscd all others.

Amplificd by sensational reports in the prcss, the

distant signals from the littlc sphere in orbit rang

like trumpets in thc cars of the President, members of Congress, and military lcadcrs.

Dryden, his hcadquartcrs staf't; and the NACA

laboratories did not share the nation's panic. They

knew thc Soviets had thc capacity to launch a

satellitc, an objective declared publicly by the

Russians carlier in 1957. This flight would bc

their contribution to IGY; thc U.S. promised a

similar feat with Project Vanguard. Dryden also

realized thc NACA's ten ).,ears of achievcment in

high- speed flight left thc institution bcttcr prepared than any other to participatc in whatever

space policy might cmcrgc after Sputnik.

Yet, in a case of high iron._q despite his long

and vigorous pursuit of preliminary space rescarch, Dryden himselffi:ll victim to the Sputnik

hysteria. He became identified in the newspapers and in Congress

with the scientific establishment, which somehow had allowed

Sputnik to happell. Dryden, howevcr, did little to cast off the False

charactcrization. His plain, unassuming style and disdain fi)r sclfcommendation attracted few allies in a time of loud accusations and

expansivc promises. Indeed, the political climate suggcstcd ancw sct

of personalities, unattachcd to thc perccivcd shortcomings or past

years, fi)r lcadership in space. Thus, during the 12 months of deliberations about an institutional response to Sputnik, Hugh 1)rydcn

was consulted and considered fi)r a role of leadership; was not only

heard, but hceded. Yet, his ultimate role turned out to bc smaller

than expected. 1S

Thc National Aeronautics and Space Act (which bccamc law in

July 1958) and its off'spring--thc National Aeronautics and Space

Administration--owed much to 1)rydcn's cffi)rts. Many govcrnmcnt entities vied lbr control of thc space mission: thc Air Force,

the Arm),, the Department of Deti:nse's Advanced Research Projects

Agency (ARPA), the Atomic Energy Comnlission, and the NACA

itsell: To choose among the candidates, Prcsidcnt Eiscnhower

directed his Science Advisory Comlnittee to review the various

administrative options and make recommendations. On it sat two

NACA figures of recognized compctcncc and reputation: Hugh

Dryden and the new chairman of the Main Committee, General

Jimmy Doolittle. Together, they successfully lobbied thc Prcsidcnt's

science advisors for a civilian spacc agcncy based on the NACA as its

organizational core. They also testified bcfbrc Congress, outlining

the new agency's budget and span oF operations, then stamping

1)re'den (seated, second j)'om hft)

with d;c House Sch'ct Committee

on Astronautics and 57)ctcc

Explort_tion in April 1958, at

hcarinas conccrni,qt the creation

o[ NASA. (NASA photo 70-H550.?}'om a Johns Hwkins Univcrsi O, or(oinal)

12
Hugh1)rydcn'sCareer

both with the NACA imprimatur.

As these consultations proceeded, Dryden prcparcd his staff and

laboratories fbr their vastly expanded field of action, which they had

already begun to explorc. He fbrmed a Spccial Conmfittcc on Space

Technology chaired by an associate from Toward New Horizons

days, Profi:ssor H. Guyford Stevcr of M.I.T. Members included

such notables as James A. Van Allen, Wcrnher yon Braun, H. Julian

Allen, and William Pickcring. Dryden also took administrative steps

in anticipation of passage of the July law. Guessing what lay ahead,

hc asked Robert Gilruth and a Langley team to plan fbr human

spaceflight. He also persuaded Abe Silvcrstcin, the Assistant Director of the Lewis Laboratory, to transt_:r to Washington and assume

the task of structurally transf`orming the NACA into NASA.

In the end, Dryden would ovcrscc neither Gilruth's nor

Silverstein's labors. This job would be assumed by T. Keith

Glcnnan, President of the Case Institute of Technology and President Eiscnhower's nominee to be NASA's first Administrator.

Glennan agreed to come to Washington only on the condition that

Hugh Drydcn scrvc as his deputy. After 40 full },cars of government

service, Dryden concealed his disappointment and continued to

serve the public.16

Early NASA Years

Now 60 ),ears of age, Dryden still had much to offer, and

Glennan sorely needed his help. More than anyone, Dryden knew

every corner of the f`ormer NACA, from its personalities to its

technical capacity, from its budgetary practices to its institutional

peculiarities. More vital still, he possessed as complete a knowledge

of carl)' space endeavors as anyone in America. Indeed, he had been

responsible for or associated with almost all such effbrts. Dryden

had also developed through the years a finely tuned instinct fbr wise

bureaucratic choices, honed in hours before congressional committees and sharpened in countless White House meetings. Finally, and

perhaps most important ()fall, Hugh Dryden was known universail),. Because of his prominence in such societies as the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, of which he

had been both president and vice-president, and his distinguished

scientific research, hc had perhaps as many contacts overseas as at

home. In the United States, he knew just about every major, and

many minor, figures in the field, including aircraft manufacturers,

airline executives, airframe designers, test pilots, university scientists,

and military officers.17 So Keith Glennan, a distinguished highly

capable engineer and administrator in his own right, began his

tenure at NASA with perhaps Iris best decision: his choice of deputy.

The titular transformation of the NACA to NASA occurred on

October 1, 1958. Thc actual realignments stretched on )'or two

),cars and fi:ll mostly to Dryden. Forming a single, cohesive entity

from many constituent parts called forth some of the deputy

administrator's best qualities: calmness under pressure, intcnsi W in

powcrs of analysis, and clarity of mind that remained fixed on the

13
Hughl)rvdcn's(_arccr

criticalobjcctivcsdespiteanydistractionsof thc momcnt. The

Army held two of thc most important picccs of the cmcrging

mosaic. Togcthc.', thcsc thcilitics had answc.'cd Sputnik 1 in January

1958 with America's first Earth satellite, Explorer 1. Dcspitc Army

objcctions, the lct Propulsion I,aboratorv (IPL) left military cognizance on the last day of 1958. At the same timc, an Executive ()rdcr

assigned to NASA thc Army contract with thc (:alif0rnia Institutc of

Technology, which providcd tot l PI, staffing and operations. Army

brass rcsistcd morc strenuously thc loss (_f a part of its Ballistic

Missile Agency in Huntsville, Alabama--the Dcvclopmcnt Operations Division, undcr thc direction of Wcrnhcr yon Braun, employing somc 4,000 scientists and cnginccrs. N(mcthclcss, after much

bureaucratic scuffling, in Marcia 196(/it too was transtlzrrcd to

NASA. With it came the prizc ofprizcs: thc gigantic Saturn booster

project. Dryden also ncgotiatcd with thc Defense Dcpartmcnt a

series of understandings (m launch support and astr(maut training.

In addition hc arranged tbr the gradual assumption by NASA (_t"

such crucial programs as thc Air Forcc's F-1 rockct cnginc. The

Navv's Projcct Vanguard and ARPA's spacc science projects also

Rmnd homes at NASA. Finally, Drvdcn cxcrciscd a nurturing hand

in establishing at Grccnbclt, Maryland, thc Robcrt H. Goddard

Space Flight Ccntcr to launch and track unpilotcd space vchiclcs

and to dcvclop spacc scicncc cxpcrimcnts. IS

Having locked NASA's structural components in placc, 1)rvdcn

spent the ncxt ycars in somewhat contradictory pursuits: on thc one

hand advising and guiding thosc who planned thc human missions

that ultimately ovcrtook thc Soviet lead in spacc and, on the othcr,

negotiating patiently and cfli:ctivch' with Soviet representatives fin"

coopcration in spacc. His cxtcnsivc international cxpcricncc with

profi:ssional socictics prcparcd him wcll fbr diplomatic scrvicc. Hc

first actcd as Altcrnatc Rcprcscntativc tbr Ambassador Hcnrv Cabot

Lodgc to thc United Nations Ad Hoc (_ommittcc on the Pcaccful

Uscs of Outer Spacc. "I served," hc latcr recalled, "on thc technical

subcommittee, and had thc opportunity to prcparc with somc of my

collcagucs a report on the technical aspccts of space tcchnology." In

thct, his activitics rcsultcd in a NASA invitation to other countrics to

undertake joint spacc rcscarch projccts of mutual intcrcst. Dryden

thcn became chicf negotiator during direct talks with thc U.S.S.R.

\,Vith his counterpart, Acadcmician Anatolv A. Blagonravov, hc

signed limited, but ncvcrthclcss unprcccdcntcd, agreements on

mctcorology, communications, and magnctic field data. l')rvdcn

insisted on, and achicvcd, exchanges which providcd clcar mutual

bcncfits. He likcwisc prcsscd tbr understandings with the U.K.,

Canada, Italy, and othcr nati(ms to sharc infbrmation dcrivcd fi'om

space. "I am pcrsuadcd," hc said, "'that there arc very grcat valucs to

the United States in this coopcration." 19

At the same time, Drvdcn laid the tbundation fbr American

Icadcrship in space. All through the carh' months of Glcnnan's term,

the headquarters staff undcltook thc burdensome task otlong-rangc

planning. Thc rcsulting Ten Year Plan--in which l)rvdcn played an

indispcnsablc part--proposcd cxpcnditurcs of(me to two billion

annually and an avcragc of two launchcs per re(ruth. I,uckily, a

14
HughDryden'sCarccr

rcvcrsaloffi)rtunc occurrcdin thc sky,lendingcrcdcncc to thc

cxpansivc projcctions. During 1959, scvcn of'scvcntccn U.S.

launchcs failcd, but thcn, thc wogram rightcd itsclt" Explorcr 6

wcnt into orbit and thnctioncd pcrfcctly. Pionccr 5 cmbarkcd

toward Venus and ultimatcly rclaycd planctary data from as far as 22

million relics away. Tiros 1 capturcd thousands of photographs of

thc Earth's wcathcr. In addition, in August 1960, Echo 1 unfbldcd

in orbit to become thc world's first passivc communications satcllitc.

Thc grcatcst challcngc still awaited: To launch humans, not just

machines, into spacc. Drydcn tbllowcd thc unvciling of thc Tcn

Ycar Plan with an announccmcnt to thc NASA Industry Plans

COlfl_:rcncc that Project Mcrcury, thc first U.S. program tbr launching humans into space, would bc fbllowcd by a morc ambitious onc

namcd Project Apollo.

Continued Service in NASA

But would Hugh 17)rydcn participate in thcsc actMtics, or rctirc

at last? Toward thc cnd of 1960, his pcriod ofofficc-holding appeared to bc drawing to a closc. John F. Kennedy narrowh, dcfizatcd

Richard M. Nixon for the prcsidcncy in Novcmbcr and all thc

cxccutivc appointccs, including Kcith Glcnnan, submittcd their

rcsignations. Thc dcputy administrator also handcd in his lcttcr, but

sincc the Kcnncdv transition officc ncvcr acknowlcdgcd it, hc stayed

on in a carctakcr capacity until thc new administration sclcctcd its

nomincc. 20 Untbrtunatcly, during the period of transition NASA

camc undcr sudden attack.Thc Prcsidcnt-clcct's Ad Hoc Spacc

Pancl, lcd by Dr. Jcromc Wicsncr, thc Whitc House Scicncc Advisor-dcsignatc, issued a report sharply critical of thc U.S. acronautics,

spacc, and missile programs. Naturally, thc committcc's rccommcndations wcrc not ficc of political coloration; while hc hcadcd thc Ad

Hoc Pancl, Wicsncr also chaircd thc 1)cmocratic Party's Scicncc

Committcc. Morcovcr during the ycar bcfbrc thc clcction, thc

Dcmocratic candidatc warned repcatcdly of unt_vorablc spacc and

missilc "gaps" bctwccn Amcrican and Russian capabilitics. Oncc

clotted, thc winning party 621t obligcd to pinpoint thc causes of thc

allcgcd inadcquacies. Thcsc chargcs wcrc publishcd in thc pagcs of

thc Ncw York Times, which rcprintcd the Wicsncr Report. It citcd:

1. "A number of organizational and managcmcnt

dcficicncics as well as problcms of staffing and

dircction."

2. 1)uplication bctwccn NASA and thc military

spacc programs arising cspccially from rocket and

ballistic missile rescarch.

3. Flaws in thc technical aspccts of Project Mercury.

4. Ncglcct of aerodynamics rcscarch.

5. Thc exclusion of univcrsitv and industrial scicn15
HughDryden's(_arccr

fistsfi'()mNASAactivi

ties.

6. A preoccupationwith

in-houseresearchat tile

expenseof private sector

cooperation.

7. l,ack of vision in the

selection of science

missions and errors in the

selection of scientists to

achieve them.

Undoubtedly, thcsc accusati(ms stung Drvdcn. As NACA

Dircctor and NASA Deputy

Administrator over the past

thirteen years, hc had bccn

perhaps more responsible than

anyone fbr the policies criticized by Wicsncr. Hc had worked

tirelessly, often brilliantly--and always unobtrusively--to move

aeronautics toward the margins of spacc. Although politics may

have motivated some of the complaints, most of them accurately

reflected an institution in the proccss of metamorphosis, from a

laboratory operation to one based on contracts administration. On

the other hand, some of the report's charges, especially those

relating to civilian versus military roles and the long-term objectives

in space, required decisions at the highest levels of government.

Indeed, they awaited action by President Kennedy himscl£

Bc tiffs as it lnay, in one arca--1)rydcn's own specialty, aeronautics-the criticism in thc Wicsncr report was clearly inaccurate.

Altlaough in the wake of Sputnik the former aeronautical laboratories and fhcilities of the NA(;A had shifted much of" their emphasis

fi'om pure aeronautics to the problems (ffspace travel, they had by

no means ncglectcd acrodvnamics rcscarch.

At I,anglcy, fi)r example, in the carh' 1950s, aerodynamicists had

studied the variable-sweep wing as a way to improve the operating

efficiency of a military aircraft. The NACA High Speed Flight

Station had flight tested the concept on the X-5 from 1952 to

1955. Thc NACA researchers had subsequently identified a solution

to changes in stability as the wings rotated through various angles

of sweep. Wind-tunnel tests at I,anglcy led the Department of

Dct;ensc in 1961 to approvc production of the first U.S. variablesweep fighter, the F-111. Many subsequent military aircraft incorporatcd the concept. 21 This important aerodynamic discovery was

continuing during the vcry years of transition from the NACA to

NASA that the Wicsncr Report purp()rtcd to examine.

"I'o give but one of many othcr cxamplcs of continued

pathbrcaking research in aerodynamics, as already noted the X-1 5

flight research was also beginning during Glcnnan's administrati(m

of NASA. The implications of that program for space were highly

]ames E. Web& NASA Admin#-

trator, and HltfftJ L. i)t3,de,_,

I)epu U Administratm; appear

b_fore the Honorable Overton

Brooks, Chairman rg'thc House

Committee on Science a_ld

Astronautics on March 13, 1961.

(NASA photo O1-Admin.-9)

16
HughDryden's Career

significant, but flight rcscarch had only bcgun in 1959. Thus its

significancc fin" both acronautics and spacc could not bc fillly

apprcciatcd in carly 1961 whcn thc Wicsncr Rcport appeared.

Ncvcrthclcss, thc X-1S airplanc had bccn on thc drawing board

since 1954. By thc cnd of 1960, the aircraft had already complctcd

31 flights at thc NASA Flight Research Center in the Mojavc

Dcscrt. Those knowledgeable about the program could alrcady

anticipate thc enormous fhnd of data thc aircraf:c would provide in

such arcas as hypcrsonic air flow, acrodynamic hcating, control and

stability of flight at hypersonic speeds (abovc blach 5), rcaction

controls fin" flight abovc thc atmosphcrc, transition fiom acrodynamic to reaction controls, piloting tcclmiques f()r reentry, human

fhctors, and flight instrumentation. These data significantly modificd cxisting acrodvnamic thcory, espccially in thc areas of hcat flow

and wind-tunncl testing, and thc X-15 aircraft went on to bccomc

onc of the most succcssfifl flight rcscarch programs in thc long

history of thc NACA and NASA. 22

Although thcv failcd to recognizc such contributions, the

Wicsncr rccommcndations alcrtcd NASA to thc Kcnncdv

administration's intcntions. Despite thc implications about his

pcrfi)rmancc, 1)rvdcn rcmaincd publicly unafli:ctcd by thc tcmpcst,

and the prcss lcft him unscathcd. In thc midst of the crisis, hc

managcd to prcscrvc a scnsc of cahn and continuity at the agency.

l)rvdcn kncw thc criticism could only be answcrcd by the new

administrator; thcrctbrc, calling on rescrves of paticncc and cndurancc, hc concentrated on the tasks at hand and outlasted this painful

cpisodc.

His rcsponsc rcflcctcd his view of lifi_'. In one of the many

scrmons hc delivcrcd from the Methodist pulpit, Drvdcn rcmarkcd

that "onc major mark of rank in the organic world is the capacit T to

suffcr. Thc aim of lifE, therefbre, is not to abolish suffiering, fi)r that

would abolish sensitivity, but to climinatc its cruel, barbarous, and

usclcss tbrms. To willingly accept toil, trouble, and suflisring, these

arc goals for scicntists as wcll as R)r other men. "23

Worsc sut'fi.-ring lay ahcad. I,ater in the year a routinc mcdical

cxamination rcvcalcd a malignancy in his chest. Af:ccr surgcry and

additional trcatmcnts, hc returned not to reduced activity, but to

the busicst schedule of his lif_. During the years remaining to him,

the visits to the hospital recurred every fi_w months, and thc mcdications bccamc more severe; yet the frantic pacc of speeches, banqucts, meetings, and profisssional confcrcnccs ncvcr slackcncd.

Typically, he spokc of his affliction to no one.

In spite of the criticism and doubts raised by the Wicsncr

Rcport, the Deputy Administrator had long worked out fbr himself

a clear and unchanging mental schematic of the naturc of American

space exploration. Hc divided it into three catcgorics:

The first includes those missions intended primarily to

producc scientific data with rcspcct to the spacc cnvironmcnt, thc sun, carth, and planets and thc galaxy,

using tclcmctry of infbrmation fi-om unman,acd vehicles. The second is composed ofcarth satcllitc mis17
HughDryden'sCarccr

si(msfbr applicati(mto mctcor(_h_gical rcncarchand

wcathcrfbrccasting,longdistanccwide-bandcommunicationn,navigation,andsimilartanks.Thc third rclatcs

to thetravelof manhimnclfin space,atfirstin asatellite

orbit, latcrto thc moon,andlatcrto thc planetsand

()titcr rcachcs ofthc solar system. 24

Hugh Drvdcn dcvotcd m(_st of his waking hours to thc achievement of the third segment oFthc U.S. npacc mission. Hc did so in

tandem with Prcsidcm Kennedy's appointcc an NASA Adminintra

tor, fbrmcr Burcau ofthc Budgct l)ircctor James E. Wcbb. I,ikc

Glcnnan, Wcbb agrccd to thc position onh' on condition of

l)rvdcn'n continucd scrvicc. So hmg in harness, Dryden acccdcd to

thc rcqucst.

Within thrcc months of'the Kennedy inaugural in January 1961,

Amcrican human npaccflight rcccivcd two powcrful boostn--onc

fi'om thc succcssful orbital flight of(_onmonaut Yuri Gagarin, and

anothcr fi'om the botchcd invasion ot'(_uba. The young Prcsidcm

scarchcd tbr ways to strcngthcn the image of lain wcakcncd administration and found his answcr in spacc. Thc NASA Tcn Ycar Plan had

projcctcd a lunar circumnavigati(m by astronauts. To dcf{sat thc

Soviets at their game, cnpccially at_cr Gagarin's triumph, thc U.S.

rcquircd an cvcn morc daring cntcrprinc. La_Mit(a astronauts on the

Moon and rcturning them to Earth w(mld ansurc an cqual t_Joting

with the l_,ussians. Both sides would havc t(_ start from the beginning, building alt ncw spacccraf't and bc_(_stcrs. ()n May 25, 1961,

thc Prcsidcnt annotmccd to a joint scssi_m (_f(_ongrcss his c(mmlitmcnt to sending Amcricans t(_ the lunar surfhcc and back to Earth

bctbrc thc cnd of'thc dccadc. 2_

Drvdcn thrcw himsclt'into the intricacies of human space flight

with cvcn grcatcr cnthusiasm than hcfore. Thc conccption and

plaiming of Projcct Mcrcurv borc his imprint from thc very inccption. Projccts Gemini and Apollo also owcd an immcnsc debt to his

hcavy labors and quict scrvicc. Hc fimnd it possiblc to makc such

contributions bccaunc hc and lames Wcbb had cstablishcd clcarh'

dcfincd sphcrcs ofopcration. Thc administrator acccptcd an lain

highcst priority to lobby and win the support of Washingtoll'n

political clitc f'or thc spacc pr(_gram as wcll as to convincc thc voting

public of'its valuc. Thc two mcn nharcd rcsponsibility fi_l- the broad

policy dircction ofthc agcncy but to 1)rvdcn f'cll thc hardest dccisions involving tcchnical and fiscal choices: which nvstcmn and subsystems to fhnd or to eliminate, to accept as prcscntcd or to modi_';

which scicntific cxpcrimcntn to pursue; how to structurc progranls

fbr maximum utility; how to obtain thc c(_opcration of universities,

corporations, and R_rcign powc.'s; how to prcparc and prcscnt

budgcts to congrcssional commiltccs.

Drvdcn acted in this indispcnnablc capacity not by attempting to

superimpose his viewpoints on the NASA Hcadquartcrs and (_cntcr

staffs. Instcad, hc scrvcd an \Vcbb's savant, capable, an onc historian

has obscrvcd, of'."

solving thc problems ()ft;ordian knots without...

18
Hughl)rvdcn's(latter

NASA cxccutipc mccti_(8 with

left to right; HmTh L. l)lydcn,

1)_Tutv Administrator, ]amcs E.

Wcbb, Administrator, aud 1)r.

Robcrt C. Scamans, Jr. Associate

Administrator. (NASA photo 66-

H-93)

violently cutting through them. Hc did not

cut through thcm, but ncithcr did hc ncath'

untie them. Instcad, it was hc who showed

others how thc untying was donc--and

without their cvcr being aware that they

wcrc undcr instruction. Drvdcn had a grcat

talcnt for showing other brilliant mcn how

to bccomc cvcn morc brilliant, without their

cvcr rcalizing how grcat had bccn his assistancc. Morc offcn than not, l),'vdcn's

wisdom and judgmcnt...wcrc t_lt without

cvcr being sccn. 2¢'

While Drvdcn rccognizcd the perils ofdcfcat in

the (;old War, hc ncvcr rcgardcd Projccts Mcrcury, Gcmini, and Apollo, thc many unpilotcd

scicntific probes, or the satcllitcs launchcd during

his tCllUrc mcrclv as dcmonstrations of American

supcriority. Rathcr, as hc told Scnat_w Robcrt S.

Kerr (1), ()klahoma); Chairman of thc Committee

on Acronautical and Spacc Scicnccs:

Thc sctting of thc difficult goal of landing a man on

thc moon and return to) carth has thc highly inlportant rolc of accclcrating thc dcvclopmcnt of" space

science and tcchnology, motivating thc scicntists and

engineers who arc cngagcd in this cttbrt to movc

tbrward with urgcncy, and intcgrating their cflbrts in

a way that camlot bc accomplished by a disconncctcd series of rcscarch investigations in thc several

ficlds. It is important to rcalizc, howcvcr, that thc

real valucs and purposcs arc not in thc mcrc accomplishmcnt of man sctting R_ot on thc moon, but

rather in thc great cooperative national cflbrt in the

dcvclopmcnt of scicncc and tcchnology which is

stimulatcd by tiffs goal .... Thc national cntcrprisc

involvcd in the goal of manned hmar landing and

return within thc dccadc is an activity of critical

impact on thc futurc of this nation as an industrial

and military power, and as a lcadcr of the ficc

world. 27

Final Years

By 1965, thc illness to which Drydcn had given no quartcr

finally bcgan to drain his capacity tbr rcsistancc. Hc summoncd his

cncrgy and flew to Hawaii to addrcss a governors' contkrcncc, thcn

stoppcd in Scattlc to appcar as kcvnotc spcakcr at a meeting of the

National Acadcmv ot'Scicnccs. Upon rcturning to his dcsk in

Washington, hc rcsumcd thc customarih' hcavv schcdulc, thcn

travclcd again, oncc to Ncw Yo.'k and oncc to Chicago. ()n Novcmbcr 16, hc cntcrcd thc hospital tbr the usual periodic treatments,

19
HughDryden'sCareer

expectingto bereleasedfairlysoon,but hisconditionworsened,

andheremainedthroughThanksgiving.Hugh L. Drydcndiedon

theeveningof Thursday,Dcccmbcr2, 1965.Despitetheobvious

physicaldecline,hisdegreeof activityhadlongbeliedthetrue state

of hishealth,andfriendsandcolleaguesexpressedshockat his

passing.PresidentLyndonJohnson,agreatadmirerof Dryden,

whomhehadknownoveradecadc-longcollaboration,told thc

nationthat"no soldiercverpcrfi_rmedhisduty with more bravcrv

and no statesman cvcr chartcd ncw courses with more dcdication

than Hugh Dryden. Whcnever thc first American space man sets

fi)ot on the moon or iliads a ncw trail to) a new star, he will know

that Hugh Dryden was onc of thosc who gavc him knowledge and

illumination."28

Dryden received many othcr accoladcs and awards during his

lifetime and alter his death, but pcrhaps his greatest and most

appropriate honor came on Marcia 26, 1976, when NASA rcnamcd

thc NASA Flight Research Ccntcr as the NASA Hugh L. Dryden

Flight Rcscarch Center. At thc dcdicati(m ccrcmonics, thcn-NASA

Administrator James C. Fletcher stated:

in 1924, when the fastest racing plancs did well to fly at

280 m.p.h, Dryden was alrcadv probing the transonic

range of... flight. Later in thc 1920s, he sought to

develop methods of accurately mcasuring.., turbulence in wind tunnels. In 1938_ hc was the first American to deliver the Wright Brothers Lecture at the

Institute of Aeronautical Sciences. His "Turbulence and

the Boundary Layer" became a classic summary of

man's knowledge of the subject to date. It is most

fitting that tiffs Flight Research Center, with its unique

and highly specialized capability fbr solving aerospace

problems, should menlorializc thc genius of Hugh

Drydcn.29

20
NOTES

1 Shirlcy Thomas, Men c¢'Space, 8 Vols. (Philadelphia: Chilton,

1960-1968 ), I1:65; Richard K. Smith, The H_tclh L. DtTden Papers,

1898-196.5: A Preliminary Catalogue (Bakimore: Johns Hopkins

Univcrsity, Milton S. Eiscnhowcr Library, 1974), 19.

2 Thomas, Men of Space, 65, 67; Smith, I)wden Papers, 19-20;

Eugene M. Emmc, "Astronautical Biography: Hugh Latimcr

Dryden, 1898-1965," Journal of the Astronautical Scienccs( 1977):

154; lamcs H. Doolittle, "Hugh Latimer Drydcn: A Tribute,"

rcprintcd f'rom Astronautics and Aeronautics ( 1966): 1 ; Anon., "Dr.

Hugh Latimcr Dryden, 1898-1965," Headquartcrs National

Acronautics and Spacc Administration unpublished biographical

skctch, Dcccmbcr 2, 1965, 3, NASA Historical Reference Collection, NASA Hcadquarters, Washington, D.C.

3 Ri_ymond L. Bisplinghoff, "Hugh I.atimcr Dryden, 1898-1965,"

rcprinted f'rO1TlApplied Mechanics Reviews ( 1966): 1 ; Thomas, Men

of Space, 67; Smith, Dryden Papers, 19-20; Emme, "Astronautical

Biography," 154.

4 Emme, "Astronautical Biography," 154; Thomas, Men of Spacc,

68; Smith, Dryden Papers, 21.

s John T. Greenwood, ed., Milestones ofAl, iation (New York: Hugh

Lauter Lcvin Associates, 1989), 97-98; Jerome C. Hunsaker and

Robert (7. Scamans, Jr., "Hugh Latimer Dryden, July 2, 1898-

Dccember 2, 1965," reprinted from Biographical Memoirs of the

National Academy of Sciences ( 1969): 37-38; Smith, Dryden Papers,

22; Emme, "Astronautical Biography," 154-155; Bisplinghofl,

"Hugh Latimer Dryden," 2; Thomas, Men of Space, 70.

_' Smith, Dryden Papers, 23; Emme, "Astronautical Biograph3q"

155-156; Hunsaker-Seamans, "Hugh Dryden," 39; Thomas, Men

of Space, 69-70; Bisplinghoff, "Hugh Latimer Dryden," 2.

7 Thomas, Men of Space, 72-73; Smith, Dryden Papers, 22;

Hunsaker-Seamans, "Hugh Dryden," 40; Emme, "Astronautical

Biography," 156.

8 Smith, D©,den Papers, 23.

9 Smith, Dryden Papers, 23; Emme, "Astronautical Biography,"

156; Hunsaker-Searnans, "Hugh Dryden," 40; Thomas, Men of

Space, 73-74.

10 Michael H. Gorn, The Universal Man: Theodore von Kt_rmAn's

Life in Aero_mutics (Washington, D.C. and London: Smithsonian

Institution Press, 1992), 98-117. For a reprint of Where We"Sta**d

and Science, the K O, to Air Suprema O, sec Michael H. Gorn, cd.,

Prophe O, Fulfilled: Ton,ard Ncw Horizons and Its Lzga O, (Washing21
ton, D.C.: Govcrnnlcnt Printing ()flicc, 1994); "l)r. Hugh l)rvdo_

o/'NASA is Dead," New York Tinzcs, l)cccmbcr 3. 1965.

11 1]isplinglaofl; "Hugh I,atimcr l-)rydcn," 3; Smith, l)rvdcn I'apcr_,

24-25; Thomas, Men of S/moo," 76; Fi',mk W. Andcrson, Ordcr_ oF

Masnitudc: ,4 History o[ NA(;A and NASA, 1915-1980 (Washington, D.C.: NASA SP-4403, 19811, 4.

12 Re)gel" E. Bilstcin, Ordc1"c oj'Madwitndc: A History o['thc NA()A

and NASA, 1915-1990 (Washington, D.(].: NASA SP-4406, 1989),

24-26; Anderson, Maanitudc, 2 12; Smith, l)rvdcn Papcrs, 24 25;

lames R. Hanson, Elqtinccr in (;ha(re': A Histo O, of the La1(al O,

Aerona ttrical Laboratoo,, 1917-1958 (Washingt_)n, D. (L: NASA SP4305, 1987), passim.

13 Quotcd in Thomas, Men q[Spacc, 77.

14 Smith, l)rvdru Papcrc, 25; Emmc, "Astronautical Biography,"

159-16(); Thonaas, Men o['S[_acc, 77-78; Bisplinghoft; "Hugh

I,atimcr 1)rydcn," 3; Hunsakcr-Scamans, "Hugh l)rvdcn," 41-42;

Bilstcin, Ma_Jtitudc, 44.

Is Smith, l)rvdcn l'apcrs, 25-26, Thomas, Men qt'Spacc, 78-79;

Emmc, Astronautical BiqlTraplo', 160; Andcrson, Mt(anitztd,', 17.

16 Emmc, "Astrtmautical Biography," 16% 163; Thomas, ;{lt'_l oj"

Space, 78-79; Smith, l)rvdt:n 1)rtlwl:_, 26; Bilstcin, Magnitude, 47_

48.

17 Hunsakcr-Scamans, "Hugh 1)rvdcn," 46.

IS Bilstcin, Masnitudc, 48-49, 54, 56; Smith, l)n'dt:n l_pcrs, 27;

Tlaomas, Mcn of Spacc, 80; Emmc, "Astronautical l_iography,"

164.

lo Quoted in Thomas, Men o/'Slmcc, 82; Smith, I)rvdcn Papers, 28;

Emmc, "Astronautical Biography," 165; Bilstcin, Mtbqnitudc, 63-

64; l_isplinghoff, "Hugh I,atimcr l')rydcn," 4; Hunsakcr-Scamans,

"Hugh Drydcn," 48. For an cxccllcnt, detailed account of

Dryden's ncgotiations with l_;lagonravox, scc Edward (Tlinton Ezcll

and IAnda Newman Ezcll, The Partm'r.d/p: A History q[thc ApolloSowt_ 7?st Project (Washington, 1).(7. : NASA 5P-4209, 1978 ), 37

60.

2o Bilstcin, Masnitttdc, 49, 57; Emmc, "Astronautical Biography,"

165- 167; Thomas, Men q/'Spacc, 81.

21 lamcs Schuhz, Wiuds of (',hanflc: ExTmndi_ _ the I",w_ticrs ¢¢"

FlirrlJt, La tqrl O, R csca rch (;cu it'1" S"75 _'a lS of Accomplish mcn t, 1917-

1992 (Wastaington, 1).(;.: NASA NP- 130, [ 1992 ]), 82-83; Richard

1! Hallion, O_l the Frontier: tqz_qht Research at l)rvdclz, 1946-1981

(\Vashingt(m, 1).(;.: NASA SP-43()3, 1984), 52,323-326.

22
22Hallion, O_lthe Frontier, 103-129; Wcndcll H. Stillwcll, X-15

Reseat"oh Rcsitlts (Washington, 1).(L: NASA SP-60, 1 )6,_ ), csp. 4, 6,

19, 26, 37, 45, 50-53, 56, 73.

23 Elnnlc, "Astronautical Biography," 166-168; Quoted in

Hunsakcr-Scalllans, <'Hugh Dl'ydcn", 49, and scc 46-48; Smith,

1)rvdct, Papers, 27-29.

24 Quotcd in Thomas, Mc,l of'Spacc, 80; ElllillC, "Astronautical

Biography," 168; Hunsakcr-Scamans, "Hugh Drydcn," 49; Smith,

1)rvdc_l l_.apcvs, 29.

2._ Bilstcin, Maa_Jitztdc, 57 59; Andcrson, Maanitndc, 28.

26 Smith, l)m'dcn Papery, 28-29; NASA, unpublished biographical

sketch, 1)cccmbcr 2, 1963, 11, sccn in thc l')rvdcn File, NASA

Historical Rcii:rcncc Collcction.

27 Quotcd in Bisplinghoff; "Hugh Latimer 1)rydcn," 4.

2s Smith, I)vvdcn l_zpcrs, ,_2, Quoted iri Hunsakcr-Scamans, "Hugh

Dryden," 49.

29 <'Rcmarks by Jal'ncs (]. Flctchcr, Adnlillistrator, National Acronautics and Spacc Administration, at the Dedication of thc Hugh

1)rydcn Flight Rcscarch Ccntcr, March 26, 1976,'" Flctchcr Filcs,

NASA Historical Rcti.'rcncc Collection. Flctchcr addcd that thc

1)rydcn Flight Rcscarch Ccntcr "was cstablishcd in 1947--thc samc

vcar l')r. l')rvdcn bccamc thc NA(_A's second dircctor. Hc playcd a

key role in the aircraft tcstcd hcrc in its carl}' ycars--thc X-I, D558, X-3, X-4, X-5, XB-70 and the X-15."

23
24
Key Documents

25
rile NAFION'S MANNED SPACE FLI6HTS

by

llugh L. Dryden

Depu[y Admin1.'_'tralol

N_tional Aeronautics and Space Administration

(Address e_Jven before the Gow'rnor's Conference

on Oceanography and Astronautics, held at _he

KaL,aJ Surf Hotel, Lihue, Kauai, l[aw:lii,

October 1, L965)

It has beet] an houel- and a pleasure to dcuept the invitation of

the Honorable John A. Btlltlb, Covernor of Hawaii, and the ,)ther officials

of the State of Hawaii a._:;oclatcd with him, Lo speak to the Governor's

Conterenue on Oceano?raph'. and Astronautics. In reading tlu: proceedings

of the conference held in Jauuary of last year, i notice that the main

teens o[ attention was the role of sciem'e and tecb_tology in the [uture

of our nation, the nature of scientific and keuhno]og[ta] development,

and the tote el the Slate of tlawaii _n contribv:ting it_ pal-k to tb_

advancement of scienc< and technology and gheir appiicati<_n to the

problems of the modern world for the bene. fit of mankind. Mv talk deals

with _h_ newest o_ _he [realists of man, inauguratc:d otl OcLobe[ 4, 19b/,

when man first Left ¢}qe s,lrtac:e o_ the earth to Lravel b_:yolld the atmosphere in nearby space. I believe that HawaSi must participate in this

enterprise for many reasons.

] recall a conversation during my visiL to West Ccrmany a few years

aKO for the purpose _[ exploring possible couperutien be[w<',..n the

scJv.ntJ.StS alld engineers of West Germany wit[* the U{_J.tc:d St,ut.es in the

exploration of space, in aCcordance with one of the stated obiectives

26
2

of the National Aet'onautics and Space Act o_ 1958, to conduct our activities in cooperation with other nations. My celiac, sues staled forcefully

that Germany must find a way to partlcipatc in this enterprise If it ever

hoped to become again a great leader in science and technology, for the

c'xpLoration of space demands the _nost advanced developments in practically

ever!_" field of science and technology to new levels o£ perlormatzce in

every respect. An editorial in the New York rimes of September 15,

fctL0wing a reference to some remark_ by Mayor Willy Brandt of Berlin,

.qcated that "businessmen and officials in many 3IATO countries share his

(Brandt's) belief that the technological 'spin-off' from nuclear, missile

and _:paee research is giving American civilian industry a towering lead

over its European competitors. It is certainty an exaggeration to say,

-_s Hr. Brandt did, that West Gc'rmany will drop by 1975 to the stat_s of

n ']css-developed' nation unless it shares in American sp;_ce-age know-how."

I do not believe that every country of the world must nccossarily

engage in the launching of satellites and space probes, althoup, h h.v

means of hi]ararat, regional, and global agreement many nations can

participate even in such activities. I believe that many nations can

contribute through the use of sounding rockets and perhaps small earth

satellites, and that opportunities can be made available for the scientists of the world to partic{pate in both ground-based experiments

essential to the space program and in the fkight experiments.

Hawaii, of course, is one of our own fifty states and has already

begun to make substantial contributions t:o our national program- I refer

particularly to the Kokee Tracking Station in Kokee Park, which is o_e

27
3

of the worldwide chain of stations for our manned space flight programs,

and to our association with the University of Hawaii, looking to the

expansion of astronomical facilities, particularly for mor_ intensive

observation of tile planets on which we hope to land scientific _nstruments within the next few years, and to which, in the more distant future,

we hope to send man himself. You are all familiar with the natural

resources of Hawaii which make it most suitable for this purpose. I

note also your association with the Cormnunica_ions Sateili[e Corporation,

leading to an important role of Hawaii in the global communications via

satellite.

But I believe that the interest of the citizens of Hawaii in space

exploration and its importance to them lies not solely in the economic

benefits that it may bring or in the material tools which it may contribute to ou_ physical environment. Man is distinguished from other

forms of life by hi5 powers of reasoning and by hi_ sl)irit_l aspir_Itions.

Already the t_vents of the last seven years have had a profound impact on

all human affairs throughout the world. Repercussions have been felt in

science, industry, education, government, law, ethics, and religion. No

area o_ human ac[ivity or thought has escaped. The toys of our children,

the ambitions of our young men and women, the fortunes of industrialists,

the daily tasks of diplomats, the careers of military officers, the

pronouncements of high church officials -- all have refle_[ed the at]-

pervading inf[uen¢:e of the beginning steps in space exploration. The

impact can only be compared with those great developments ok past history

like the Copernican theory which placed the sun, racher than the earth,

28
4

a[ the center of our solar system: the work of SLr Isaac Newton in

relating the fail of an apple to the motion of the moon around the earth

through the unJv_rss[ law of gravitation; to the iudusLrial revolution;

or other _reat landmarks in the history of mankind.

The origin L_ science can be traced far back in the distant past.

Aristotle is quoted as saying that trt_e science is the. search of nat_re

in the spirit of true scientific curiosity. For hundreds of years,

science was mainly a purely intellectual _¢tivity, invo[vin_ little of

what we now call experimental science. Much has beeL_ written about those

objectives of science which relate to gaining an understanding of the

entire universe in which we live, of the excitement of studying the

unknown, and of the contribution of science to man's intellectual and

spiritual ILfe. 1 wish to turn, however, to another aspect of scientific

and technological development, which I may describe _s the i_teraction

of science, technology, and ._ocia] need.

There is a mistaken impression in some circles today that scientific

_nd technological development always proceeds by an orderly process in

which, first, there is a basic concept or theory, followed by experimental verification, leading to further theoretical and uxpcrimental

investigations and applied research, followed finally by application to

some social need. Actually, of course, the situation is not so simple"

the situation is a dynamic one with cont[[_ual interactions between theory,

experiment, application, and social need. In my reading oi the history

of scientilic development, 1 have been impressed time and _ime again by

the almos_ dominant role of Lhe specific social environment in which the

29
5

scienList and engineer work, which in most instances seems to be a prerequisite for the intensive development of the scientific concept itself

as well as the ensuing technology. One or two examples will illustrate.

Most of the work [or which Pasteur is famous originated in the social

needs of the connnunity in which he worked. Beginning in 1854 he addressed

himself to the reason for unsatisfactory results obtained in the fermentation of beer, and in 1857 showed that the troubles arose from small

organisms which interfered with the growth o1 yeast cells responsible for

fermentation. Later he turned hi_ attention to similar problems in the

production of good wine. Later, under great social pressure, he studied

the small organisms responsible for certain diseases of the silkworm, of

cattle, of chickens, anti of dogs and man. Thus social needs provided the

incentive for at_(l the support of Pasteur's scie_tiliL work Ln solving the

"problems of the infinitely small."

Anot[mr classic story begins wilh t-he work of james Maxwell starting

about 1850. In ]865 and 1873 he described the propagation o_ electromagnetic waves nnd suggested that light was a phenomenon produced b'i the

travel of electromagnetic waves in the ether. I believe the first experimental demonstraLion of electric waves was by }ler(z in 1883, who invented

an oscillator to produce such waves. There was some limited further

theoretical and experimental development by scientists such as Lodge and

Righi in the last two decades of the nineteenth century. MarcOni began

a study of the application of electric waves to signaling in 1895 and

succeeded in sending _ignal.'; across the Atlanti_ in 1901. I think it is

now obvious to everyone that this appkicatlon by Mnrc_ni to a practical

3O
6

social nee(| markc_d th_ begfinniag of _re_,tlv it_creasod suppr,r! for theoretical and experflm_.utsl research i_n [.his fie]d, [hat _C marked the

foundation _,t vo_'v Ja,,_'r;L.indL1strial developments, and that there has been

a w_'ry great social impact.

These cases are of course the traditional ones that everyone quote_.

There are many others, such as the development of probability theory and

modern statistics from the "social need" of the members of high society

in France interest:ed in gambling.

I believe that in our world today social needs have become much

mor(_ complex and go Ear beyond the m_ter£al aspects of our life. A short

time aL,n , at the bicentennial celebration of the Smithsonian Institution

in Wa.qhington, the humanist Lewis Mumford attacked the notion that man is

a creature whose use rt_ tools played the largest formative part in his

development. S_id Mumford, "By what logic do we now take these _ools

away, so that he will become a funct, ionless, workless being, conditioned

to accept only what the Megamachine offers him: an automation within a

larger system of automation, condemned to compulsory consumption, as he

was o_ce condemned to compulsory production. Instead of liberation from

work being the c:hiet contribution of _echanization and automatJoll, 1

suggest that liberation for work, for educative mind-forming work, selfrewarding even on the lowest physinlogLca] level, may become the most

salutary contribution of a life-centered technology."

I believe tbat activities in the exploration of space represent a

"sotia[ riced" i!_ this broader sense. That it is a modern _oci;ll [_eed is

re(ocnizable from the passage of the Nationnl Aeronautic,_ and Sp_ce Act

31
7

and the appropriation of large sums of money by the Congress. This

social need provides that essential environment to accelerate greatly

the growth of theoretical and experimental science in many areas. It

is true that this a_-celerated growth in science and technology is essential to the on-going development of space capability, but a deeper

significance is the complex, dynamic interaction between science, technology, and space exploration, which is essential to the growth of

science, technology, and space exploration. In this case, as in the

cases previously cited, to use an analogy from bacteriology, there has

to be a nutrient solution (money and employment opportunities) to feed

the scientific and technological effort. And as soon as this environment

is provided, many Latent efforts in science and technology begin to

assert themselves and move l:orward.

It is for r_,asons such as this that the citizens of our nation,

including those eL Hawaii, and in fact the citizens of the world, have

a stake, in the exploration of space.

The fundamental goals of our nation's space activities were expressed

by Congress in th_ Natkonal Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958. The first

of these is the expansion of human knowledge of the atmosphere and space,

a goal which the President's Science Advisory Committee later restated

as the "exploration of outer space in response to the compelling ur[,e of

man to explore and to discover." Prior to 1957, the exploration of outer

space was carried on by astronomers in observatories On the ground,

although some in._ormation about the lower atmosphere was obtained from,

sounding rockc_ts, balloons, and airplanes. All of the information came

32
8

to the astronomer in the form of waves radiated from the .q,m, the stars,

and planets that reached our telescopes and spectrographs on the ground.

Huch of this r3diation is blanketed out by the atmosphere, so that only

a seal] [tact±on reaches the F.round. IIowever, during the past centuries,

astronomers have [earned a great deal about the composition of tile stars,

their If re iiistories from the time of birth in the chance condensation

out of the _;as and dust of interstellar space, to their eventual destruction and the explosion of the supernovae.

Now the new tools of space exploration, the soundinF_ rocket, the

satellite, and the space probe, have made it possible to put instruments

above the atmospheric curtain to cover the entire wavelenEth range from

gamma rays to radio waves. Instruments can now be sent to the nearest

planets, told probably in a few years to the outer reaches of the solar

system. The knowledge obtained by these tools has come tc_ be known as

space science, but it [s imporLant to remember that this field is merely

an extension of numerous scientific disciplines into the domain of space

by means of the new tools.

Space science has already opened up completely new vistas on some

of the oldest and most fundamental problems challenging science, including _he structure of the universe, the abundance of the elements in the

cosmos, the evolution of the stars and galaxies, the formation of the

sun, and the origin of the earth, gxtensive exploration has atready

been carried out in the near-earth region, the upper atmosphere, the

i(mospherc, m_d Lhe magnetosphere in which the magnetic tieId lines

anch,_red in the earth extend out into apace. The investigations have

33
9

been extended into the interplanetary medium beyond the i_fleence of the

earth's magnetic field. Finally, extensive at[eoti,m has been Riven to

the sun, whose aceivity is responsible for many of the phenomena observed

in the space near the e_rti_. Further, a beginnin_ has been m_de on

astronomical investkgaCi__ms made above the blanketing infl,_ence of the

earth's atmosphere, _1_,

In the September issue of PHYSICS TODAY, Dr. Homer Newell reviews

the impact of space techniques on geophysics. First, space techniques

have provided new tot)is for studying old problems in such areas as

geodesy, mett.orology, npper atmospheric physics, ionospheric research,

and sun-earth relationships. Second, space exploration has turned up a

number of exciting new problems, greatly broadening the scope of the

discipline. For example, the discovery of the Van Allen Radiation Belt

on the flight of Explorer T led to the acceptance ol a new concept,

namely, that of the magnetosphere. It pointed to relationships among

the solar wind, whic|l was discovered by in_trumenL_ kn space probes,

the magnetosphere, the radiation belts, the aurora, magnetLc storms,

ionospheric disturbances, and possibly even some influence of particle

r_ndiations _n our weather.

Third, as space probes_ and eventually men, reach other bodies of

the solar system, such _s the moon and planets, the domain of geophysics

grows beyond the confines of a single body of the so[_r system and throws

new light on the study of our own planet. Everyone is familiar with the

vast amount of informa_ ion obt,'1ined in three televicaion transmissions,

lasting less than 30 mind,tea each, from Rangers V[I, VIII, and IX.

34
I0

The instrut_ents of these tilree spacecraft sent back a tot:_l of some

t T,000 useful photographs _£ tile lunar surface from altitudes ranging

from more than 100(I miles in space dc_wn to virtually the point of impact.

These phc_tographs, by far the best ever taken of the moon, were so clear

that astron_mers can distinguish details as small as 18 inches across,

with ,_n accuracy 2000 times better than pictures taken from earth with

conventional telescopes. The success of the Mariner IV flight to the

planet Mars is well kno_m. Philip H. Abelson, editor of the magazine

SCIENCE, September issue, states that "the results of the Mariner IV

mission constitute the most important advance in space research since

the discovery of the Van Allen Radiation Belts." Photographs show that

Mars resembles the moon in topography by exhibiting many craters but no

evidence of mountain chains. The magnetic field of Mars is not more

than I/I000 that of the earth, and Mars has no radiation belt. One

expt,riment gives independent evidence that the ?tmosphere of Mars is

tenuous and tmlike that of the earth.

The subject of this talk emphasizes the manned space flight program,

so that further time cannot be given to the space science program in

this talk. I do wish to remind you, however, that ti_e scientiiie

measurements of the space environment are absolutely essential in the

design of satellites and space probes, whether manned or unmanned, in

order to assure their successful operation {n space. Thus Mariner IV,

representing a superb engineering achievement, requiring the proper

functioning of 134,000 parts after seven months Cn space, could not haw:

been successfully designed to meet the ri.,,,ors of the space environment

35
It

without the advance kn_wledge provided by the scientific o×ploration of

space.

As we pursue inv.-,stitalians in basic science in the space program,

we are also developin_ areas of applications such as meteorology and

coma, unit:aLiens. These, a._ much as anyt.hinh else '.,,e do, wLl[ serve tn

knit closer together the peoples of this earth in a bond of better

underst,mding of each other's problems and of mutual assistance and

benefits that will come with better weather predictions. Nine Tiros

meteorological satellites have been launched, as well as the first of

the seccmd-generation met:eorological satellites, Nimbus I. (:loud pictures from these satellites are now being used daily by operational

meteorologists in their weather predictions, as well as being used for

research on tlm dynamics of the weather. Their role in the location and

following of hurricanes has been well publicized. Equipment has been

<h'w, loped _4I]jC}l automatically transmits ttne clami pi_tbJres seen by Tiros

to telemetry stations within range, so that any country is able to observe

the local weather immediately on passage of the satcllite.

Eight s.ccessful communication satellites hawe been launched of

three types, namely: passive, two Echo spheres; low altitude, active,

irlcluding two gelstars and two Relays; and two synchronous satellites,

Syncom II and llI. These _;atellites have been used tv demonstrate transcontinental and transoceanic communication in all its forms, including

telephone, teletype, and television. The experimental work carried out

by ches, e :_atel li te!_ k_r'.l?, i 17aundat ion for ( }1_! ,:_pcyat ions i _y,,;tc_m now

being estat_tishcd by the Communications Satellite CorporaL ton in

36
t2

cooperation wiLh sans, other nation___, There arc nn real _,ch_,ical barriers

to communication between individuals .inVw!]eL'e [n Lhe v,or[d, no matter how

remote their locutions. Tbere are, however, rpany other problems, especially econnmic ones il_ providing the wider networks of ground coma. unionlion from the individual to the transn_itti_g and receiving terminals

which are linked via the satellite. Certainly in the nc×t decade international radio and television will be all:_ost as commonplace as local

broadcasts •

All o_ our fligh_ missions are undergirded by a program of advanced

research and technology, carried out in in-house F,overnment laboratories

of NASA and other government agencies, and in industrial and university

laboratories under contract. The work ranges from basic research to

applied research and advanced technological development, and there are

literally thousands of projects which cannot be described here in de_tail.

'rhe principal fields, all relevant lo spa_e exploration, are physical

sc [ence, engineer ins sc ience, cosmologica 1 'qc ience, socio-economie

studies, vehicle systems technology, tracking and data acquisition and

processing, space operations technology, sp_cc: _)ropulsion technology,

flight medicine and bi_logy, basic medical a_d behavioral sciences, and

space biology (effects of space environment on bioloF, ical phenomena and

extraterrestrial li£e).

An present something more than hal_ of our national space effort is

devoted to manned space flight. Within the past three years we have made

substantial progress in manned space flight in orbit abot_t _he earth.

On February 22, 1962, John Clenn made three (_rbits in Friendship 7.

37
13

On May 24, the same_ year, Scott Carpenter made three ortlits in Aurora 7.

Oil October 3, Waiter Schirra made si:_ orbits in S_gma 7. And the program

was completed _'ith the flight of G;-,rdon Cooper on May iS, I_63, in Faith 7,

for 22 orbits. P1oject Mercury de_:_u_strated that man can take his environment with him inko space and there do useful work, tot [li_;ht durations up

to one day.

Attention was then turned t_) _hL Gc:Tini progra:r, and the first

developmental flight took place or: Ap-il 8, 1964, with the successful

demonstration of the launch vehicle and guidance q;<;LL'ms and of the

structural integrity and compatibility o[ the spacecr_fl ,_nd launch

vehicle. A second unmanncd flight, Ccmini 2, on January 19, 1965,

utilized the Ge,,ini capsule with all of its subsystems in a proof test.

Then on March 23, the first manned flight, Gemini 3, was aLcomplished by

VirB_l Grissom and John YounE, consisting of three orbits. On June 3,

J,_mes McDivitt and Edward White _c_._[_.l in (;emit_i /, t.-..r 62 orbits. On

ot_e of these orbits. Edward White _ealked in space. _nd l will show vml a

color film of his walk at the end of this taik. On A_Jgt[sl 19, Gordon

Cooper and Charles Conr,'Jd completed af, eight-day mission in Gemini 5,

which not only placcd our country in first place for d_r_t ion of miss_ou

but also broke several other records. The use of propulsion for maneuver-

|gig in space Co change orbit was demonstrated, and certain experiments

were made to study the problem of rendezvous with another spacecraft.

Much more important, the Gemini 5 flight demtnnsLrated that Project

Apollo. which w![l send A,,,erican _×pl_,:er_ to the :,,_,_,n and back, is well

within the physical _:apahilities .'_[ hu,'.tan asLronauk_. [n thu words of

38
14

one of the engineers, this flight qualified the first subsystem of Project

Apollo, i.e., the human crew, for the lunar mission.

The broad purpose of Lhe Apollo program is the establishment of a

national competence for manned space flight out to distances of the moon,

including the industrial base, trained personnel, ground facilities,

flight hardware, and operational experience. The use of this capability

for manned flight Lo the moon and return and for further space explorations out to distances of the moon is intended to bring about United

States leadership in space. We then will be in a position to do whatever

our national interests require in the further study and use of this new

env ironmen t.

The plan for reaching tile moon in Project Apollo, as the culmination

of our efforts during this decade to master the new environment of space,

calls for sending three astronauts into orbit about the earth and then on

a course toward the moon. Near the moon a rocke_ is fired to slow the

Apollo spacecraft so that it goes into an orbit around the moon. Two

astronauts then transfer to a moon ferry vehicle, fire a retro rocket,

and descend to the lunar landing, using rocket thrust as a braking force

since there is no atmosphere. The crewmen take turns leaving the ferry

vehicle in their lunar space suits to explore the cratered surface of

khe moon.

Returning to the ferry vehicle, the two astronauts fire rockets

that shoot tbel;| upward to rejoin tile Apollo spacecraft and then head

back toward earth and the t_ny corridor about 40 miles high through which

they can safely enter the atmosphere from space. Protected by a heat

39
15

shield, and in the later stages slowed by atmospheric drag and by parachutes, the astronauts return to earth.

To perform this mission, many capabilities must be developed and

practiced, including the development of rockets capable of launching the

required load to the moon, of making path corrections, of braking, and of

taking off from the moon; tile development of the technique of bringing

two spacecraft together in space, which we call rendezvous; the developmerzt of the technique of physically joining them to become a single spacecraft, which we call docking; the development of capability of astronauts

to operate outside the spacecraft in space; the development of maneuverable

spacecraft; and the development of guidance and control for all phases of

the mission including re_r_tr!/. Some of these capabilities have already

been demonstrated.

The development of rendezvous and docking begins wiLh Project Gemini,

L._" _wo-:E_]I! _%pa_'<I;_'. , .,J[i'.}; ;_[_o permJL_ qn e_]rlv test of the capabilities of men and ma<'hines up to periods of two weeks.

The Apollo three-man spacecraft wi]] be fully exercised in earth

orbit, practicing n_sr the earth the rendezvous and docking maneuvers

with the actual vehicles later tu be used near the moon, It is estimated

that NASA astr_anuts will have accumulated at least 2000 hours of space

I|ight time before wc attempt the moon voyage.

The achievement of o_r space goals requires hard work, resoL, rcefulheSS, and daring, It reqLJires the skills and abilities of scientists,

engineer:_, cd_::Jtor_;, ir_(l_trialisEs, artisans, and craftsmen all over

the Nation, and ic reqt, ires the determination of the American people.

4O
16

It is the aim of NASA to marshal a nationwide teem of the most competent

participants working toward a conm_on goal in such manner as to strengthen

our free institutions in industry, universities, government, and local

corcm_unitie s.

We are carrying forward an active national space program, not

limited to the moon, encompassing science, advanced engineering, and

practical applications, including manned space flight.

We are building toward pre-eminence in every phase of space activity

--all the way from microscopic electronic components to skyscraper-tall

rockets.

We are b<_ilding a network of large-scale engineering facilities,

spaceyards, proving grounds, and spaceports to assemble, test, and

launch the space vehicles we need now and in the future.

We are creating new national resources of lasting value in these

faoi!it!es; ir_ !:to i:ld ::vtrial and m,tq._f.'.t:Fi,il capabili{ics ',.,t_ are developing; and in L_tL' growing number of scientists and engineers who are

learning about space and space technology.

We arc filling the pipelines of hardware and knowledge, and, as

me_]sured by the financial resources required, were about halfwe_y toward

our first manned lunar mission in mid-1965.

We are accumulating, in space, the basic scientific knowledge about

the earth, the so]at system, the universe, and about man himself.

We are bringing benefits not only to the United States but to all

the world through the use of space and space technol_)gy, employing such

new tools a.'_ weather, communications, and navigational satellites, and

41
17

applying space-based techniques, equipment, and materials to improve

ind_strial products, processes, and services.

We are providing a much-needed stimulus to the energies and creativity of people everywhere, particularly to the minds and aspirations of

young people.

We are bringing about increased economic activity at a time when

the effects of automation on our society are beginning to be felt.

And we are making certain, through our sustained efforts, that the

realm of space ,row opening up to us shall be a domain of [reedom.

It is for these reasons that we have mounted the greatest peacetime undertaking in the history of mankind.

Last year the German space pioneer IIermann Oberth quoted a word

from his deceased colleague Eugen S'Jnger in a paper on "The Meaning of

Space Travel" as follows: "Nature has placed a kindly veil over the

_o;_!s which it b_- f_,r u_: h::m;_ns in h_r _o_m._.. plan. In order tl) lead

us to these goals, it has planted within us not only a bright intellect

in the brain but also obscure impulses as a compass in our breasts.

Eternal unrest and the will to go to far places for thousands of centuries let m_mkind wander over the entire earth. This eternal longin_3

to wander let us develop land, sea, and air transportation. From the

very beginning only the bare human instincts have de_ermined the directions of human history until today and brought us to the threshold of

space travel. Only the tmclear distant travail of humanity will now

lead l_s over _his threshold. Space fI_ight cor_es up<m us as a natural

event horn in _he deepest depths el: the hunlan so_[. be£ore which we can

42
18

only stand humble or defiant; space travel comes upon us whether we love

it or hate it or do not heed it at all, whether we believe in it or

ridicule it, just as war and high flood tides and death come over us."

In a speech a few years ago, I gave my own answer to the question

of the significance of space exploration to the ordinary citizen in

every country of the world, as follows: "The exploration of space can

give you new interests and new motivations arising from an expansion of

your intellectual and spiritual horizons as you take a longer view of

man's role in time and space at this point in the history of the human

race."

President Johnson stated another goal in his remarks following the

completion of the Gemini 5 mission. He said: "As man draws nearer the

stars, why should he not also draw nearer to his neighbor?

"No national sovereignty rules in outer space. Those who venture

there go as envoys of the entire human race. Their quest, therefore,

must be for all mankind--and what they find should belong to all mankind."

The President has stated many times his hope that the exploration

of space will draw mankind more closely together in friendship and

cooperation. But seldom has he been more eloquent than [n this statement, the closing words of which I would like to use at this time to

conclude my own remarks:

". . . Gemini 5 was a journey of peace by men of peace. The

successful conclusion is a notable moment for mankind--and a fitting

opportunity for us to renew our p|edge _o continue our search for a

world in which peace relgn_ and iL_stice prevails . • .

43
19

"Gemini i_ b_t th_ beginning. We res(_]ve t,_ _ave _,_ny more such

journeys--in spac_ and on earth--until man at l_st is at peace with

himself. "

Thank you. And now let us view together some o[ the most d_am_ti¢

moments in our manned space flight program: Astronaut Edward White's

famous '_a]k in space."

• 0 •

44
MONICK/c

NEWS RELEASE

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

400 MARYLAND AVENUE, SW, WASHINGTON 25, D.C.

TELEPHONES: WORTH 2-4155--WORTH 3-I110

RELE IMMEDIATE FOR ASE: 10:00 a.m., 25 .arch 1963

NEWS MEDIA BRIEFING

JOINT US-USSR TALKS

on

Cooperative Space Research Projects

Held in Rome, ItRly

DR. HUGH L_eputy Administrator, NASA.

MR. ALLAN J. FUNCH, Public Affairs Officer, NASA.

45
c2

MR. FUNCH: Gentlemen, I think we shall proceed.

I am certain that you all know Dr. Hugh L. Dryden,

Deputy Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space

Administration.

Dr. Dryden headed the United States delegation to

the talks which were held in Rome with the delegation from

the Soviet Union headed by Academician A. A. Blagonravov.

These talks were designed to implement the agreement reached

at Geneva last y_ar and announced last December 5th at the

United Nations.

Dr. Dryden will make some opening remarks, after

which the session will be open to questions. Although this

session has been termed a briefing, what is said here may be

attributed to Dr. Dryden.

Gentlemen, Dr. Dryden.

DR. DRYDEN: Gentlemen, having survived a threel_nguage press conference in Rome, with some confusion as

to the product that came out_ I thought I should make myself

available to you to try to give an overall picturc and perhaps a little of the atmosphere of what went on in Rome.

As was mentioned in the introduction, these meetings

were to implement the agreement of Geneva. Those of you who

may recall the terms of that agreement may remember that it

was proposed that working groups be set up and that those

working groups hold meetings in -- I have forgotten the exact

dates -- at any rate, it has taken quite a while to arrange

these meetings of working groups_ but this is the nature of

the Rome meeting, to implement the earlier agreement by talking

about details.

The agreement itself provides for the usual sixtyday period during which both of us may change our minds on

details and suggest changes. This gives an opportunity for

review by various agencies within both governments, and

changes can then be made without embarrassment. For that

reason the text of the agreement will not be released until

two months from March 20th, and I assume it will be released

in the same way as The earlier one o t the United Nations in

New York. IIowever, it is quite feasible to talk aboul th_

general subjects covered, although I will omit numerical data

which are of interest to some of the technical journals.

46
c3 3

The first subject treated was that of weather

satellites, and the first sect4on of the agreement deals

with the matter of exchange of pictures and nephanalysOs

from satellites in both countries.

First of all, what kinds of pictures are to be

exchanged. Not all of them, because the bulk would be so

great, many are uninteresting. Therefore, the selection

will be made, pictures of areas where there are no other

weather observations, and pictures which show storm _ronts,

vortices, and so forth.

These selected pictures will be transmitted

within a relatively small number of hours -- again I will

omit the exact figure at this time -- in time enough to

be of use in forecasting,

We talked about the method of indicating the

location of the pictures, where were they taken, what

part of the Earth, and the method selected and agreed to

was that each picture would show latitude and longitud£

grids directly on the pictures which are transmitted, and

accuracy figures were given for the accuracy of location.

We talked about the number of brightness levels,

or what we in this country have usually called gray levels

in the picture.

We talked about the field of view, how big an

area on the surface of the Earth should be covered by the

pictures.

It was agreed that nephanalyses, the cloud

diagrams for all pictures, would be transmitted. Agreements were made about the scale, the kind of map projection

that would be used. It was also agreed that conventional

data which were of interest in the interpretation of satellite data would be transmitted as time was available on the

communications link.

The next part of the weather satellite picture

dealt with the communications link. If you recall the

earlier agreement, it was provided that there would be a

direct connection between Suitland, Maryland, and the

Weather Forecasting Institute in Moscow. Because this

word "communications" appears in the agreement in several

senses there was some confusion at Rome. We are here

talking about a hard-wire link by cable and hard line or

47
c4

microwave between these two centers. The specifications

were spelled out. It was to be a four-wire full-time link

capable of facsimile transmission, and the standards were

described in terms of existing international standards.

The nature of the terminal equipment was specified in

detail, giving the drum speed and the other technical

characteristics of the equipment.

The route of the line was determined. It was

agreed that the testing of this line and installation of

it would occur in early 1964.

It was agreed in principle that there would be

an equal sharing of the costs, since it is of equal value

to both countries. We had some discussion about business

arrangements which have not yet been settled completely as

to how this would be handled, but this will be settled

probably before the two months are up.

We agreed that any country could have access to

this communications link on a "receive only" basis, pro

vlded they are willing to pay a proper share of the cost,

and so could have available for their use all information

which passed over the link.

Finally, with respect to the satellites themselves, it has become I think clear that -- without talking

about a specific number of satellites -- the objective is

that each country maintain a working satellite continuously.

If the life of the satellite is short, it will take a certain number. If it is longer it will take a smaller number.

But the idea is that each of us should be able to take cloud

observations, and that the meteorologists would coordinate

the areas which are covered so as to get the maximum possible

coverage of the Earth.

The agreement itself simply says that we will

meet toward the end of this year to discuss the coordination

of launchings.

If I may leave the subject of the agreement for a

moment and just give you a little background, the Soviets

said quite clearly that they were making tests of meteorological equipment in the present Cosmos series of satellites.

It was also quite clear that, like ourselves, they are a

little uncertain about launch times and slippages. While

at various stages we had a little more refinement than to

say that the Soviets expected to launch their satellites in

48
c5

1964, when it came to the final text they did not want to

be pinned down more closely than tSat. Actually, from some

of the discussion it appears that they hope to be ready

early in 1964, and I think this is indicated bo you by the

desire that the communications link should be set up in

the early months of 1964

To return to the text, the next section deals

with experiments to be made with the next Echo satellite

to be launched, the Echo II. The altitude of Echo II will

not be sufficient for simultaneous visibility between the

US and the USSR, and it is therefore necessary to use an

intermediary. In the part of the agreement that is definite, this intermediary will be Jodrell Bank at the University of Manchester. The Russians will operate from their

Zimenky Observatory, of Gorky State University.

QUESTION: Will you spell that, please?

DR. DRYDEN: Zimenky Observatory is Z-I-M-E-N-K-Y.

The university is G-O-R-K-Y, Gorky State University.

QUESTION: Is that at Gorky?

DR. DRYDEN: Yes.

They are able to use 162 megacycles, which have

been used from Jodrell Bank before, and is one of the frequencies that the Soviets have used in their satellite

experiments.

The communication from here to Manchester will

be by ordinary means -- cable or radio,

We ourselves are not so much interested in 162

megacycles because our chief interest in Echo lI is in the

rigidity and smoothness of the balloon. We really would

like to use much higher frequencies, frequencies of the

order of those we are using with the active communications

satellites to get a finer resolution of detail.

we did get agreement that within the next few

months the Soviets would consider the use of higher frequencies. This has to be considered jointly. It depends

on the availability of equipment, of course, and the possibilities of modifying existing antennas.

49
c6

If we use frequencies that are possible to be

used from the Ooonhilly Downs station, they may be an

intermediate point in these experiments.

There is no money reimbursement in any of these

projects. The Soviets have agreed to furnish tracking

information of orbits over Russia that are not visible

from the United States. They will carry out the usual

types of communications experiments -- a carrier, single

frequency modulation, telegraph, facsimile, and voice,

iS feasible.

5O
mcc-i 7

_s ! mentioned be£or_, departing from the text, in

Rome, because of a conference in Russian, Italian and English,

there was a lot of confusion between this communications experiment and the communication link that is used for the exchange of

weather data. They are quite separate and have nothing to do

with each other. We are not using Echo balloon to give weather

data and so on.

The third area was that of magnetic field satellites.

Here wc ran into some difficulty and ran out of time, so that we

will resume the discussions In Geneva at the time of the meeting

of the Technical Subcommittee of the U.N. Committee on the Peaceful Use of Outer Space.

Let me emphasize again this is not a part of the U. N.

meeting at all, but since many of our people will be at that

meeting this will be a convenient time to continue _.he discussions. I T.hink the matters at issue are not of great ilaportance

to you at this time. In general, we seek always to get close

to the original data, the original observations the_'.Lqelves, and

there is a little tendency to want to exchange data tha has

various corrections made to it.

We were unable to resolve our different points of view

at this time, and we will resume it in the futur_. So that

present agreement contains only a paragraph stating thai: we have

h-_d useful discussions:_ that w_ have .$xchanged points of view;

and that we are resuming discussions in May lz C;eneva. I had

dlscussed privately with Dlmgonravov his willingness to have a

meeting between scientists engaged in our Venus probe and the

Russian scientists concerned with the Mars probe. We did, at

the very end -- and this is the reason it was not iD the press

release itself, beoause it occurred really just before the final

signing -- we got an agreement that scientists from these two

projects would meet for discussions and exchanging of information at the time of the COSPAR meeting in Warsaw in early

June. I think it is the first or second week in June.

Although not stated in the agreement, it was made clear

that both _ides would probably presgnt formal papers at the

COSPAR symposium, but what we are talking about here are the

individu_l scientists getting together and talking in greater

deta_l. That much is in the _gl'eement and the press conf_,rence

that was held it_ Rome. In reportin_ this, I expressed the hope

that this wc,uld ultin_qtely i¢a4 to the coordination of experiments or interplanetary probes _ince certainly there is no

secrecy .%s to the ].au)_cb dat_. Eve_'ybody kpows wh_or the.y will be

launched.

51
mcc-2

8

It would seem that we could both get better coverage if

we u_ed somewhat different instrumentation in many cases and

agre._d +_o exchange th_ results. I do not know that this meeting

oi scientists will lead immediately to that, but I think in future

discussions with the Soviets it is possible that agreements of this

kind would be reached. Blagonravov was asked his views on the

future cooperative areas and mentioned particularly the area of

spa_;i_ =_cience, the information necessary for man's exploration of

the. u:.iv_rse. So much for the content of the agreement.

I thought you might be interested in a little backgrc.ur_ kind of information. I understand a Newsweek fellow got

so_ ,:_ it out of the Russian correspondents, so I had better

give y_u this story. All three of our meetings have had a kind

of protocol that we would meet first in the territory of one and

then in the territory of the other, so that in this case, the

first meeting -- actually there was a ceremonial of sorts, a

greeting of the two delegations by the counselor of the U. S.

Emha_y in the absence of the American Ambassador in the Ambassador'_ Office. The counselor's name, I believe, is Williamson.

There was no room in the Embassy itself, so that we met

in _r office building at 25 Via Abruzzi, which is the new offices

of the Veterans Administration in Rome. I didn't know that the

V_feratLs h._d an office in Rome, but it is the central point for

all ._f Eumopej and the director was to move into his office last

week. He postponed his moving in for a few days to give us a

.cbq__-.s to: use those rooms.

The second meeting, since we had met in the U. S.

Emb;_.y a_d been greeted by the Ambassador, it was necessary that

we go to the U.S.S.R. Embassy and be greeted by the Soviet

Ambn_F_dor. This was done and the second meeting continued at

that lo._:ation. Following then, we alternated between Via

Abruzz_ and, not the Soviet Embassy, but the summer home of the

Ambassador, which is outside the walls of Rome, a very magnificent villa with Gubelin tapestries and sculpture and one thing

and anothex-.

Actually, Blagonravov and his wife and one or two

other_ were living on the upper floors of this summer residence.

The Ambassador was not in residence there. Generally the pattern

was to meet in the morning for about three hours, 9:30 to 12:30;

meet!ng separately in the afternoon from about 2:30 to 6. After

you get established you came 2n with a draft from the day before

on both sides and compared points and argued matters of substance and wording. So this continued throughout the period.

Rou_ghly there were 24 hours of joi_t a_eetings spread out over about

52
mc c-3

9

eight days. In addition, there were some individual discussions

as people met on sight-seeing tours or st the meetings of the

IQSY this last week. There was very little in the way of fraternizing socially, so to speak. There were two social occasions,

a cocktail party given by Ramberg, the Science Attache of the

U. S. Embassy at his residence, and a cocktail party given by

the Soviets in the Russian Embassy.

After the signing, and while we were waiting for the

cars from the Embassy to come out to the summer residence of

the Ambassador, the Russians brought out caviar and vodka to

properly celebrate the occasion. I mention that because I know

that one paper has the story, a magazine, and will probably

use it. I will not defend my reputation for not drinking vodka,

but obviously there was some pressure on the part of the Russians

and ourselves in having come out with something definite.

There was no atmosphere of cold war anywhere, and has

not been in these meetings since the first one in New York when

Blagonravov read the Russian protest against the nuclear tests

in the atmosphere, at which time he finished the reading by

saying that he did this on request -- by direction. Si_,ce

that time, after we made it clear we had no instructions An

that area, had no competence in that area and would not engage

in this type of discussion, there has never been a mention of

a,z? of these questions which have been agitated so much by the

Soviet political group in other quarters.

There was, so far as we can tell, only one political

or semi-political person in the group. I think you have tile

list -- it was Mr. Stacheffski, of the Foreign Office. I,, our

early meetings he had tried to exercise a little control over

the Soviet delegation, for example, in the matter of whether to

sign a piece of paper or not. He had been overruled by Blagonraver. It has been clear ever since that Blagonravov is in

charge of the delegation.

The general atmosphere has been a friendly one. There

is an evident desire to cooperate within the political framework of both countries. It has been realized on both sides that

the only hope at the present time is to stay in areas that are

not at the apex of the cold war. There were two Russian women

present -- Mrs. Blagonravov and Blagonravov's secretary. They

were the only women in the Soviet delegation.

There was a little friendly barter and gifts made.

noticed some of our people exchanging Tiros cuff links or tie

clasps or other little articles for similar Vosl.ok item, s.

53
mcc-4

10

Mr. KloBov of the Communications Ministry, had a supply of recent

Russian stamps, including all of the austronauts and the celebrations connected with aviation and so forth. Mrs. Blagonravov

had given presents T,o the wi_es ol a few of u_, and we naturally

responded in kind.

I have the feeling that this simply illustrates the

fact that Russia is a very large nation, that there are very many

groups within it with different ideas and different proposals.

and that in this case here is a group of scientists who wish to

engage in cooperation.

This is a very long statement. Just one more aspect

that has interested some people. These are the difficulties

connected with language. There were quite a battery of translators present on both sides, but we have found repeatedly that

the mere traslation of a word from one language to a word in

another lang_age is not sufficient to convey the meaning, that

there are all sorts of connotations that have to be taken into

account.

One instance, we used the phrase of exchanging things

of interest and value. In Russian they did not know how to

translate this. In Russian the two words are essentially the

same. And I guess we rationalize it by saying that the

Russians arenvt interested in anything that doesn't have value.

At any rate_ here is a shade of meaning that they don't seem to

have. They had trouble wlth English words. Very often the

English text was not changedr but there had to be a few more

words in the Russian language.

For example_ we g3ve a different accuracy for the

pictures on which landmarks were available. This English word

"landmarks" gave them somewhat of a problem. Apparently, there

is no Russian word which says exactly the same thing. We talk

about the gray levels of the picture, and that, of course, is

a kind of slang. It was finally changed to brightness level

to correspond with the word which meant more to the Russians.

We talked about making results available to the

scientific and technical comJnunlty. The use of the word

"community" in that sense is peculiar to the English language,

apparently, so they stated it in terms of making it available

tO scieniists and technical people., or something of that sort.

But I think the or.e perhaps which is more striking; we had used

the language of the Echo experiment. We satd_ I guess; the

"Echo satellite be used for a program to d_<onstrate communications between the U.S_ and U.S.S.R_' They could not accept

54
mcc-5 11

this. It took us a very long time to find out what the trouble

was. It turned out the trouble was with the word "demonstrate."

A demonstration in the continent is a group of miners marching

on Paris, or it is a political demonstration of some sort. They

thought we had introduced this word to indicate that we were

going to have Mr. Kennedy call Mr. Khrushchev, or make some kind

of political hay out of this.

The whole difficulty disappeared by simply phrasing

it that we would make an experiment to test the feasibility of

direct communications. This will give you a little idea of

some of the problems that come up. It doesn't pay to be suspicious too early. You have to explore by asking the same

questions many different ways in order to discover what the

meaning is.

Many o£ you have heard stories of other international

conferences _r_ something spoken has aroused fury and resentment, and afterwards it was found merely the choice of word

by a translator had given an erroneous impression. So that we

wonder what we did for 24 hours. It is a tedious job x. many

ways, not as direct and straightforward as you might thini<. I

think that is all I have to say.

55
rjm i _2

QUESTION: Dr, Dryden_ when you say the matter of hours

would intervene in the selection of the pictures and so forth,

and then it would be communicated on the communications link,

in time for forecast, do you mean for that same day?

DR. DRTDEN: ¥es_ that's right, I don't want to

state t_ figure because there might be some negotiation to

change it,.

QUESTION: Dro Dryden° you have emphasized in the

past that this must be _ two-,way exchange.

DR. DRYDFN: Yes.

QUESTION: Is all of this cooperation in the weather

satellite conditional upon their launching of the weather

sate ] l _t.e?

DR. DRYDEN: We have made 2t very clear that the

purpose _ras to exchange satellite data. We have essentially

written in restrictions on the use of the line for ordinary

meteorologleal data only if %ime remains after the other pictures

are transmitted_ We have al_o made it clear that while we will

not count _¢ture for picture° that there must be a substanially

equlv&lent ilow both vrays: tb&t the line will really not be

activated until such exchange is available.

We are _n the posit_on_ of course, at any time to

stop transmltting over the direct line if we are not satisfied wlth the performance on the other side0

in addition since pictures of course degrade on

transmission over such a llne_, it has been agreed that pictures

wlll be mailed., that is:, so_,e of the original pictures will be

retailed so that we can assess the quality of the transmission.

There Js provJslon reade that on nephanalyses, which

have to be transmitted for all pictures, that if there is an

intorestin_ area we can as_ {¢,r the picture for that area, and

they can do the same.

QUESTION: Why on this communications link, did you

decide to set up a direct b1!,_teral rzther than working through

t he WMO?

DR. DRYDEN: The reason of course is that we are the

two satellite launchin_ countries Yt h&_ been agreed from the

beginning that we would permLt these drop-offs if there were

pro rata sharlng of zhe cost. _here are no direct links n(_v

56
rim 2 13

which permit facsimile transmission to the Soviet Union,

There is a general paragraph in the introduction that

the summation must conform to the recommendations of the WMO.

There is no attempt to evade the W_O in this proceeding at all.

In fact, it is to supply the infornuation for the WMO countries.

QUESTION: But any countries can just tap the wire,

so to speak, if they paid the freight; is that it?

DR. DRYDEN: Yes, that is right.

QUESTION: Does this apply to Communist China or

only UN members?

DR. DRYDEN: Oh, no. This line doesn't go anywhere

near Communist China.

QUESTION: Could you tell us the route, Dr. Dryden?

DR. DRY,DYN: Generally across Europe. Again i lon't

want to specify >.n detail.

_UESTION: How long is this weather satellite agreement ID last?

DR. DRYDEN: It is an open _greement. There is

no Lime limit.

QUESTION: You pointed out that each country has

agreed to have a functioning satellite up at all times. And

you said that would depend of course on the life of t}_

satellite. How can you make such d@termination without some

idea of what the life of the experiment is in the agreement?

DR. DRYDEN: The fact is that this country will

maintain a weather satellite up at al 1 times. In fact, perhaps

more than one, before we get through. So we are not making any

commitment that is piled on top of an existing commitment.

QUESTION: Is our participation in this program based

on the Nimbus satellite or the Tiros satellite?

DR. DRYDEN: Well, from their own statement, 1964

is the year when they will be ready. We hope the Nimbus will

be ready at that time.

QUESTION: Then why is bilateral -- why is the bilateral

experiment necessary if we are going to get i00 percent coverage

57
rJm 3 14

with the Nimbus anyway, aren't we?

DR. DRYDEN: Not quite. But approaching it. Here

again, one Nimbus goes over a certain place on the Earth once

per day -- one time. If you want the weather at noon everywhere,

you wouldn't get it with one satellite.

The coordination means that the Russian satellite would

be launched at such a time that we would get greater coverage

in time.

QUESTION: Then there would actually be coordination

as to the time of launch?

DR. DRYDEN: That is correct, yes.

QUESTION: Dr. Dryden, getting back to this direct

communica_ons link, how many teletype channels would be

available here?

DR. DRYDEN:

circuit.

Just one each way. It is a four.-line

QUESTION: This means that you can carry facsimile

plus one two-way teletype?

DR. DRYDEN: No. There will be a facsimile, we hope,

flowing both ways all the time, or nearly all the time.

QUESTION: What I am trying to get at, perhaps indirectly have we established this direct communications link

between the Kremlin and the White House, which has been discussed ever since the Cuban crisis?

DR. DRYDEN: We have established a facsimile connection

between Suitland, _ryland and some location that I don't

know exactly, in Moscow. We specified that this link is to

be used for meteorological purposes. I think there is some fear

on the Russian side that we might want to use this for political

purposes. The intention is that this is not the direct link

that has been talked about. And of course it is fairly simple

to set up a channel, a telephone channel, if you want a telephone channel, or teletype channel, to Moscow. You people

do it every day in your business. Why should they bother this

link with that kind of traffic?

QUESTION: What would be the mechanism, s.ir, to use

58
rjm 4 15

Jodrell Bank as an intermediary on the Echo experiments?

DR. DRYDEN: The mechanism is that we agree that we

would arrange that, and we have already had discussions with

the British authorities and with Lovell.

QUESTION: How will it work? Lovell will make the

observat%ons ior us?

DR. DRYDEN: No, no. We will have a cable or radio

link to him so that we can, ourselves, receive information

via the satellite_ as well as receiving it in Jodrell Bank.

QUESTION: Dr. Dryden, in the early agreement --

] think _he document we gotlast December -- it spoke about

two pbas£s of this thing.

DR. DRYDEN: That's right.

QUESTION.: In the experimental stage each country

would put up one satellite. Then after that the thing would

become an operational thing and transmission would be _de

DR. DRYDEN : Yes.

QI_STIDN: Does that mean hot off the satellite

without _ny selection of pictures or anything like that?

DR. DRYDEN: No. There is no provision for readout of each other's satellites, if this is what you are driving

at. The satellite information would be received in Moscow,

tlue pictures selected and transmitted, but within a relatively

few hours of the actual observation_ You see up to an hour or

hour and a half would be taken up in the satellite coming

around over its read-out station. Then there would be the time

necessary to look at the pictures and make a selection. There

will be _i_e required to put the _rid on it, which locates it.

But all o_ this can be done within a relatively small number of

bouts.

QUESTION: It would be quicker than during the experimental phase, is that the point?

D_. DRYDEN: Well_ --

Q[U_STION: Transmission from --

59
rjm 5 16

DR. DRYDEN: Essentially the experimental phase is

simply experiments made nationally without the exchange of

pictures. What this amounts to is the Soviets will be ready

to exchange pictures sometime in 1964.

QUESTION: How long does it take the Tiros station

to process its pictures and make a nephanalysls which is of

value; say, to transatlantic jet pilots, as we are doing now9

DR. DRYDEN: I don't know what the record is. It is

certainly withln six hours.

QUESTION: Within six hours?

DR. DRYDEN: Yes.

QUESTION: Would it be expected then that a figure

like six hours would be shot for in this thing?

DR. DRYDEN: This is not the exact number, and I

say I don't want to give you the exact number until the 60-day

period is up. It is of that order of _gnitude.

QUESTION: That is what I meant.

DR. DRYDEN: It is not 24 hours, it is not 12 hours.

It doesn't happen to be six. But --

QL_STION: Is there any question of the necessity of

compatibility of equipment here? Does their equipment have to

be the same as ours so that at some time in the future we might

be able to tap?

DR. DRYDEN: No. It is quite clear the compatibility

is in the product, the picture. Nothing is said about the nature

of the apparatus which gives you that picture.

QUESTION: Dr. Dryden, I wonder if you could elaborate

a llttle bit for us on the nature of the experiments that the

Soviet Union has already done in weather satellites. }{ave they

been taking pictures?

DR. DRYDEN: They did not tell us. They did not tell

us. They s i/aply said that they al'e making experiments with the

Cosmos series.

QUESTION: They didn't tell us whether they have been

6O
rjm 6 17

taking pictures of cloud cover of the United States, for example?

DR. DRYDEN: The inference was that they had been

taking pictures of cloud cover. I don't know where.

QUESTION: Dr. Dryden, on the basis of your talks

in Rome, do you feel that the Soviets are sufficiently advanced

in weather satellites to be an equal partner with us in this

whole business.

DR. DRYDEN: I think it is obvious that they are not

right at this moment but that they hope to be in 1964.

61
c-i 18

QUESTION: Dr. Dryden, up on the Hill the question

is being raised as to why we should cooperate with the

Soviet Union in these two areas of communications and weather,

since these are areas that are also of great interest to the

military. I wonder what your answer is to this kind of

ebjection?

DR. DRYDEN: The weather, I think, ordinarily is

re_arded as not specifically a military topic. The military

is interested in certain detailed aspects of weather in connection with their operations. The satellites, more specifically, give you global weather. You cover a substantial area

with cloud pictures, several hundred miles on a side. In

general the military interest perhaps is in sntuller areas.

I would say that just as in communications, ordinary

carriers satisfy a very large fraction of the needs of the

military. They rent channels just as you do. There are some

areas of military communications that are not satisfied by

commercial carriers. I think all I would say is that the

Nimbus system has worked out to cover the general military

requirements for weather data. There may be special requirement_ not covered.

QUESTION: On this Echo satellite, would you

elaboTate just a little about how this will work? Do we

understand that when the satellite is mutually visible to

the United States and Jodrell Bank, the signal would be

s_::t though space?

DR. DRYDEN: No.

QUESTION: How does that work?

DR. DRYDEN: This is not the present plan. The

present plan is when it is mutually visible from Jodrell

Ba_ and Russia that we will talk via cable or radio to

Jodrell Bank, which will then transmit it via satellite

to Russia.

QUESTION: But there would be no European land

lines and space link across the Atlantic?

DR. DRYDEN: No. We have done enough experimenting

o[ that kind, I thin/<.

QUESTION: Dr. Dryden, what areas would we like

62
c2 19

coverage with a Russian weather satellite in terms of our

Nimbus system? Are there some geographical --

DR. DRYDEN: The areas of most concern to the

worldwide weather people are the very large ocean areas

where there are very few observations of any kind, and

the weakest areas are those in the Southern Hemisphere,

of course.

QUESTION: Dr. Dryden, is there anything in the

event of another crisis, like the Cuban crisis, to prevent

use of this link between the United States and Russia to

prevent communications between the leaders --

DR. DRYDEN: This is a hypothetical question.

I guess Khrushchev still runs the Soviet Union and Mr.

Kennedy has pretty much of a voice on this side.

There is no necessity that this link be used.

If the White House wants a link to Russia, they can se_

it up in, I would guess, about half an hour, through thu

ordinary channels.

QUESTION: Dr. Dryden, was there any discussion

of the possibility of exchange o£ scientists so that --

DR. DRYDEN : No °

QUESTION: -- selection of pictures could be

made at the point they are received before --

DR. DRYDEN: Not at the present time. This is

one matter that is not directly covered. Frankly, we hope

that we can lead into this kind of a situation. But at

the present time the whole matter of rockets, space vehicles,

space technology, in Russia is completely classified. And

if you are going to base agreement on breaking that wide

open at the present time, then we have no kind of agreement.

QUESTION: I was speaking in this case of only

the picture product to make the decision on what is to be

transmitted back.

DR. DRYDEN: At the present this does not provide

for this kind of exchange of personnel. It does provide

for the possibilities of the meteorologists at the two ends

to interrupt the facsimile and talk by telephone directly.

53
c3

2O

QUESTION: was there any discussion at all

between you and Blagonravov or any of your other people

about the possibility of joint launchings? You say

that it is completely classified; we understand that.

DR. DRYDEN: We started this in the early days.

It was quite obvious that they would not consider that, and

that they would not consider read-out by others.

QUESTION: So in this 24-hour period of talks

this wasn't even brought up?

DR. DRYDEN: This wasn't brought up.

QUESTION: Dr. Dryden, you mentioned that they

would provide tracking information over the Soviet Union.

DR. DRYDEN: Yes.

QUESTION: This is the first time, as far as I

can recall, in which they will provide tracking information

of our satellites. Is this restricted to Echo II?

DR. DRYOEN: This, at the moment, is restricted

to tbe Echo.

QUESTION: Was there any discussion --

DR. DRYDEN: There is no adjective in front of

it. It might he optical tracking.

QUESTION: Was there anything opening the door

to cooperative tracking of satellites?

DR. DRYDEN: Cooperative tracking? They are

willing to consider the question of radar tracking, but

they cannot -- they could not make this commitment because

obviously the radar is the property of the military. But

they are going to take up the question particularly in the

inflation period of Echo of making radar observations.

QUESTION: And then reporting them to us?

DR. DRYDEN: Yes.

QUESTION: By what means; did they say?

64
c4 21

DR. DRYDEN: Since at the moment it is a fact

that they will consider, this is again one of those things

which may change within the sixty days. I perhaps am

going too far even in making a point of this,

QUESTION: Why would tracking of a satellite

over the Soviet Union be of any particular interest to

us if we know the orbit?

DR. DRYDEN: Only in the question of up-dating.

The particular interest actually as I have indicated is

during the inflation period. This is the main interest.

QUESTION: Dr. Dryden, if the Russians really

wanted to have a direct read-out of our Nimbus weather

satellite, couldn't they buy cheap equipment?

DR. DRYDEN: They wouldn't need to buy it.

They could probably make it without any problem. This

becomes a matter of national policy.

The intention, of course, is to broadcast

continuously, although I must remind you that that is

under our control. This is one of the things which

can be commanded on or off in the satellite.

We have not given consideration of any attempt

to deny this to the Russians. We would be denying ourselves and denying other countries nearby.

VOICE: Thank you very much, Dr. Dryden.

(Whereupon, at 10:50 a.m., the briefing

was concluded.)

65
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

WASHINGTON 2S, D C.

The Honorable Robert S. Kerr

Chairman, Senate Committee on

Aeronautical and Space Sciences

June 22, 1961

My dear Senator Kerr,

As you suggested during my recent discussion before the

Committee, I will attempt to put In writing the remarks I made

as to the significance of the program recommended by the President

for landing a man on the moon and has safe return, by the end of

the decade to the present and future welfare of this nation.

The attainment of the goal stated by the Fresident requires

extensive research and development in almost every branch of

science and technology at the frontiers of knowledge in these

varlous fields. New materials and components must be developed

to function in the extreme cold and the extremely low pressures

of outer space, at the extreme speeds, and at the extreme

temperatures attained in rocket combustion chambers and on the

outer surface of bodies reentering the atmosphere at high speed.

New developments in propulsion, in electronics, in communications,

in guidance and control techniques, _n computer tethnlques, are

necessary in order t,_ accomplish the task. New Information in the

life sciences, including the effects of the radiations encountered

in outerspace, the effects of 16ng. periods _f welghtlessn_ss, and

long exposure to a completely closed environment--all these are

required and will provide new basic information about the

performance of the human body under adverse conditions. Thls

new knqowledge and experience in the space sciences and technologies will provide the sound basis for applying our newfound knowledge to the design of space vehicles for a variety

of purposes, some now foreseen, others unthought of at present.

These applications include not only space vehicles for scientific

research, for communications systems, for meteorological observation, and presently unfloreteen civil uses, but also space

vehicles for potential applications In the natdonal defense.

Space technology, like aeronautical technology, can be applied

to military systems, and we must be well advanced in this

technology to avoid its poesible explo_tat±on against _s.

Equally !mportanz is the fact %hst these dcvelopments in

science and technology are transferable to other applications

in our industrial society. We have had repeated evidence in

66
the history of the development of the automobile, the airplane,

and the nuclear reactor of the transferability of developments

in these fields to other industrial applications. The development of space science and technologies strengthens our whole

industrial base and serves as insurance against technological

obsolescence. Education will profit. The discipline of cooperation in a great national effort may well be the instrument

of great social gain. Many hope that space may be an area

where all the nations of the world may learn to work together

for the benefit of all men.

The setting of the difficult goal of landing a man on

the moon and return to earth has the highly important role

of accelerating the development of space science and technology, motivating the scientists and engineers who are engaged

in this effort to move forward with urgency, and integrating

their efforts in a way that cannot be accomplished by a disconnected series of research investigations in the several

fields. It is important to realize, however, that the real

values and purposes are not in the mere accomplishment of man

setting foot on the moon but rather in the great cooperative

national effort in the development of science and technology

which is stimulated by this goal.

The billions of dollars requred in this effort are not

spent on the moon; they are spent in the factories, workshops,

and laboratories of our people for salaries, for new materials,

and supplies, which in turn represent income to others. It

is unfortunate that space exploration is still so new that

Journeys of man to the moon are synonymo_s with foolish or

visionary enterprises as described in science fiction. Fifty

years ago flying through the air had the same connotations--

risky, expensive, useful only as a sport, our lack of

appreciation of the potentialities of aeronautics extended

through the early years, forcing the Wright Brothers to go

abroad. We entered the first World War with no design

capability and no manufacturing experience, dependent

completely on foreign designs. Only after the war did we

begin to devote effort to research in the new aeronautical

technology. We must not undergo the same experience in space

science and technology. The national enterprise involved

in the goal of manned lunar landing and return within the

decade is an activity of critical impact on the future of

this nation as an industrial and military power, and

as a leader of a free world.

/s/ Hugh L. Dryden

Deputy Adndnistrator

67
A National Space Program for the United States

by

Dr. Hugh L. Dryden, Director

National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics

for presentation at the

Tenth Annual California Wing Con.vention

Los Angeles, California

April 26, 1958

My first airplane ride was in a Curtiss Eagle. It was one of the

first of America's first trimotors, powered by Curtiss engines rated at

150 horsepower each. The brochure -- I still have it -- described the

airplane as an "aerial limousine, with plywood cabin giving full protection from wind, and reduction of noise so as to permit conversation."

Top speed was a little more than 100 mph and cruise was hardly 80mph.

Nothing was said about range.

The Curtiss Eagle was obviously the ultimate in air transport°

The brochure strongly suggested that thought. I was in no mood to challenge the obvious, because that was in 1919 and I had yet to learn how

quickly and surely "ultimate" achievements in aeronautics are surpassed.

I must confess that in 1919, if anyone had predicted that 40 years

later, commercial transport across country would be scheduled at 550 mph,

well, I would have been skeptical. My inclination today, based on the

58
- 2 -

rapidity of yesterday's progress, is not to say things can't or won't

happen. Besides, it has been far more satisfying to have been involved

in some of the v_rk that contributes to our progress in the realm of

flight.

On April 2, President Eisenhower sent a message to the Congress,

recomrr_ending that aeronautical and space science activities sponsored

by the United States be conducted under the direction of a civilian agency,

except for those projects primarily associated with military requirements. The draft legislation, sent to the Hill at the same time, centers

responsibility for administration of the civilian space science and exploration within a new National Aeronautics and Space Agency, the

nucleus of which will be the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.

The President has directed NACA to prepare the specific new

space programs that NASA should undertake He has also instructed

NACA to present to the appropriate committees of the Congress a full

explanation of the proposed legislation and. its objectives°

These facts will explain why I am here today to discuss w_th you,

in even the necessarily broad terms I shall use, "A National Space Program for the U.S.."

The need for the United States to assert its leadership in the

fields of space technology is self-evident. For the record, however, I

59
- 3-

should like to note the four reasons the President's Science Advisory

Committee has listed as giving urgency and immediacy to our advancement in space technology. They are: (1) the compelling urge of man

to explore the unknown; (2) the need to assure that full advantage is

taken of the military potential of space; (3) the effect on national prestige of accomplishment in space science and exploration; and (4) the

opportunities for scientific observation and experimentation that will add

to our knowledge of the earth, the solar system, and the universe°

The space programs that must be promptly undertaken and vigorously carried to completion fall into three groups. First, there are

projects for development of satellites and space craft such as those used

for reconnaissance. These, clearly_ are activities that are, and I quote

from the language of the proposed legislation, "peculiar to or primarily

associated with weapons systems or military operations." Such projects

would be carried forward by the Department of Defense° Then_ there are

projects for development of satellites an d space vehicles with the special

capabilities required by the scientific community to probe the secrets of

our solar system. Projects in this second category would be the responsibility of NASA. Finally_ there are space projects that will be useful for

both military operations and the data-gathering needs of civilian science.

Space projects in this third project will be reviewed jointly by the

Department of Defense and the NASA to determine where responsibility

7O
-4-

shallbelodgedor whether the projects will be undertaken cooperatively.

I, for one, might be concerned about the difficulties that could be expected

to arise in these negotiations, were it not that since 1915 the military

services and the NACA have worked together -- closely and harmoniously.

The fact that we are moving into the new, unexplored areas of space

merely increases the essentiality of this effective partnership.

Since the President's message on space, we have conferred frequently with responsible officials of the Department of Defense -- among

them, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Donald A. quarles; ARPA Director,

Roy W. Johnson, and ARPA, Chief Scientist, Herbert York. On both sides

there has been evident a firm resolution that the military and civil segments of our space program be so administered that taken together they

are of maximum benelit to our country.

As our exploration of space proceeds, I expect we shall Iind that

most of the progress made in the technology will be applicable to satellites and space craft whether they are operated for military or civil purposes. My confidence on this point is based on the knowledge that in aeronautics, the research advances made in aerodynamics, propulsion and

structures have been promptly used, first by the designers of rmlitary

airplanes and then by the builders of commercial aircraft. The research

and development performed under military auspices will be valuable in

71
-5-

furthering our space exploration for civilian purposes. The flow of useful information in the opposite direction will be similarly beneficial.

Over the past 43 years, the research activity of the NACA has

been directed toward solution of the problems of flight. Until the end

of W_rld War II, these programs were focused mainly on problems peculiar to airplanes. Since then, we have been working increasingly to provide information useful in the design of missiles. Today, more than 50

percent of the effort of our 8,000 scientists, engineers and supporting

personnel is applicable to missiles, satellites and space craft.

As stipulated in the draft legislation, the NASA will, and I quote,

"plan, direct, and conduct scientific studies and investigations of the

problems of manned or unmanned flight within or outside the earth's atmosphere with a view lo their practical solution° " Beyond this responsibility, study of the problems of flight_ the bill provides that NASA shall

develop, test, launch, and operate aeronautical and space vehicles, and

that it shall arrange for participation by the scientific community in the

planning of scientific measurements and observations to be made through

use of aeronautical and space vehicles; and conduct or arrange for the

conducting of such measurements and observations, and provide as appropriate for dissemination of the data collected°

The first of these new responsibilities over and beyond today's

functions of NACA -- the development, testing, launching and operation of

72
-6-

aeronauticalandspace vehicles -- I wish to discuss in more detail a

little latter. Respecting the second, it is imperative that the best scientific judgement available be employed to determine our space science objectives, and to this end it will be necessary that NASA work most closely

with the National Science Foundation and our National Academy of Sciences.

Again, as instructed by the President, we have already begun discussions

w_th these bodies, as well as other governmental and non-govermental

bodies to insure participation by the scientific community in the planning

and coordination of the scientific programs for the use of space vehicles in

civilian science.

Much has been said in recent months about these civilian science

programs. I should like now to quote several scientists about thekind

of fundamental, new information in their specialties that use of space

vehicles can be expected to provide. This type of information, I might

add_ can be obtained only from positions out in space.

First, the statement of a geophysicist: "Observations of the man,-

made satellites will lead to important conclusions as to the precise shape

of our planet. The plotting of the trajectories of a number of artificial

satellites will finally enable us to determine the exact configuration of the

earth, an extremely important element in the study of the origin_ history

and structure of our planet. By knowing the satellites' speed we shall

be able to calculate precise measurements of the distances between

73
-7-

various points on the globe, thus making the present data more accurate.

"Satellites open new avenues for research in 'all the earth sciences --

gravimetry and geochemistry, geodesy and geophysics, seismography and

hydrology° They will give us important information on the composition

of cosmic dust that floats through interstellar space. Science has thus

far merely guessed at its nature and properties, but the satellite laboratory

will afford the possibility of undertaking a study of this problem from stage

to stage° The supposition that cosmic dust is the material out of which

planets are formed testifies to the importance of such a laboratoryo"

Next, I quote a meteorologist: "Air masses that form above ocean

areas often determine the weather of land areas. Unfortunately we know

so little about these great wastes of water which cover two-thirds of the

globe that we know no way to forecast devastating typhoons and tornadoes°

Immeasurably broader possibilities for study of the upper reaches of the

atmosphere and of its lower regions where weather is made are opened by

the creation of the man-made satellite.

'_It will be possible to obtain detailed information about the movemeat and distri bution of clouds throughout the globe and, consequently_ of

the air currents over most of its surface. It is of great value in advancing

s_dies of the general circulation ol the terrestrial atmosphere and creating physically substantiated methods for long-range weather forecasts°

74
"To investigatethecomplexmovementsandchangesin the

atmospherewemustknowtheearth'salbedo,thequantityof energy

theearthreflects into space. Satelliteobservationswill supplyuswith

this vitally necessaryinformation. Theywill alsofill in thevery scanty

data we now have on the density of air at high altitudes, the interaction

of the atmospheric layers, and supply other such information with which

we can accurately determine the laws of weather formation.

"In addition to having satellites circle the earth at altitudes of

several hundred miles, it is desirable to set them spinning at lower altitudes. While these laboratories probably will not function long, they

nevertheless can furnish data on the atmosphere around the earth that

cannot be obtained from any other source°"

My third quotation is from a physicist: '_Investigations of diurnal

variations, magnetic storms and the phenomena connected with them led

scientists to assume that the external magnetic field may be due to systems

of electric currents existing beyond the earth. The most likely place

where such currents can originate is the ionosphere -- those layers of

atmosphere which contain a large number of electrically charged particles.

The existence of sources of a magnetic field in the ionosphere has been

confirmed by direct magnetic measurements made with rockets. It is

also assumed that currents may exist beyond the ionosphere. The source

75
-9-

of extra-ionospheric currents may be the charged particles, corpuscles,

emitted by the sun, captured by the earth's magnetic field and revolving

around the earth in the plane ol its magnetic equator.

"Measurements made on satellites will help to verify whether the

streams of solar particle,_ are neutral or consist of electrically-charged

particles of any given sign. Satellites will also help to verify the existence

of extra-ionospheric currents, to obtain data on the ionospheric system

of currents, and extend our knowledge of the main part of the magnetic

field created by the sources within the earth".

"In studying celestial bodies, we astronomers have always been

enormously handicapped because our observatories and scientific stations

are at the bottom of the air ocean which envelops the earth, an ocean hundreds of miles deep. We have dreamed of observatories outside the atmosphere and the satellites have brought our dreams closer to reality.

"Now we can confidently predict the construction of satellite

observatories within a few years which will circle the earth at an altitude

of several thousands of miles and transmit scientific data from interplanetary space° One of the next steps is a rocket capable of penetrating

beyond the sphere of terrestrial gravitation, of reaching the vicinity of

the moon and circumnavigating it. Such a rocket would give us a wealth

of information on the nature of lunar terrain and the structure of the dark

side of the moon that is not visible from the earth."

75
- 10 -

And, finally,this quotation from an astrophysicist: "Cosmic

rays travel for countless lightyears to reach the earth. The energy o[

particles of cosmic radiation can be expressed only in billions and tens

of billionsof electron volts. The energy of some particles is even milIxous of times greater. Research on the how and the where of the original processes which result in creating cosmJc rays should be conducted

beyond the earth's atmosphere. Otherwise secondary cosmic radiation

produced in the atmosphere can be mistaken for primary radiation°

"The satellitelaboratory will open new opportunities for study by

elminating the distortions produced by the earth's atmosphere. It will

be possible to classify the cosmic rays in greater detailaccording to

their mass and energy. This in turn will enable us to find out the mechanism of their origin in the far depths of the cosmos and in our solar system

as well.

"It is not unlikely that experiments conducted with the satellite

as a vehicle for our instruments will lead to the discovery of new, unknown types of cosmic rays. Various data received from the cosm_ic

ray laboratory above the atmosphere can provide us with an incomparably

greater knowledge of the universe than we now have."

These comn'e nts about the benefits to civilian science that will

result from good use of space vehicles sent on data-gathering missions

77
°I1 -

were made by members of the Academy of Sciences. I should be

more specific" by members of the Academy of Sciences of the Union

of Soviet Socialist Republics. The Russians are stressing the peaceful

uses of space technology as positively and as widely as they can among

the nations of the world. My quotations were from a recent issue of

the handsome, Life-size magazine -- USSR -- published in well-written

Enghsh and circulated throughout the United States.

The Russians aren't talking about military missions they propose

to assign to their Sputniks. This fact serves to emphasize what we already know -- that in addition to being a new tool of great value to science

and to the military, the space vehicle is a devicc that can be used to

great advantage in the vitally important use of psychology and propaganda

_,_ a global scale°

Now I should like to return to consideration of the responsibliit.ies

of NASA for development, testing, launching, and operation of aeronautical and space vehicles. Over the years, NACA has concentrated for the

most part on flight problems in the fields of aerodynamics, propulsion,

and structures and structural materials. These arc the areas where

the NACA has the technical competence and the research tools. Flight

int(J space requires that great effort be devoted also to such problems

as electronics, bn.tidance, and physiolob,'y or human factors.

78
- 12-

It would, of course, be possible for NASA to establish new research centers for study of problems in these last-named areas. Such

a procedure would be very costly. Trained people to accomplish the

work woul ci have to be recruited; almost certainly they would have to

come from scientific and engineering orgamzations already engaged in

work of importance to the national interest. Even more critical would

be the passage of months and years before the new laboratories could

begin producing information vital to the space programs.

A far wiser course, I believe, will be for NASA to make effective

use -- on a contract basis -- of teams of experts and laboratory facilities already in being. Here in Southern California, there are such facilities. As a single example, I would name the Jet Propulsion Laboratory

of the California Institute of Technology°

NASA will have to develop new space vehicles° Enormously powerful rocket motors will be required for these space craft; they may be even

larger than those required for presently contemplated military missile

or space missions. It would be possible for NASA to build tke organization and the facilities for such space vehicle and motor design and construction. But again, such action would be very costly and much additional

time would be required. It is preferable that design and construction of

79
-13-

thesespacevehiclesandmotorsbeperformed,oncontractbasis, at

existingfacilities° In suchcases,sponsorshipmightbeeither by

NASAindependentlyor jointly with theDepartmentof Defense:

I amsurethatour aircraft industry, so muchof whichis located

in SouthernCalifornia, is morethancasuallyinterestedin whomaybe

askedto buildthespacecraft androcket motorsfor thecivilian programof spaceexplorationandexploitation. Oneobviousansweris that

the organizationsbestqualifiedwill getthe jobs. I wouldmakefurther

observationthatwhenchangingmilitary requirementscalledfor productionof ballistic andother missiles to supplementthecapabilitiesof the

bomber,theaircraft industrydemonstratedthat its designandproduction

teamsweresingularlyqualifiedto developandbuildmissiles.

In recentweeks,to gostill further, I havebecomefamiliar with

many oI the satellit.e and space craft projects proposed bi_ American i_-

dustrv_ I haven_t counted them. Some say the number is 60. With

some poetic li¢.ense I have put it nearer 200° At any rate, and this is

pertinent here_ most of these projects are suggested by members of the

aircraft industry. So long as the techmcal and production competence of

the industry can keep up with the exploding needs of the space program,

the same reasons that discourage construction of new laboratories and

scientific teams to perform work that can be done by in-being research

organizations would apply to space craft development and construction.

8O
- 14-

Thespaceprogramswewill beproposingsoonfor NASAaccomphshmentarethree-foldin scope. First, theremustbeadequate

researcheffort onspacetechnologyproblems. Thentheremustbedevelopmentanduseof unmannedvehiclescapableof carrying thedesired

scientific data-gatheringapparatus. Finally, theremustbedevelopment

andorderly useof man-carryingvehiclesin theexplorationof our solar

system. Thethreeparts of ourprogrammustbeskillfully irtegrated and

coordinated.Justas rapidly asresearchcanprovidethenecessaryinformation,weshoulduseit in developing-- andusing -- bothautomatedandmannedvehicleswith greaterperformanceandsophistication.

I shouldlike to emphasizetheessentialityof ourplanninga space

programthatwill beadequateto our needsas a nation. Thesizeof the

programandthevigor with whichit is carried outmust.befirmly establishedandratified bytheAdministration,theCongress,andfinally, the

Americanpeople. In makingthesedecisions,wemustkeepin mindthat

todaySovietRussiais workingharder th_nweto achievepre-eminence

i,_theconquestof space.

Wemustunderstandthatthekind andmagnitudeof spaceprogramthatournationalinterest requireswill costhundredsof millions

of dollarseachyearfor manyyears to come. I knowthat someknowledgablepeoplefear thatalthoughwemightbewilling to spenda couple

81
- 15 -

of billions for spacetechnologyin 1958,becausewestill remember

thehumiliationcausedbytheappearanceof thefirst Sputniklast October,

nextyearwewill besopreoccupiedby colortelevision, or newstyle

cars, or thebeginningof anothernationalelectioncampaignthat we'll

beunwillingto payanotheryear's installmentonour spaceconquestbill.

For thatto happen-- well_I'd just as soonwedidn't start.

Fortunately,Ior thesakeof our children's futureif notfor the

protectionof ourownskins, I don'tthinkwe're that grasshopper-minded.

This pastweekI wasprivilegedto appearbeforetheSelectCommitteeon

AstronauticsandSpaceExplorationof theHouseof Representatives.Repeatedlythemembersof thatCommitteereflectedthewishthat I amsure

is thatof theentire nal2on,thatwedeterminewhatis necessaryto doto

reachour goalsin spaceandthengetonwith the.job°

As a nation,wehavethescientific andtechnicalcompetence.We

havethe resourcesto pay thebill. Wecanandwemustsucceedin findmgour destinyin space°

END

82
The International Gc.'ophysical Year

IT7 SCTENTISTS OF FORTY-SIX NATIONS STUDY '._E

LAND, SEA, AND AIR AROUND US

By

Hugh I,. Dryden

Director, National Advisory Committee for Aeronaatics

Home Secretary, National Academy of Sciences

Tr_astee, National Geogr_phic Society

We live on the surface of a large roughened ba/I of rock wnirlJng through space around [he kindly sun which furnishes m_ heat "-and

L:'jLt. Our every activity is carried out at the bottom of a_ oceml of

_:.r which suppHc:s [he oxygen we need [o slowly burn the food we eat

[< c_ve body heat mid muscular ener97. The scientific study of the

t_rient<;,<)ce__ns, and surrounding cdmospi",ere is _he _;ciei_c,._of

q_oph_ysics.

The scientist in a laboratory may, study the laws of Nature

,_,_id,:_r controlled conditions. The earth l._ [oo big to brin._ into a

laboratory, and man as yet has little control over storms amt e_{rthqua_ses. The earth scientist can only observe [he experiments which

N_.t'ir<. rn.-_d{e_:, _id he himself can see only what happens at oP.e place

_.[ _[rt): one time.

83
From July, 105'/, through December, 1958, some bOO0 earth

sci<.ntiscs from <t;3 <'<.,.uutries w!,[1 make a cooeeratw-_ sludy of [he rl;:_tur_,

el nut osrlh _md i,:. _'_mosp.here. In thi:: h_ternaticne_l G;+ophys]cal

Ye,'_r, or IGY, th<t ncien_i;',!s w;l! F:tudy thp atmo._;phere _r_d oceans

fsom '.heequator [.i. ] [_ [_ _ [}el <Is '.andfrom ocean1 deep;; k..-altitudc-_sof

lKmdreds of miles <:_bove the surface. ']'heywill rne%_.tr_ the puzzling

"<,ioc[ric r<{in" of d:e cosmic r;_ys that bombr_rd our :_tm<k:_phere from

cp;_ice ;c,d the magner:.c ::terms that nlnder radio ;rod !<b::gr'aph commuIn this great "symphony of science" the scienl is[_;will work an

wcil-conducted nrchestra in h_irmony. Frequent (;bservalions will

bc made by _LL[ p;{r_iciprmts in each month of IGY <,rL !hr,'k: ,)r four days,

c[dl,,d Rxe.c_J.lar World Ds.ys, picked for their coincidence; with spcciai

rP_n. ,::: n[ !),- lno<_. E.;,_%i qm_>"f,-_r • d__r'rC_ :_, t_-r-:l'<] W_ _}_ Met.<oro -

iogimJ Intes'l;£, Lb.. w<_Yhor men '_,i![ r<,_dc:uh, ic 'he::" effo.rtn. Whenever tie stm show:-: vmu;.:u'__l ;{ctivlty, or [he l_c)rLher'n }J.liFcirct llgrits

cower high, er m:_gneCc storms occ.ur, special ak:rts wilt bc given

so Lh-_[ obso__Ja[ions rrla), be m_de. over a.il the earth r_t rhe same time.

'l"n<Intertzution-%[Geophy._:]cmt Ye<%r i:: t,'_third in z series of

international Years, the first being the Firs- Interni_t±on[d Polur Year

st 1882-83. _P.!_tyot_r ."onLributed much to our kr<_'*'l<-dg=_of the

"li:h'ti t:?N [[Oh!S_'> {F;. l-F.,'[ig..'iif]CCFIt $-_ilFor,.R :;o_.'e;;{iik;, r; 9_ _i.;'o',,vs a.cr'u.:s.

".he >-;:k_,r no[ o1"117! ;:._.m [Y.'i,{)v'esf:l]vo Spt-H_._C1Q bLJ! rLi,:]c. 'rl]'! O]_Ci r'{.'_'aJ .,T/rror

84
that interferes wikh radio reception. From bases set up in the Arctic,

mew lrlform;-lliorl_bout Arctic we&thor t_nd the earth's magnetism were

.:y_[emaff,caily obtained.

The Se<ond Inlernational Pohu _ Yes,r, h_f a century bit or in

193f_-33, brought new knowledge of r_dio communication and the developme[:[ of methods of bouncinc pulses o[ radio waves from the ionospher

l.hat a_.mospheric layer from 50 1() more than 200 miles above the eamtt','

in which ultr_vtclet tight from [he sun creates a large, number of electrisa'dy charged molecules. These tecliniques were later applied in

the. development of radar.

After :il_pse of only 2b years, into'rest in the earth sciences

aad be_..nso great that learned societies around the world, working

through [heir ]_n[ernt{tion_LlCotmc[l of Scientific Unions, set in morion

r..lan:" f."l' _:1( 10n'" rq [_]l.<,r_-_ati,::ulu] ,'_,.o[:):_;si<.il Yc_I'. E_::i: <:(mntry

pL'ms &nd carr!e,_ out its own progra.m undqr guidance ()fan inlerna-

'.ionalcommhtee. An America.n, Dr. Lloyd V. berk:ner, is pres]don',

of ICSU and vice-cha]rrna,n of its spec:_a[ committee on ]GY. The

Nationo_l Academy of Sciences has [he responsibility for re_liz[ng the

United States progra_l, using Federal funds obtained through [he

Nation_'_flScience Fotmdation. A U. S. Na[iona/ Committee has been

established by [.heAcademy with Dr. Joseph Kapl'mn am it:_chairman.

The D(.'p_rl.rm:_[of Defense, vY_th meal <{nd m_terials, ships, truck;s,

rind p[m]es from each of its three _:;ervice.'s,_ supporting I_hesalon-

{ill:t<)u.nq.:L <s!,<,::i;&[¥ in r<!q!ote ax;d rubi:, v(:,[y _n_CCOSi-:[bl_T, r<(.lJom].

85
4

Preskler_.t Eisenhower has heralded the IGY a_s "a striking

example of the oppnr!.ur_i[ies which exist for coo[_radve action u_mong

the peoples of [!,<_world" 'Fhc U._S.S.R. m_d _ ]e,'m{tfohr other Iron

CurL_ln countries will taku p_.r[.

_ihe IGY will focus a m_tjor effor'[ on the poiar' regions, esp_eciaJJy 7h]tarc_hTa, witr',its 16, 0@0 miles of lit,t]e-know-n co_<;tEne.

Ele ¢e

,lat.ions -- Argentina, Australia, Chiie, France, Great Britain,

Japan, New Z_aiaI_d, Norway, _ Union of Sou_h Africa, the

U.S.S.I:{., az_fl the United States -- have plans for' sorne 3'1 stations

on AntazcLica or _ts offshore islands. Severs/ nations expect [o send

expeditions acre:'-'{the cold lnter'.or, marking scientific obsemlations

on the way.

T]:_ United Sl_.!es t)l_ans six AnLarctic observatories, the most

r,l._:it,(: b.:l_,o :-_[o.- m::i:"ih<: [].)u[hl--"olcitself, ikl;',.._dyO;._rt_t_on

"D_)epl'r'u<:_/,e I" !'.,_;J ;-_c.':<.mpiishc)t] mlEth of the pr,:,r,,m~r:Elor-/ work. ]_n

October, 1956, Operal]or Deepfreeze IT will begJr L _'i[t: r'elrfforcemeu[

of the small parLieS who remained durin@ the winter m:d the delivery

of building materials, food, !z!strumenls, and other" s._ftp[ies. Some

seventy IGY s<:ien:b;ts will proceed to their stations, for the beginning

of IGY in _lu'Ly,]957, is in the middle of the Anb?urc'Jc winter.

'Phe _tslions /n irli:_r'c'dca, will :na]<c d[f. !y wcath::r ob'sem,",{tlons

i:,):lla< tt_esur[a<<: ;<rldto 10,0,()(k)fuet r)y rr<_rms ::-,fb;{=icem:;. The

b;i!loortscarry r'_Id]ol<-:uigrnitters to send b;ick r,_F:or'L: .sn terrtnerut.um'..,

86
pressure, moisture and wind. Standard magnetic observatories to

measu re field streng-th, dip and inclination, will be established at

four of the American base:_. Gravity measurements will be made on

over-.;now journeys and airplane flights. B_loon and rocket flights

wLll yield i_for'mation on cosmic rays which spray the earth constantly,

with occa_sional power bursts far greater than those generated by the

biggest man-made atomic accelerators. Holes will be drilled through

the Ross Shelf ice and through inland ice t,:) a depth of 1000 feel or

more to obtain ice cores and to measure the temperature at various

depths for study of the earth's climatic history.

The IGY wilt emphasize upper-air exploration in an effort to

increa.se our knowledge of the top half of our atmosphere. Much of

our surface weather and the efficiency of radio communication are

:_ffected bj vai':ab]e co_:di ione; il_ _hi_.; a[mo_.pho_-i_: oc___:iri.

A y,_ar-iong "rocke_ shoot" will pull new plums of knowledge

out of the heavens at heights from 60 to 200 miles above the eardl.

The Unika.d States alone plans to launch Mmdreds of rockets. Several

dozen will be 1250 pound, 20-fool Aerobee-tti rockets, most of them

launched a[ Fort Churchill, Manitoba, on the wes_ coast of Hudson Bay.

Others will blast off from New Mexico.

The Urn:ted States also !ntend'._ to launch two-:3tage rockets --

a ¢ombin:ition of the Nike booster and the Deacon rockc l -- :_Ld sever'_d

hund'_-ed sm_.ter rockets. S,.0me will riss_, from land site,{ at Thu_[e,

87
Greenland, and in central Alaska and some from off the coasts of

_outhern California told V!rginia. Others will be _aunched from ships

Lit _;(.'tt in numez',-:_;:_ locations. Becket-born,<' camer3.s .%_qdelectronic

instruments wit provfde "eye-_dtness" reports of cond!tions on the

ihreshold of space;.

On July 29, 195.5 Prosidcr.t Eisenhowor a.nnoumced that _Le

Uni:ed States pl:mn_d, ;m{ par_ of its participation in IGY, to _aunch

into '_;paee du_-[ncj !957 or 1958 i_istory's first art[fLcia] earth-circling

satellite. The firs[ ";--ttollite wi]_i weigh approximat_-ly 20 potmds and

will probably be sp:teric_ in shape a_.d between 20 and 30 inches m

di zr.'[#ter, it Will b:T'.J__lJl:2hod fror[1 thc Air ]/,'t,rce _ " " .

_t Cape Ca_mzv<..r-al, F_orida.

A three-stage rocket w'.llbe used to place the satellite in art

'!-ler..,_ares[ooinl. Fh, first-stage roe;to-t, prov_di.ug _ t!-.ru.;_of ';:7,000

poun{'_g, wilt [)ring ii-()vehicle ;o a speed between 3000 and 4000 miles

per hour. The flr'ststage wilt then be l_f[ bol_Lnd a.; [he second stage

rocke_ ]ncrea.;es L}I_sF;cd to about It, 00(] mites !:.urhour at m_ attitude

<Ifabout 150 miles. 'Firevehicle ther_ coasts upward until its path

becomes approximately horizont'a/. At this point the 'Jdrd ;.;taperocket

ts litand boost'.-:-[ !o 'ha orbit&]_ so(_<d of about 13, @00 nd]e::{per hour.

rF_ie .:;%[_-'i[1[<" I:.(f[l ci,'cles tl_e c:ob__' ev(:ry ?(3 ml: ires. rl is

oxpc-c[ed to r_.w._itnirt the orbil for -{period from ;;_ver;!i weeks _:)

88
several months depending on the resistance encountered in the rarefied atmospher< which is not accurately known. Uitin_lately fr;.ct_on

will cause the s_t_,l!ite [o spiral inw_-u-d _ and heat up until i[

burns like a shootin(j star.

The earlc's atmosphere acts like a screen wh/ch prevents us

from detecting what happens in I.he upper atmosphere _d in nearby

_01_terspace. Dr. Kaplan h_m-_called the ::;atellitea "long-playing

ro<zke[" because if _rakes possible khe type of observations pos.'_ible

or.]y for m/nu[es cr seconds from high altitude rockets for periods

of weeks or months. These include the determination of outer atmosphere densities by observation of the "-xirdrag effec! on _he satell'[e

,orbit, long-term observations of ultraviolet radiation from the sun,

[!_c[uatlons in interlsity of cosmic rays striking the atmosphere from

sp_:,:_, cc:d d< :t;i:y <_fhydrog<n :item.; _md ion_ in _nt(zrp[a.nct_-y :_pace.

The gcvc rr:rr.cm[s:_/:dir,st iludo::s of lhe several ri:_t]:_)r:s that

pay the total bill of %bout 2_) million dolb'_rs for [hc_IGY program

expect and wilt receive very practica/dividends in return. .They w_ll

(_njoy improved weather forecasts _z'idradio commuriication. They

will benefit from grea:er knowlc, dgo of the upper air and nearby space

in which airplanes, satellites, and eventually space ships will travel.

Moreover, there is hb., possibility of far greater mqsuspec:t(:d discover]el{ of w/!O-C[I/I-<_Lt%<J_:3-whtlt v[lJtle+..1)fllUi!.

89
The International Geophysical Year will make a significant

contribution to mar_'s increetsing search for clearer understanding

of ]is surroundings. It will see the first faltering &_. _ DO "_ _ t_trd

mLm's exploration of outer space. It will stir the imaginaEion of

re,untiess boy:; _s_d girls to the wonders arid opportunidc's on the

road _lead '_oward the far horizons of space.

(See "The l_ter_a_lonal Geophysical Year", by Hugh L. Dryden,

N:-lt-ons_i Geographic Magazine, February, 1956. )

April 16, 195¢

90
NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

FOR AERONAUTICS

i724 F STREET, NORTHWEST

WASHINGTON ZSt D. C.

TRENDS IN NACA RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

By

Hugh L. Dryden, Director

National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics

Presented at SAE National Aeronautics Meeting

Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, California

October 5, 1951

91
For the third time in its history, the trend of NACA research and

development Is heavily toward the support of the miD.tary aeronautical program, which is the chief hope for the preservation of the peace of the world.

Over the years since the creation of the Committee as an independent

agency of the government to _supervise and direct the scientific study of the

problems of flight with a view to their practlcal solutlon °', there has evolved

an intimate relationship between the aircraft industry, the military agencies,

and NACA, such that the contributions of each group are thoroughly interwoven with those of the others in the final product All work together to

attain superiority in performance and military effectiveness of our air

weapons.

NACA has been primarily responsible for the conduct of an adequate

research program to lay the groundwork for continuing progress by the designer and builder This assignment ot primary responsibility has not meant

that no one else should perform research nor that NACA was restricted from

completing work on some problem by testing its research hndings by practical application.

Numerous university groups engage in fundamental research _n the

aeronautical sciences. The NACA led in sponsoring aeronautical research

by educational groups, and today supports almost a mllllcm dollars worth

92
of such work each year. Support of research performed by universities is

also forthcoming from the military services, and the military services them-.

selves conduct a great deal of research, especially tn such fields as

electronics, armament, aeromedicine, geophysics, and others not within the

scope of NACA's responsibility. The aircraft industry, the airplane and e_-

gine manufacturers also conduct research. There is an exchange of programs

results, and views and a resulting correlation and coordinatio_ of research

effortin the NACA executive committee and its twenty-seven techmcal sub-.

committees and in the committees of the Research and Development Board ot

the Department of Defense.

Let us examine a littlemore closely how the work of the NACA ties

in directly with the planning and procurement of the military services _n the

fieldof aircraft and missiles. The start of such planning and procureme_.t

is, I supposej a blueprint of wh_t will have to be done to make good the m_,l_

tary comnutments of the Umted States. These commitments include the defense of the continental United States and our other territories, the support

we have promised to the defense of those European nations who wish to l_ve

in a free world, and a successful completion of the action in Korea.

Next comes the writing of the specifications for the airplanes and

missiles and power plants which will be needed_ as well as the many other

weapons and items of equipment for which NACA has no responsibility.

-2-

93
In theestablishmentof requirementsfor a_.rcraft and missiles, and the

specification3 to meet them, NACA counsels as to what kind of performance

the manufacturers should be able to design and build into the models ordered

Today they can make fighter airplanes that flirt with the speed of sound,

using the 7,000-pound-thrust engines which are manufactured today. Tomorrow, on the basis of new aeronautical knowledge built up since today's

airplanes were conceived, they can design and manufacture supersonic aarplanes with qualities which the military need in tactically useful airplanes.

Sometimes, perhaps, the industry must think that the counsel we give the

military services is altogether too optimistic, but we are ready to roll up

our sleeves to help make good on the projects embodylng the frontiers of

knowledge, and the industry has a way of translating the possibilities into

actualities.

Then comes the design competition. Here NACA's contribution is to

supply the results of basic and applied research which bear on the problems

which the designer must solve. The design of aircraft t._ an art, the art of

securing the best compromise between the desired and the possible. Unfortunately, the aircraft which is designed for maximum speed has reduced

range and reduced maneuverability and similarly cord]_cts arise tn many

other aspects of the design problem° Ingenuity and :.nventlve application are

necessary ingredients of a successful prototype. Yet the designer must

-3-

94
base his solutions on sound technical knowledge, and a great deal of this

knowledge can be supplied by N_CA. If we are on the job, we will foresee

the problems of the future and work toward their solution to be ready when

the designer needs the information, We review the state of knowledge for

him in teehmca] conferences and we advise on the special problems of his

design°

The design proposals are evaluated by the mili.taryservices and one

or more contracts awarded for prototypes. In practmally every important

project the military services at some stage request the use of NACA equipment and skills on specific problems_ Models are constructed as the engineering work progresses for measurements in high-speed wind tunnels at

large Reynolds numbers, and for rocket-propelled model tests. Power plants

under development are installed and operated in the nit,rude tanks under conditions encountered in flight at high altitude. Engineers ot the company whose

models are under test are on hand, and_ as the irfformat,'_on is secured, mod:-

flcations are coosidered. In every case it is the compavy engineer who decides what, if any, changes will be made. We are as helpful as possible, but

NACA is not in the business of designing or constructing airplanes. There

is more than enough research to be done

Then the prototype flies. If you think the research and development

job is then finished, let me tell you the story _n terms of o_e of the best air-

-4-

95
planes to be built during the last war° Up to and through the prototype

stage, the maaulacturer invested something l_ke a m_ll_.on and a half engineering man-hours in this airplane During thls same period, NACA spent

almost a hundred thousand engineering man-hours on the airplane. During

the period this airplane was in production - and a good many of this particular model were built - the manufacturer spent almost five million engineering man-hours to secure improvements. Duri.g the same period NACA

spent approximately a half-million man-hours to the same end.

In this life cycle of an airplane, so unfamiliar to the lay public not

associated with it, there are encountered the three principal categorms of

NACA research The lirst is the truly basic researcb_ the exploration of

new fields, and the search for more complete understanding of older fields°

This is the work which can lead to radically new developments and which

will pay off in the design of future aircraft a_d power plants. Our present

aircraft embody the results of basic research carried out years ago which

now seems so familiar to the designer that he forgets _t was ever new.

The second category is applied research directed at the foreseen

problems of the aircraft now being designed° The problems to be worked

on are crystallized from the thinking ol designers, users, and research

workers° This is the research which can be swiftly translated into pract_ce_

embodied in actual aircraft at an early date. granted o_]y that sufficiert

-5-

96
manpower and funds are provided. This is the work which makes possible

an increase _n thrust of the next eagine_ and improved stabil:ty and controllability of the next airplane°

The third category is specihc research on the problems of the prototypes now building or flying. The problems encountered in a production airplane automatically assume top priority; those of a prototype produce equal

pressures This work is essentially a part o_ the development of the specific

airplane or missile.

The three categories differ principally in the time scale and; as is

natural in a period of tension and large production of aircraft_ the trend of

NAC A research is toward a shorter term on. the average. This trend has

some elements of danger, and I wish to discuss briefly current consideration

of NACA research policy and its implementation, It wall be recalled that ten

years ago just prior to World War II, the pressure on NACA to concentrate

on applying av.atlable scientific knowledge to the immediate improvement of

a_rplanes scheduled for war production soon became so great that the basic

research programs were cut and cut until they represented hardly 10 percent

of our total work, The result was that we came out of that war with a serious

deficiency of research information, especially in supersonic aerodynarmcs

and jet propulsion°

-6-

97
The trend to short-term specific investigations must not occur again

to the same degree as during World War I]. To do so w!l] undermine the research foundation upon whlch our future development program must be built.

In the current situation of a probable extended period of internatlonal

tension and the dependence of the free world on the leadership of the United

States we must continue the program of fundamental sclentific research initiated after the close of World War II and at the same time provide for the

speedy refinement of production airplane designs, the correction of troubles,

and the essential day-to-day improvement of current types This is the

stated policy of NACA reflected in its budget submissions and operating

practices_ Its full implementation is contingent on increased financial

support and the continued sympathetic consideration of the military agencies

In the calling up of reservists and of the draft boards in the deferment of

specialized person_nel.

The experience of thirty-six years has taught that a moderate effort

on specific investigations of current airplanes and missiles insures a more

realistic and effective conduct of the basic and app]ied research, promotes

mutual understanding between research scientists and designers, and secures

early application of research results° It is greatly _n the rmt)onal _nterest

that the knowledge and skills of NACA scientists be brought to bear on the

critical problems of current prototype and prodiJction a_rp]ages and missiles.

-7-

98
It is too much to expect that any citizen_ eve n an NACA research scientisL

administrator, or Committee member will refuse to help make our present

airplanes as good as they can be made. What is required is a balanced effort

within a total effort commensurate with the need The total effort, in manpower and money, needed for the research and development to _nsure the

qualitative superiority of our air weapons is small relative to the total effort

being expended to build up our air power

At least by comparison, NACA is in a better position today to undertake this double-barreled task than on the eve of World Way II. Then we had

one laboratory, and something less than 600 research scientists and supporting personnel Today we have three laboratories, and a little more than

7,000 research scientists and supporting personnel. With the research equip.

merit we now have, or are in the process of acquiring, we should have most

of the essential tools Inevitably we shall have to _.crease the number of

our people, perhaps by 50 percent, but nothing like the way we had to expand

a decade ago. In the light of the tremendous techmcal changes brought about

by jet propulsion and consequent supersonic speeds, the Jnnumerable new

problems added to the old ones, and the three-fold expansion of the military

research and development program, such a modest expansion of NACA

effort may appear too small. The expansion is in f,act limited by the saturation of use of critical facilities and shortages of technical manpower rather

than by the needs of the expanded military program_

-8-

99
The trends in research policy which have just been described are reflections of the trend of technical developments in the aeronautical sciences

and their applications to airplanes and missiles now being designed. These

technical trends can be discussed in an unclasslfied paper only in very

general terms, and space limits the discussion to a few examples°

The first obvious trend is that toward atrcraft of greatly increased

performance. It seems probable that airplane speeds may be increased as

much in the next five years as in the whole history of human flight up to

World War If. Experimental flights with piloted aircraft at transonic and

supersonic speeds have been made with increased frequency during the past

year. It has been clearly demonstrated that aircraft operations will ultimately be conducted throughout the entire transonic range. Information Js

becoming available to permit the development of airplares capable of further

penetration of the transonic and low supersomc speed ranges with fewer

operational limitations. The limited successes already reahzed have brought

to light many detailed problems which can be solved by continued research

These relate to all phases of transonic and supersonic stability, control,

maneuverability, and performance, and the landing and take-off behavior of

the new and unconventional high-speed configurations An except)op_lly

important development is the transonic ventilated wind°tunnel throat invented

by Stack and his associates, which makes possible the study of transonic

-9-

I00
problems in wind tunnels, hltherto impossible because of the choklng of the

conventional wlnd tunnel as the speed approaches the speed oI sound. All

high-speed wind tunnels in this country will be converted to transonic operation as rapidly as the necessary funds are supplied° Tremendous improvements in the aerodynamic characteristics of alrcraft con/igurations at transonic and supersonlc speeds have already been made_ including large drag

reductions and lmporved stability and control. A striking feature of the results is the sensitivity to details of design which forecasts a necessity for

much additional specific testing°

Techmcal development is moving in a dlrection to throw heavier responsibility on the structures design group, Structural problems may become _ limiting feature in the future and NACA is taking steps to secure the

necessary tools and to place increased effort in this area. The requirements

of long-range, high-speed, high-altitude operations often result in a relatively

flexible airplane structure. This gives rise to Important mutural interactions

between aerodynamic loads and structural deflection, as well as to important

transient dynamic loads in gusty air and on landing,. Furthermore, the

flexible structure may vibrate unduly or exhibit the catastrophic phenomenon

of flutter These phenomena may be studied by investlgations of dynamically

similar models as well as by more fundamental studies of the component

aerodynamic and structural behavior under dynamic conditions. A second

-10-

I01
structural problem which will in time become the major problem limiting

further gains in airplane performance is that of the dlstortion of the structure

and changes in physical properties of materials arising from the heating of

the surface of high-speed aircraft and missiles.

The dependence of missiles on automatic stabilization and control

and guidance equipment has led to more intensive study of the matching of

the aerodynamic characteristics to the characteristics of the automatic equipment. Similar problems are now arising in piloted aircraft, where the high

performance places demands on the pilot beyond his physical capacities.

His vision is extended by radar, his muscles by power boost in the control

system, and his slow reaction time is compensated by automatic equipmenL

Furthermore, automatic equipment can be used to improve the flying

quahties of aircraft, even when there is no question of supplementing the

physical abilities of the pilot This trend in technical development yields

a host of new problems as well as the opportunity for increasing the utility

of hlgh-performance aircraft.

Recent improvements in gas-turbine-engine performance through

adoption of afterburners on turbojet engines for thrust augmentation have

complicated the problem of engine control. The technical characteristics

of jet engines require operation near the safe limits of speed and te_nperature, Application of turbine-propeller eng, nes likewise presents a control

-11-

102
problem which places an intolerable burden on the operator unless quickacting, accurate, stable, and safe control systems are htted to the engines.

The solution of these problems requires equipment for operating the complete

system under altitude conditions and the use of analogue computers for rapid

study of the effects of design changes.

In order to obtaln high performance, the hot parts of jet engines are

made of high-termperature alloys which contain alloying metals either not

found in the United States or inlimited supply. A major trend in engine

development is the reduction of strategic material content to permit largescale production. An important part of NACA research is devoted to this

problem, ranging from basic research on why materials behave as they do

to substitute materials and to turbine blade cooling. Turbine blade cooling

offers promise either of removing practlcally all of the strategic materials

from the blades while retaining present performance or of substantlally increasJng output for apphcatlons for which the strategic materials can be

allocated in sufficient quantity.

As another illustration of the trend in technical development, mention

may be made of the increased attention being given to the research underlying the development of helicopters of improved performance which has

resulted from the great utility of this type of aircraft demonstrated in recent

m11itary operataons. Attention is being given to hlgh-speed rotors, jet

-J2 -

IO3
rotors, stability and control of multi-rotor helicopters, flying qualities, and

vibratton characteristics.

The pattern of technical development has changed very decidedly since

the days of World War II. Progress in performance then proceeded at what

now seems to be a relatively slow and orderly pace. St reasonable goal was

a speed advance of 100 miles per hour or less or a modest increase in rate

of climb or altitude. The engineerin¢ advances required were modest, and

much effort was devoted to the study of changes which increased the max_-

mum speed 20 or 30 miles per hour, The problems of compressibility

effects were still new and the sonic barrier seemed very real. Much effort

produced a httle closer approach to the critical Mach number

Today we are contemplating, and with some assurance of success,

striving toward very large gains in performance The chance of success is

greatly dependent on extensive detailed knowledge, small changes of contour

may make large changes lnperformance_ The deslgncomprr_misesare much

more difficult than before. As a result we have found that the step-up in

military research and development leads first to demands for expedited

appbed research in many critical areas and at a much later stage to requests

for tests of specific configurations. The problems are so many, and the cost

of failure to advance so great, that accelerated effort in the critical problem

areas is a priceless insurance.

-13-

104
Thesethenaresomeof thetrendsof NACAresearchanddevelopmentto meetNACA'sresponsibilityin thecurrent situation. Weof N$CA

poolour skills withthoseof our industryandmilitary colleaguesto increasegreatlythemilitary strengthof the UnitedStatesandits allies with

thehopeof maintainingpeacebydeterringaggression.If. nevertheless,

war shouldcome,thejoiningof a greatresearchanddevelopmentpotential

with demonstratedproductionabilities will bring usvictory. To theseefforts

of free mento maintaintheir freedom,weof NACAwill give ourbest.

October5, 1951

-14-

105
TtIE DAWNOF THE SUPERSONICAGE

HughL. Dryd_m

Director ofAeronau)icalResearch

NationalAdvisory CommitteeIor Aero_:autic,_;

(I,ecture delivered at the Univ_,rsity ,,f California,

Berkeley,May24, 1948andLos Angeles;,May25, 1948)

\

It is a great honor and pleasure to be invited to give one c;f the public

lectures in yuur engineering lectureserie:;. This lecture will not beatechnieal paper in the usual sense and has none of the usual appurte_:ances of

such papers. It is in part an attempt to interpret the aims, goals, and effects

in human affairs of one field of development m aeronautical engineering; in

part am attempt to give you a nodding acquaintance with some ol the current

technical problems in that field.

Last week while I was standing with :t group of aeronautical cng;.neer:,

on the lawn of the Inn at Williamsburg, Virginia, there was heard float new and

never-to-be-forgotten sound, the high pitched swish ol a jet-propelled aircraft

somewhere in the sky. Everyone began to use their natural :qound locators,

turning the head back and forth to obtain equal inten._ity of sound in tile two

ears and looking straight ahead to locate the ._;ource, but no airplane was to

be seen. Then a wiser and more experienced operator r'altcd out "You have

to look ahead of the sound" and sure enough by looking a conside:able distance

ahead of the apparent origin of tl-e sound, the airplane w;_._; re:tdity lof:ated.

The jet _:,.:pia_'e travelz, at ._;uch a ]_:'[;e fraclicm of t}_: : I:,,_ _'. (,f :;,_ ,:_,._theft _,"

I06
-2-

the time required for the sound to trawl.! the distance from the airplane te the

observer, the airplane has moved a comparable distance along its path.

In London during the last war the inhabita_t_ were harassed by two types

of distinctive missiles. The buzz-bomb travelling much slower than the speed of

sound telegraphed its coming long in advance, holding its victims in terrifying

suspense. The V-2 rocket traveling several times faster than sound was more

merciful. No warning sound was propagated and the victims never knew what

happened. The survivors saw the explosion and only afterward heard the _noise

arising at successive points along the path in reverse order, much like a phonograph record played backwards.

These human e._perienees.have brought into our daily speech a familiarity with the use of the speed of sound as a measure of comparison for the speeds

of aircrMt and missiles and with the new words coined by scientists, sonic speed

for a speed equal to that of somnd; subsonic speed for speeds less than that of

sound; supersonic speed for speeds greater tha_ that of sou_.d; transonic speed

for speeds just below and above the speed of'sotmd especially for objects which

pass through the speed of sound in rhe_.r travel; and Mach number, the ratio of

the speed of the aircraft or missile to the speed of sound.

The scientist uses the sonic speed as h':.s measure not because of the

difference in travel of sound to an observer, previously described, hut because

he finds by experiment that the laws of air/low are greatly different for subso_.._.c a_d 5t_personic speedb. George W. Gray, :_ his book (._,_Yro:;l.:e_. _ of

107
-3-

Fliv_bi, which i,,: a histo_ :,' (:,f the w;_r-_!me work of the National Advisory Committee

for ._erooauti_:_,, r_,(tom',t_: '_he stc.,y of an America:l fighter pqot during tb,e las_.

war who dove I:!::_ airt)i:J ,._:-teepiy by,-ard tile earth in pursuit of a Germ_.a f_.ghter

plane. After sl,ooting dov,'r: the Gezma_ plane, ke attempted to pull back on the

coP.trol stick to level out l;om the d_ve But the stick resisted and seemed held

i_ a vice. Witl: all his a_.rength he s!.ruggled, but the airpla,e continued downward at high speed. As he was ready io abando;x ship the elevator suddepAy took

hold and the plane curved out of the d;!ve with high acceleration. This _ew and

baffling experience arose from the fact that the speed of the airplane was reaching a speed at which the air was flowing locally over parts of the wings and tail

_.t speeds faster than so,-nd althougb the airplane itself was traveling at only

three-quarters the speed of sound.

Why did the airpla-_e recove_ at all? The explanaDo9 "s that the speed

of sound changes as the tc.rnperature of the air changes Near the ground in the

warm air af sea level it i.s about 760 miles per ho_r. In the upper atmosphere

where the temperature is about -55 ° F. the speed of sotmd is only 660 m,qes

per hour. Thus as the airplane d_.ved, its speed, decreasing slowly because of

the increasing density c,_ tt'_e air, bec_me smaller m compa_ ,son with th.e speed

of soLmd and the adverse ('[fects d._a])peared.

The grea.t task c¢;_.fronti:!g the NACA, university, _,d_l,;trial, and other

govermnent re_earch latb:)_;ttor;e. _, i:_ the prompl exploratiu-_, of the laws of airflow i:, _ke tr_::r_r,-Ac a ;t :'-L'_ ::o '¢ _.__:G_.'):;e; "i'} , ',a:_k of _.:' d-._i{;_'el:_ of

108
-4-

mtl_taryaircra[t i:, to applyt!::,sk:_owledgeto build aircrMt whichmayfly safely

at thesespeed._;.Manyextst':-;gaircraft canexter thetransonicregion,at least

i_.dives For security reaso-,sI dono,'expectto tetl youexactlythelimits of

speedwhichhavebee_reachedu2dervariouscondit!o,m.I canstate that weare

at .'.hedawnof thesuperso:_:icageknthesensethat manyaircraft nowflying,travel

at suchhighspeedsthat theair flows locally pasttheir wingsat speedsfaster

thansoundandthat it is ovlya matter ol time beforesustainedhorizontalsupersoni.cflight of pilotedaircratt will bea commonplaceevent,as the dawnis supersealedbythefull sunlightof the o:_comk_gday. I am onrecord as havi.'-.gpredicted

last fall thatthe sunriseof tile Newagew_lloccurbeforetheendof the calendar

yea_ i_,iS. So_:_exe_,spapelmensay_ _msalreadyoccurred. In the present

_ter.':at_.o.nal climate ! predict a cloudysunriseandtherewill besomedffffculty

L_detezm;i:,_,i:;g exactlywhent,_edawntur_s to day.

Theimp-_ctof e_gir_eer'(:gdevelopmenti:_aeronauticsonour c_v'-'lization

hasf_ornthebegi=n:_gbee::very grea'. Airplaves of ever!,,creasi.ngperformantel_aveservedour civilization usefully. A't first flyhlg was lhe hazardous

occupation of a few men who capitalized o_. the danger to e=tertain and to thrill

the ma:_y by aerial circuses a_d race_-o Some more far-see£r,g pilots began to

demo:,strate the peacetime uti.lity by p_o_eering :n _erial photography, crop

dus_.',,g, tim c_rryf.".g of mall, passe_,gers, a,-d freight. These peacetime tJsefvl

services of av:._.tior_ have grow.n to large size and a_rcraft are jp.dispe_sable to

our :,co" ,Jmy. :! ,._; pcs2-:b!c t_ do t_ i,_,_ wh<cL wc:'c l;np_r;'5'b!e be|o;_ lot

109
-5-

example, I ¢oC,.'.d leave Wa_]'":g*o" S_.' day afternoon, sp,_k ;,! Berkeley o'-

Mo',d:,y eve:_ _;. 1,,_,_ A-geles T,e._d:_y eve_:_:g, a'_d be bac_, t; Was/'P.g'.eP on

Wed:.esday eve_. " ,g.

You _-_! reca]2 tl.e i'_.troduc'!o _ of the aJrp!are as v. ,'_::l_.tary weapo_ Jn

World War Iard :ts rap:d developr.,e,,t to become today the Veysto_e o.¢ oar

I_at:o:'al seeu_ z'.y It is :Le pressL':g claim of (t_':s use ui _he airplane that k,as

brought the daw_ of the supersc_n,c age as we sl:all later discuss.

The_e are *he d_rect contr ibul).o>s to the macbi:,ery of dally !_.v_:g a::.d

fight,ag, But the i:_d;rect eo.".tribuI_,o-s to rna_-'s intellectual a-d spiritual life

are ever more strikLzg. Aeroravtic_! developmer, ts have endless ramS.ffeatJons

iT._!he,da_dy]:_uer . :_._..dme._tal,proces_(_ of a!} cd us, eg_e(,rs, eduea!ers,

busP.ess men, Jeh._ Q. Public, or however else we may w.%b to clas_."fy ourselves or o'J: major i'.*.'.erests Aero_auUcal e'_giyeeri,:._ 5&s left ._.ts _mpress

o_ cd:er bra:ches of e'_g__eer,_:,_g as well as o'_ soc*:ety as a whole. I_ tl'o_e

times we ca-_:oi ai[ord a5 eng,.ricers to ignore t}¢:s conseoueP.ce of our work

a-d _-_ th*,s d%cu_s_.o_ I do _'ot propoz-e to *_g_ore the huma_ a'_peets of o'er

tech ",,.teal work.

I may _.]]us*rz.te :_e way L_ WI':'Ch a. eemp!o.,,: tecb: i.oM devetopme,_t can

a._fec_ the !ge e,f the ave;_ge, ma_ by rev_ew.i_g wry briefly a_ earlier "_e of

aeronaut!ca I development, the strearnE_e age Yon prot;,_b]y recall the early

axrpla, e, usually ;_ wood, w._re_ a3d f:_br'_e cl'e;d _.on w_th e>:po-,ed stru'5, wires,

e'g-e, la-d_-_{ gp,_r, _t:ci p:__se"ge':_. Yo_ f;_,,b,,l_,ly 1-(.;,;_:;.,l::,, tl_:_ c!._v,:iopm,:,?

I10
-6-

o; the car.t_levermo'_op}a'_e,o_. the cowlLng of the aircooled e:_gtr.es,of the re-

_:actable ]avd'_,ggear, _.' Ereaily reducirg the drag a_d increas}__g the speed_

Perhaps you };.:_ve seen ti:,._:,,.low of smoke or water aro,md objects of various

sh_.pes and _re iamfl!.ar w_th the concept of a streamline body as a body which

moves through ._be air or water leaving behind it the least possib!e disturbance.

You know that your automobile or a train is _,lot really a good streamline body

bccauzqe ol the cloud of dust ard debris stirred up by its passage. Although

the deve]opmer,.t of streamlined aircraft has been carried to a high poLnt even

to the removal of rivet heads on the exterior surface, and the principle has

bceu t.,:,_part applied to automobiles and trains, surely the more important influe',ce has bee_ o_a the i_tellectual a_d spir._.tual lives of men. And by that I

do not refer partictflarly to the rather facetious av.d frivolous application of

the adjective _'strearnl_e: i:: advert_:;._g to fuzoaces, washi, g mactfixes,

flat Jro_s, women's stock_.'_g_, mev)s shirts, a".d the female figure, but. to the

more so!id a." d me_:,,',ng-ful co:'.cept of that harmony with the physical laws of

the to-'Averse which enables us to live with a m4n_mum of useless effort and

dtsturbx_ce. Tr_e streaml:!n_ng of off_,ce procedures, of the Committees of

Co_:.gress, of spec'_ficat.':o_.s for mater._als, of college curricula; -- all such

_oncepts grew out of this impact of the aeronautical engineering development

of an aircraft wh_.ch traveled through the air with a minimum of disturbance,

w;th each par_ functional aqd operatJ_ug at peak efficiency. I have heard also

.:: _,':,ver.',r,_.c.t bureau.'., o._ .¢:tre:t,,_,!_ ':_:_ the buck _-o that _i m_y more readily

Ill
-7-

be pa_,sed from L_:e oIfice t_) at, other But surely more important than all of these

i5 the stre._ml:- .... _,,of one's life so that we may proceed with a minimum of frict!.o:, w_th our -_-i7,hbors, wS"h our energies applied !o the task o[ reachi,,g our goals

swiftly.

In s_rail,_J _ Iashxon I assert that the supersonic age will profom_.dly affect

the hves of all of you, phy__}cally, mentally, and spiritta%lly and hence you sb_ould

become familiar at this early date witb this oncoming teclmical development.

Let us look at some of the technical problems to be solved in the development of supersonic piloted aircraft. In general terms the problems arise from

the radical changes in the aerodynamic relationships at speeds faster than sound

as competed wi°.h those prevaitLng at speeds slower than sound. A reasonably

satisfactory desigv, could now be made to operate at any one value of the speed,

_ub_o::le or '_upersonic_I the tra"somc reg!or_ of mixed flow is avoided. However, any practical a:rpla>e must be able to take off and land and hence must be

able to f!v satisfactorily in both lbe _ubsonic and supersonic regimes and also

dur.tng the passage th_ ougb the transonic region. In fact, it would be desirable

to be able to fly steadily L'_ the transon._c region as well.

The t:.rst problem .,s that of provtdLng a powerpla:-,t oi suifici.ently high

ttwu__t tc overcome the drag or res,_.stance to motion at supcr_'a..:ic speeds,

Ball_sticia*,_ma.r,y years ago fourd that lhe resist_rme to motion of a projectile

!,)crea_,_eddi_;proportlo.,_atelyxs the speed of sound wa_ _pproached, the drag

...... ,e, il;a_ tl_e _q:.,a,e of _t_,_ _;V_'ed. ,\,,_,'. _ 2(} year:_ ,_,.:.,)

112
-8-

e×perime::_ts _, -:.,I,ich I had ._,ome part showed that the drag coefficient of an airplane wi-,g mcre_ed suddwqy many fold and the l%._t coefficient decreased very

greatly in the !_a:_so, Ltc tel.ion. These fJndangs have repeatedly been cot.firmed.

The develc_pment oI jet and rocket propulsion has now given us powerplants of

large thrust h_ a relatively small package. There are three types of jet powerp!ar, ts available or ander development_ the turbo-jet, the ram-jet, and the rocket,

each producing thrust as the result of squirting a hot jet of air to the rear. Any

boy who has blow_a up a toy balloon and let i_ escape from his hands has observed

jet propulsion and therefore can understand ito As a matter of fact, the conventional airpla_e propeller operates by product, g a jet. In the newer engines heat

is used toproduee the jet The rocket carries both fuel and oxygen, i.e., all the

elements reqmred for a chemical reaction to produce heat, transform the luel

a:_d oxlda._,t to hot gas, and eject the products of combustion. It therefore can

operate ac, ywhere, under water, in the air or outside the earth's atmosphere°

Turbo-jet a,ad ram-jet engines get their oxygen from tbe atmo._phere,

as does the conventional reciprocatlng engine, The turbo-jet uses a mechanical

compressor to compress the a,lr and a turbine to drive the compressor, In the

ram-._et compression is produced by the rapid motion of the vehicle; hence a

ram-iet propelled vehicle must be brought to a l_._ghspeed by other means, for

example, booster rockets,

The uew powerplants give a great deal of power per pound of weight a_d

)_i,'._,i_;e de,. ir_lqc. ci_ar_c_er,;.<l_c;:}:a"_he power ,:'crea._e:_with the 5pe_:.} In

113
-9-

his book Gray given !he followin!_ figure:: at a _i)eed of 750 mile_; per hour for

certain powerplant_ Rocker 53.7 horscT_(,wer Iaer pound; ram-jet 6.9 horsepower per t)ou:_d; tmi:,o-je_ 3 5 horsep_-,,;'vv per pc_,,_l, flowevci, at the same

speed the rocket burx_s, 8.3 p }u:,ds of ft,.cl pe_ horsepower hour; the ram-jet

2.8; the turbo-jet 1.0 The re!,_.tive merits of the e:Gir_e types are complicated

ftmctions of the speed and alt._:.ude of flight. Suffice it to say that these powerplants furnish sufficient power to drive aircraft at supersonic speeds. Much

research is reqmred to improve their eff_cfency, rel.iability, and limits of

operation as regards speed arid altitude.

The converse of the problem oi producie, g :,u_fiment thrust is reduction

of drag° Here aga.b_ cons_.derable progress has been made. The introduction of

sweptback wings heralds the _ew-look for high-speed aircrMt, although all

airplanes h_ving svr'epback do ,,ot nec;_ ._::zr;ly |rave]. at superso:Ac speeds.

Sweepback is highly _Jdvantageous Ln the transonic region. At supersonic

speeds model, tests i,_dieate adva=tages for a triangular pla_.form or short

stubby thin wingsThe drag ean be greatly reduced by reducing the density of the air by

traveling at high altitude, but as is we1! k:,own, high altitude fright introduces

new problems both for the buman occupant and tl:e powerplant. As the density is

reduced, a greater and greater volume of air mus! be forced through the engine

to supply the neeeb_;;,ry oxygen to [)lil-)i _]-,_?fuel in the.' _:ase ot the r:tm-jet a__d

turbo--ic:t It becoilxc:: :,-:o,'e :, d r:_or_? (a ;:.:,"u!! ';, _::: :., '_ai_ _;,e _o_ditiorts l!eeded

114
- 10-

for combastlo:L,_, keet) __l;e.firel_t_' i_,theparlanceof thejet pilot. Research

workersare bu_.'l,,,ar,gagc;lt_:} these qu_,stio_s I! _ obvious thai supersonic flight

e?li- -

near the grou,,d w.t! be ext_ emely costly b- fuel, and that economy aad efficiency i._

to be obtained by lI:gh altitude flight. Itet_ce the interest today in determir, ing the

physical propertic_; of the air at very h'gh altitudes by means of sotmding rockets,

and in reproduci:_g these co_ditions ku the laboratory for studying the problems to

be encountered in high-speed flight i.n !_he upper atmosphere Professor Folsom

and his associates here at the Universtty of California are doing pioneer.ing work

in this field.

Perhaps the most difficult teclmical problems are those relating to control

-:and stnb_tity At subsonic.-speeds,the,l!.fiing,force o__ a wing acts through a point

about eve-quarter the distance from the leading edge to the trailing edge; at supersouic speeds :t acts through a point ha!i lhe distarce from leading to trailing edge.

Thus there are s_dde, changes in the trim of the airplane in the transoaic region,

There are also changes in the stab_lit.y, produced partly by the change in the airflow at t_e tail prgduced by the loss of lift. A number one research problem is to

find co_igu.ratio_s which go through the transonic region with minimum changes

ia trim, control, and stability.

Resear'cb has show.n, that distt,,rbn__ces known as shock waves develop in

the flow near the wing at transonic speeds and that these shock waves are often

aecompan._ed by flow separati(m. Whe',_ this occurs the air flows past the wing

v..i_l, v_olant ft_uc1_,ul:o-:b _-.2 ....... ':_..... g or b:-("cti:, g tl,c, ",;:'_[,, a,"xl it the wing \,mk(_ strike,'=

115
-11 -

the tail, tI:_, ta!] ._ir..::_,._: c may !,e _o.bjectcd l o violent irregularly varying loads

sufficient t,:, pr_,,AJ,:'' ,.:ctural _!arnage A knowledge of buffeting loads and, if

possible, !]_e des,.,.. _,f wing seci,ol:_, and co:ffigurations which avoid flow separation are necessary 1.o develop ',_'rcra[t to fly safely in the transonic region.

'l'be config,_ud _.,,_:,swhic_t ._;eem best Ior flight at supersonic speeds

usually sbcav poor 1,_::di-_g char:_cteriatics. Much research is needed on methods

for improving the__.c, c!,a_'acteri:-;tics by use of suitable flaps or by methods as yet

unknown.

At high speeds the loads on the wings and tail are large and produce deflections, twisthlg, and bending of the structure. These distortions change the

,ztr loads. :i:_ the_._: .::_ ,.}:us a c_:_,-plicated in_ot-aetion-between aerodynamic and

structure! de:;igr. For example, the deflect':on of the aileron to correct a distarba_,ce :, roll n:a) _,_'_5:t tl-e .J.'!rtg enough to counteract the desired effect of

tim ailero-', it _Js ir.::_ eas:_ng it':., disturbance Difficult aeroelastic problems

must be solved by _t.e desig_.er

It is well kmr,,,:;', that meteors traveling, through the air at high supersonic

speeds:get _';o hot trent frictie:" with the air that their surface melts. At lower

super sot _.c speeds t!:e he,,ti,g :._ by no means :_eg!igible sad is already receivh_.g

con side_.,,tio _ cvea at subson:c ::i)ceds. I:" a piloted aircraft the cabin or cockpit

mur.t be l-r'l,t at p ,,:':_::o_:tb!e ,.,:mperature say less lban 100 ° F. Refrigeration

iS rc(!t_!l ,_,d ;ti :41),:._'d: ;t:_ ]r_w ;_.:" _iO0 Illllf,.% per hour, partly because of aerody-

"];_:?:¢ } _)iI.,1_,, }_:.: _ .:-i,,, [3_,,2 . ::c. ¢_1 Fa(t, _*,'(:_' tlo,'_l {)_t! ::tin. |11 a [)il(;[l,e_;S

ll6
-12 -

aircraft o#mi%_lethetemperaturecouldbepermittedto go somewhat higher but

ultimately a p_:,.nt is reached at wl_icl'_ mechanical ;rod electrical devices will not

function or lhe struclu} a! propertw_ of the materials are greatly deter__.orated by

the high temperature Whether or nut a piloted supersonic airplane can be flown

at high super_so:_ic speed:-: may be determined by the results of research on methods

of cooling the eabia and the strueture_

These teclmical problems are being attacked by many new and ingenious

tools, the best known being the wind tunnel. The first supersonic experJ.ments

with which I arn familiar were made _n 1890 in a jet about a quarter of an Inch h_

diameter, the flow lasting about three seconds. Now there are supersonic wind

t_mels l foe_ by.? _eet _ cros_sectiou iu_regular.0peraLto_ and others 6 feet

by 6 feet and 6 Ieet by 8 feet approaching completion. Techniques for measurements on objects dropped from aircraft at high alt:tudes and on rockets fired

from the grow_d at supersonic speeds have yielded much valuable information.

Still another method is to place a model in the local region of supersomc flow

on the upper surface of the wing of an airplaue.travelivg at high subsonic speeds,

a method devised by Mr. Gilruth of the NACA. The same technique was applied

by Lockheed ar, d by tke NACA by installing a bump in a subsonic wind tumuel.

So much for the purely tech_tical aspects. Why does anyone wish to travel

faster than sound? Dr. yon Karma_n on.ce closed a technical lecture with this

question ar;d stated that the reply must be lelt to the philosopher, but all of us

must be, to %_._r;u, ex_:::'_, l/.Jitoso_-&_l._, if ann:it_'ur o:,e.3. There J5 no qk_estion

117
-13-

but that the primary motive of our nation in devotin_ large sums of money and

time to accomplish supera_onic flight is the de._ire for national security. The

domina,_t position of air power as an element in national security has been thoroughly demonstrated. Speed has always been that element of performance of an

air craft which mak_._ it possible to control the air. We have been told by our

military leaders that had Hitler grasped the signiiicauce of the development of

turbo-jet and rocket-propelled aircraft and exploited them, our bomber missions

could not have continued as then operated over German},. All of us observed the

inability of England to defend itself against supersonic V-2 missiles, once the

missiles were launched. Speed is the major characteristic of the fighter and

%.tarcepter a_d _pe(;,_ i_ the: mosl; impo,,_,'a_t defe_tve :_rmament of the bomber.

There now seems to be no technical obstacle which cannot be overcome by research and the fear that some other natiou may produce faster aircraft wh._,ch

could outrun our own aircraft in the sky is the powerful incentive to desire to

travel faster than sound.

Finally as to why fly faster than sound, I will not have you discount the

value of speed in commercial air transport when accompanied by safety and

reliab'.lity. It now takes about twelve hours elapsed time to cross the continent,

and the trip is very comfoctab!e in modern aircraft. Neverthe!ess, itwould be

still more comfortable if it could be done iJ_ three cr four hours. It is easy to

predict that this will surely come; it is harder to predict the timing. Over the

):_'_u's _be ,';p_'t.d o_ c(m_merc;:d air tr,tn_;pm't operatic_..'_, has l:;a!_ed the airpl:,_e

118
- 14 -

speed record by 15 or 20 year>. I-Ir-:r:ce we might estimate that in 1968 the speed

of commercial air tra..'::-;l,orts wouhl be abo'.il 650 mph, th_ present speed record.

Bui the jet eJ_gine ha:. !:_roduced a disconti_mity, the poss{bility of a sharp rise

in the rate of developmtmt, and heace this performance may come earlier. There

are many oi_'in,l:;ts who day dream about aeronautical progress without adequate

technical support for their pred_ctions and tbereare also more sober and solidlybased predictions. The conservative predictions have u_mally been outstripped.

As recently as 1940 Archibald Black, an aviation writer, made the following statement: "It has been eslimated that if it were possible to build an airplane that

could fly at more than 800 miles per hour, the rocket principle might then be

prom_si.n.g. Thi_" _pe_d;.!_nwe'.,c_,:, _.: ye. t too.f, anta_tic_to be conaidered ever_ as a

future possibility, although it is ahvays dangerous to say of anything in aviation

thaf _it will '_c','er corn:::." Tb_:5 si,:cd doe_: uo_ now seem solar away Research

today on speeds fasteJ that: som:d in reseaxch on the commercial air transport

of the future.

The achievemerts of aeronautical engineering have had a stimulating effect on other bra"_ches ot engineering. The supersonic age will influence the

tra._ni_g of all engineers as well as eo,ntribu_e to developraents in mechanical

and electrical engineerin!r.. Solution of the ma:_ifold problems of supersonic

flight requires both a,, i_creasi:,.g specializatSo,n of individual engineers and

improved methods of sS,,_besizi"g the effo:-t_ of specialh_t."-, toward a common

goal. q['here _5 :_;_*,_di_,:- _.:,-u wl:_: h,v(, c_eJ; :!9,:1 ,.t:a.qt_'r 3' in such ¢tiw,r_,2 fields

119
- 15 -

as organic c!mm_.'_i: :, (f_i- fuct_ fgr turbo-jets, ram-jels, and rockets), metallurgy,

ceramics; (io'. t'ea_ _',->Js:ta,'d ,uaterial_), dyn:tmics of _:tructures (vibratio_ a_d

flutter problem'-_), _d_,ctro, Jc_ (for 9a_trumc::ts and co_,trol devices), servomechanisms (for autopil,',>, gu_-si£,.htn, and gu,-_taying), aer odyqamics, thermodynamics,

and maPy o__hcrs. _i'],(_'_ c manet be expert,_ it, the borderline fields, such as aeroelastic problems, acre.thermodynamics, etc. Each of these in a field in which the

body el k,_oa, ledge a_d experience is steadily growing a_d each requires the full

time energy of m_yom? for itz maste_ y.

The work of :_peciatista must be integrated to an extent not required in

other branches of er._incering. Engineers in other fields have successfully met

the problem:-; o_,.l::r-.:-, - t,_geri;J ;.fi',::;, plam_ir-,g tll_ flow of materials, arranging for

matching oi characteristics of components, securing dimensional agreement of

mati:'g p::ri_; In i_ .... _ of tkc_._;e De!ds the l_biems c_t:_ be broken dowp. readily

for solut._.o:_., with tt,e cnerd:_?at)on requ, ri,g o::ly small adjustments. Ln a supersonic aircraft or m%'-:ile, each special problem reacts on all the others to an

extent demar.ding a ,ew type acd higher order, of coordination. For example,

such an apparently s_rnple thing as the design of a radar antenna ca,mot be adequately treated witl-.o,,t co:-sideration oi tl:e effects on the aerody:_amic cl',aracteristics _:'.d henc_: o,_ the required poworpl.'.t__t_ A suit:_t,t_ comprom_vo must be

worked out between many conflicting requirements. A f;roup of leaders mu.st be

trained wl:o carti_,I_::iige:_tly make the._se comprom:ses They must be menwPh

!.;,rt_:td 1_" _;,.' _F. u; _.,:,, ,/ _,2i(! ; w, di_ rr_.c_.:;_,,.?_'y,":f n!arl_:'..:_-.Tat aud cxp'._ ime:_t,_l

120
-1Gmethods of ar_aly._i,_; of temple× problems, and with a certain boldness of venture.

Aeronaut;cal e_._g!neers e'_gaged in work on guided missJles have learned

the great st_mulu_ of bo!dly attempting to de,qign an operating missile. Granting

that all lhe desired basic research has not been completed, the attempt to si_k

or uwim in the vm_.ture reveals what the key problem,; really are and .h: conjunction with rati(mal mathematical aJ_alysis enables the development effort to be concentrated on the real obstacles to progress Engi:_em.s must be taught to use the

coordinated experimental and theoretical attack on their problems to utilizing the

skills of speciaD.sts, and to weigh, balance, and evaluate the data obtained from

all. Such is the mode of operation of the engineer in a supersonic age.

The supersonic age will also,make its imprint on tl, e average man. As

in the case of the atomic bomb, the supersonic age will at first br.ing fear to his

ml;id becau:_e o[ _r5 l)orte_..,t for war. Engi_'mers are p_ o.'.le to direct attention to

the material benef':ts el" their creations to the public, to the power of many slaves

which they have supplied to do physical labor, to their eontr:butions to ease and

comfort, and they are equally prone to ignord the common belief that scientific

and technical developments appear often to bring mi._;fortune. The truth, of

course, {s that material things are neither good not" evil; tbey may be used for

either purpose by good or evil men. The s_>.me ebemScal comP0u:_d bri_g_ you

the blessing of clean white shirts and the curse el a poisonous gas to be used

in war. Another gives you broad, paved streets, mi::e_:; your coal, or crumbles

.bu_hl:::!::::_ :_d c._{.:_s The _':up_.,rson,e ag(, ]ikewise i._ iq _t_:o]t _it}le/" a IAe:5_<.'.',.yg

nor _: curse. It play be ei_.her

121
-17-

The faster transport of the supersonic a_,_e will dissolve barriers of time

and ,;pace a_d the world will shrink still more, increasing lhe pressure for

solution of ma_:y social, political, and economic problems. When man can outrLLn

tile su.q and arrive at his de,_tination before he leaves, as measured by the sun,

he mu_t obtain a new per_;pective of i__ternational and sectional problems.

The supersonic age will bring a lifting- of intellectual horizons as having

7

co.n.quered the space and time limitations of this world, he seeks new worlds to

conquer. He will begin to ti}ink more seriousIy about the exploration of the high

upper atmosphere and to wonder whether the exploration of outer space is not

more than a figment of the human imagination.

But man must not be too impat.ie,_t. He has climbed far, The realization

of his dreams requires tbe time and effort of many, perhaps even of generations.

And yo., and I can o.15' rez.rel that we can'_cJt l!_v;_r to st:c _,f wl-,at ._;tuf[ "Aiese

dreams are made

122
Tt-_EIMPORTANCEOFt:_EI_[GIONI AMEI_CANLIFE

TobeanAmericancitizen, a participantin moldingtheaffairs

of anationdevotedto thecauseof liberty andfreedomis a coveted

privilege and a just cause for pride. However, the privilege carries

with it a heavy responsibility not only for defending and m_ntaining

those essentially Christian principles by word of mouth but also for

exemplifying them within our own lives. We say that we are a Christian nation, a religious people, but any reasonably honest observer

will find much to cast doubt on the accuracy of this ctaim, Yet a man

or woman, without religious faith is an _ncomple_e man or woman,

crippled and deformed, stunted, lmwort$iy of a high destiny. Intended

Io walk the earth as great souls with great ideas, great dreams, and

great accomplishments, many dwarf their world and themselves.

One night in New York on the subway I asked a man, "What is

the nearest station to 181st Street? I am not too familiar with the

stations up that way. " He said, "I don't know." "You don'l know.

Do you ride this line regularly?" "1 ride it every night. " "Don't you

know the nearest station to 181st Street?" "No, " he said, "I never go

above 168th Street. " His dally world, he explained, was from 168th

Street to 34th Street. if such a person is not careful he may get the

S4th Street to 168th Street mind after awhile. You can live in the

greatest city in the world and become awfully little by allowing your

horisons to shrink and your visions of the great world to shrivel.

"The world stands our on either side

No wider than the hear_ is wide;

Above the world is stretched the sky,

No higher than [he soul is }figh.

The heart can push the sea and land

Farther away on either hand;

The soul can sp].lt;he. sky in two,

And let %.he face of God shine through,

But East and West will pinch the heart

That cannot keep them pushed apart,

And the soul that's flat

The sky will cave hn on by-and-by".

l:tenascence, by Edna St. Vincent. Millay

A superficial examination of our society shows a world in which

men nave. achieved longer ]ire and betler health: more gadqets and

i,_turies, fr<,edom from toil and grea{er leisure. For mi]]_c_ns mcmy

of _nese m:lJeverr.ents are slil! only a:1ope, better living a ]ongway off,

The machine and factory ace !.askmas_ers. Mo.n flock to her together

in groat cities, creat:,ng a mass society., possessed of a crowd mLqd.

123
The monotony of living and working by the mock and of h.wing one's

activities geared to mass production, has unbalanced men's emotions, frayed their nerves, and made them the victi;uis of fads,

fa_shions, and demagogues. Chess and race hal reds have been

aggravated. Things are in abundance but not available to all.

We live in ,ran amazing age of science and technology with a

]ungie lejacy of selfishness, lust, and hate, dark passions of human

nature, little changed from the time of Adam. We have harnessed

the powers of the physical world arotmd us, steam, electricity,

chern]c_M reaction and some nucle'ar reactions, we have erected

towering cities, conquered barriers of space and time by automobile, railroad, airplane, telegraph, and radio. Through science

each of us may have the equivalent of 30 slaves sweating for him

without the suffering and shame of human slavery. Poverty can

be replaced with wealth wJ thout robbing _c poor or taxing the rich.

Yet an ever-increasing share of the fruits of scientific research

and development goes to feed the folly of war. The major part of

our taxes are spent on the bills of past wars, on the present economic

and ideolo_cal war, and as insurance against defeat in future wars.

Three major tyrannies have been disarmed at great cost and still

another faces us. The, science of politics and human relations has

made no adwmce in the thousands of years of which we have record.

Wc calf hardly say that all is we]! with rn;_ ev,:;n ];: America.

Life is em_ier, but unrest grows. Leisure increm_s_ but moral

stature declines; [ramsport ,'rodcomrnunica_ion arc .:w]fi_ but suspic_.on between fx.,oples grows. Nlan, who should b,_ the lord of creation,

is bdng mm{tered by matter. Mind has outrup, spirit.

Let us examine in a Little more detail some of the charactcrk,!ics of ,aur contemporary life which demonstrate the n<ed for ret]-

glous f_t.h.

First, let us exuznine the _sson_i__ly materiaLis!ie philosophy

so characteristic of our time, carves by _he mosl <fficient tool known

[o man, the human intellect. With this tool man h::s;penetrated the

mysteries of the materia_ universe, freed the minas ,ofmen from

ignoraz_cc and _;uperstition, and created anew physi::affonvironnqent.

The successes of science ]_ this _rea have caplured the imagination

mla the ioyml.ti<,,s of mmly as _h¢ o-_fiyg-ifie t(.)truth. Through the

g[a_ses of the scientist 1-r-_li.sa physJo-chem]cr_] ;<y;::torr,a machine

rather than a soul to bu saved or test. The be[!,{sr._rientof men mean:;

ti:eimprc'vemt_nl o[ tit,:effl(:[<:tl,.'.y <._[t_i;;machine ca,,:i:<to be

124
,%

accomplished by material means. [f weli housed, wee fed, freed of

disease, given security, education, and leisure, men should not

worry about sculs or sins, dreams and aspirations, values. Good

sewers and pure water supply are of more concern that. a good life.

This philosophy as such is not new in the history of He world.

There have always been objectors and agnostics who denied the spiritual nature of man, but never many. Today a ma[eria.istic philosophy

is held not by a few tough minds but hy whole blocs of men. Communism

has embraced it cofnplete[y. And even in our own nation ]t has become

the creed of hosts of men and women by open avows/, quiet assumption

or unconscious adoption. Millions of men are beginning to translate

their beliefs along this line into act]on, to live a pagan religion.

The second characteristic of our contemporary life is the

intensive specialization of the interests and activities of the individual.

The industrial revolution spelled the doom of the skilled cr'mftsrnan and

narrowed the required skill and interest of the worker who assembled

in large factories [o do a monotonous repetitive task. The worker who

tightens a single bolt or solder _{single wire connection is not only a

figure of fiction but representative of many actual situations. And the

white-collar worker is not a stranger to this environment, which presents no stimulus much less challenge to his mind. The world as a

whole has expanded in knowledge but the world of the individual is

often narrow m_,a circumscribed. It is not strange that so many suffer

from a kind of intellectual scurvy, a deficiency disorder arising from

a restricted intellectual diet. The disease, however, is not so eas'ly

cured as the physical disease for pills will not. change habits of thought

and intellectual outlook.

Even science itself has proceeded down this path and there is

no F.ore gullible individual than a scientist outside his own laboratory

and discipline. He tends to develop a myopic vision and to the layman

his interest seems to be in details remote from what most people consider the real imerests and concern of life. In the past he has frequently avoided responsib_l]ty for interpreting or passing judgment on

his work. He has seen apparently trivial discoveries grow into potent

influences in our society and he would rather not m,gke predictions but

continue his scientific freedom to pursue the things which interest him.

But the scientist caxmot longer dodge his responsibility. As well

expressed by Oppenheimer he ha_s known sin. He h_%s seen his greatest

conquest of nature applied [o _n atomic bomb to destroy other men. If

the scientist fa!is to take a hand i_ the c_e,=isio_s, there ar_ p!_tlty of

125
self-confident and ambitious souls who are not hampered by too much

knowledge and who will not hesitate to make decisions for him, not on

the basis of scientific experience, or on the basis of moral vP.lues, on

right and wrong, but on the bs_sis of social and political expediency, or

for purely selfish re_sor_.

What is true of scientists is true of other workers also. They

Lave reason to be disappointed with the ineffectiveness of much of their

effort to improve their world, rFney must seek broader interests than

the daily routine of living and making a living. They must participate

and assume responsibility for the community in which they live.

Specialization in some small area of life must be accompanied by

broad intere_-_[ in all aI-eas of life.

The third characteristic of our generation [sa widespread

disillusionment and lack of faith, an atrophy of the spiritual life.

Man's life should b,_ a trinity of activity, physical, mental, and

spiritual. Man must cultivate all three if he is no[ to be imperfectly

developed. Even after thousands of years of education and religious

heritage we see far too many of our fellow humans Living the life of

animals, with sole interest in the physical and sensual and with primitive minds and souls_ We find a few religious fanatics who are creatures of instincts _nd emotion with no guidance from reason. We find

many who worship retaken and the intellectual life, who appear to norm'mI men as egotistica/, selfish, and soulless mechanisms. Jesus said,

"qg_ot_ shall l._..L:t?:{_ Lord thy God with aJi Lhy heart, a.nciwith all thy

soul, and with all thy mind. This is the fir:_;tand great commandment. "

The old adage "Knowleage is power" h:{s been found by experience to be only a par,iai _ruth. The debasement of knowledge Io [he

service <_fs_.qfJsh interests is only _oo common in our presen_ aay.

The faith that men's good sense would prevent the ITJSllSe Of knowledge

ha_ been found [o be false. One has only to remember how every

citizen subordinated and dedicated his special knowledge to the requirements of war, [o the devising of more powerful ]mztruments of destruction. Knowledge is power, but no[ necessarily power for lhe good of

rear,kind.

The comrib,tions of science to mankina require no defense or

apology. 'I'nese co_[ributions have include0 not only the devising e[

powerful tooh{ which can bc used Io alter !he physic_ environment of

mm_ [or toed or <vii. _o CLare Or _O kill, i)ut_.ISO m;ij<)r contributions

to our sp:.r_[ua] ]1[_. Science pierces ah:.gh premium on inteUectua/

honesty and on _bj<r-<:tlv,:_ truth, truth which can be: tested by any man

126
in any age. Science recognizes no arbitrary authority. It does not

accept the law of gravitation because of the authority of Newton but

because the law of gravitation can be observed and demonstrated as

a part of anyone's experience. The ethical ideals of the scientist are

high. Notwithst_mnding all this the scientific discipline itself taken

alone is merely '_hehighest development of one aspect of the intellect

of man and to cultivate it alone and to exalt it to the status of a religion

or philosophy of life is as monstrous as to cut off one's arms, or to

destroy the gifts of sight and hearing.

There is another area into which science cannot penetrate with

its cold and sharp tools, the area of human emotions, desires, purposes, values, feelings of beauty and ugliness, of right and wrong,

of love and hate. "It is the nemesis of the struggle for exactitude by

the _len of science", remarked a great biologist, Dr. H. S. Jennings,

"that leads him to present a mutilated, merely fractional account of

the world as a true mud complete picture. " You can no more analyze

these imponderables by scientific methods_ said Eddington, than you

can extract the square root of a sonnet. Just as in science the elemental

reasoning of animals has risen tolofty genius, so may these other

aspects ascend from beastly emotionalism to the lofty dreams and

aspirations of those a littlelower than the angels. Are these workings

of the human spirit only illusion or do they herald a report of something

deeper, of truth which may be the foundation of a high philosophy of

life? Upon the answer which man makes will depend what sort of man

hc is and ca_i become a_nd what the world is like which he will build.

Perhaps many of you feel that I have given a pessimistic view

of our American life, subordinating many of the characteristics of our

kindhearted, impulsive, friendly fellow citizens. Perhaps you feel

th;d _e are a Ch_dslJm_ nation because our institutions, our ci_arlties,

our generosity, and our slogans of service are consistent wlth the

teachings of Jesus, that these matters of philosophy, of f_°Jth,of

aspiration are so intangible that they are of no practical importance.

If you do, I fear that you too are too typical of our citizenry and that

you too need to reconsider the importance of religious faith and practice [n your life. You too in the language of the old-time evangelist

need to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. Why then is

religious faith and practice important?

First, because a vital religious faith enables one to have power

over any conceivable situation. "Yea, though I walk through the valley

of the.shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod

and thy staff they comfort me. " "Thou sh_t not be afraid for the terror

127
by night, nor by _he arrow that.flir-.,thby day, nor for the pestilence

that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that wasteth at

noonday. " "Oh my Father, if this cup may no +,pass away from me,

except I drink i_, !by will be donee" Whether illness of oneself or

loved one, loss of business or personal possessions, or whatever

calamity or good forttme, faith can guide your course. Like the

gyro compass on the mrplane or ship which maintains a fixed referonce point undisturb,_d by the tumultuous _orm_ religious faith gives

a guide in times of mental a.nxiety and confusion.

We livt.i.<_ big complicated world and we are affected by

shifting an:l cent!toting forces. How to do the right and proper and

wise thing in a s}tuati,)n is something that we must know to have

power. You want sharpness and keenness to come into your brain;

you want courage and strength to make decisions and carry them

through. T}ds is the secret. Yield yourself to God. "The Kingdom

of God is within you." You do not need to hunt it from the outside,

it is within you, just release it. You sh_] receive power. As the

electric motor is powerless without contact with the source of power,

so are you without l ayi_,g hold of rite spiritual power source. Sounds

simple, doesn't it? You have been defeated in some situation. You

have been educated, you have abilify, you work hard, but you are

defeated by worry, anxiety and frustration. Establish the contact

through f_th.

b. th_ imp' _.ua_y:_.s the thirLg tri_' Orl][gs power i.']t<) huth2di

Lives is some_lJng the preachers have been /a/king about since the

beginning of Christi.ran history, namely conversion. Ye must be born

again. It meuns that am individu'a/ recognizes his mistakes, nls weakness, his ]ns-_ffi,'.:icncy, perhaps his defea L, realizing that he has no

go'we_- cf :.i_: utvri _,_:,nt:._ge himse!f an_ so y_eLds hir[_se[f wholeheart_dly

and compie[ely to God, The power of faith is the only power tk_at can

change hurna.n ::;..,L...:,.ru.

Not only will religious fai!h make us d_e captains of our souls

and master of o<_r lives, but i_. will lead _ls to practice _kLat. Christian

retationship of brothorl.y love with our fellowman that is so sadly

needed in our society today. The bearing of one another's burdens

voluntarily is tr:e great ]ubri;:ant which wJU. make the wheels of our

society turn with l<:ss friction _d heat. We are our brother's keeper

mid we do h_lvo _zn sccoun[abi]iLy tc ':so our t_en_s unselfishly to add

to b'e _:plrlt _:'£L :t,.v<,lop_r,er_t of m_zuk.lnd. W.ha_ a pJ_y th;O wo have

found no wr<¢ t<,:_q.zumt_iate stores of good wili and ChrJstia.n character

;z:-: we <:r_ ;zccum_fzte -:.lend fie ._now[edge in books trod tibmzries.

128
Knowledge pi£es on knowledge to make an ever-h:creasin:_ store.

But moral accomplishment seems so persona/ and perishable. We

can start with k'tespiritual development, of our ancestors, of Moses,

of David, _md of .Jesus of NazarelkL_ but so few do. The practitioners

}rod research workers aiming to develop a higher sp]ritu_ level of a

country or civii]za[ion arc unh)rtunately few even in comparison with

the educators and o,..lcn,._oto_' - ""-' <'.

Unused _<md neglected ta[erts are lost. But tklememmre to

which a rr',anis gif!ed, to the same rne;m-_ure is he accotmtab!e. We

often covew, our neighbor's 100 talents as if we could have [hem without ob[igatfo_n, without responsibility. Some give their physical labor

'-m_.dsk]]]_ som.e the:irb_tel/ectu_ s_<ill,some few their interest, their

heart rand soul in the enduring cause of ministering to the needs of

mmlkind. Our American life needs ma_ny more devoted men of fa/L_

tc em;_ the burder_ of the world, mid to advance the spiritua/level of

c<_mmunity, city, :la!ios_ and world.

A religious faith is essential to our Amcrica_n life tc restore

our perspective on values _nd to enable us to lay hold on those things

which are eterm.d_ told thus of perma_.en[ w11ue. Our materialistic

pi£losophy results [rcm an improper assessment of the values in

mater[a/ thir:qs. We thought tJlatmoney_ houses, food, automobiles,

motion pictures_ radio_ television wouJd make us happy. The awakenins for many has been rude. We thou,_ht that o_r dollars would retain

*i_. [; '_,Ll,_;. <;,,_:_- ,c'<f.<< s.,,,,e __erkod£;_ we: L-io_tgt,t the: F<;_klgion of o_,Jr

fathers and grtmd/athers wouid suffice for us. But like their furniture,

their rnc, uc_s of *,_mspor_atio:L ar,d tLei r arnt_sements, tjie vtdue of

their rc[igic:,us faith to us ha¢; dee_i,_ed to r/early zero. Only a faint

nostalgia, a memory of g_eir cor'hden _ faith remains. We find thai

w,_: ili[.i;__t o_n [,t _hL-: i:]]'.h a.,lew m <)ur lives, that we mus_, work _md

struggle _d apply our knowledge and skilt_ to the probler_z of our

:lay. V'A._ discover 'Jmt reUgiou.; faith req.Jres nurt:_re_ _.hatit cites

unless usec:_ that we too must seek the fountain of everi_ting life.

We too must not only echo the ago-o_k._ song, "O that I knew where

I might find K_m but must set out on the search." "Seek 7e t2te Lord

white He may be fore,d, cad.[ye upon Him while He is near." We mus!

earn our heritage. _ew. Will a map say because he k'm.ows us [.haf

;_"_._,"e ].-_ no k_:,ttcr way of living tha:_ fo[]owb_g CtLrZs_ ?

I c[o;-:e wt_h <be s!.ory of an oxr-erier<e ]na Scottisf_ Church.

A vh:;i!_r':_ <,r]',,'ers; t,,' _ r'-ffessor of /).bLJc "_ne.._k_ng w_a at!e.uding morn-,

ir.<_ _-;_rvlc,-: with his hos'. ite was a.:{_,-:ed to recite the 23rci Psalm and

!he ok] pss:.;_:rq'{_e.h_s oermP-:sior_. He did so with bea_;+y of diction

129
m-ld exeuisite !mfressiw._ness r-rodlJ_econgregation w_{ visibly

moved. Then semeone asked the minister also to repeat the

Psalm "mcl :-e did :z<: with uuch feeling and emotion that when he

concluded there was hardly a dry eye in the church.

After the service when walking home, the professor was

asked by his friend ][ he h&d noticed the difference in the effect

on the audience. "Ye:-:_" he ssdd_ "I did. You see I .knew the

Psa/m but he knows the Shepherd° "

Hugh L. Dryden, Loc_ Preacher

Calvary Methodist Church

Washingto_L, D. C.

March t2, 19[_0

130
Index

131
Index

AdvanccdRcscarchProjectsAgency(ARPA):12

Air F().'cc,U.S.:I(L 12

Air Forcc-Navv-NACARcscarchAirplancC{mmlittcc:10

AIIcn,H. lulian: 11,13

AmcsAcronauticalLaboratory:8-9, 11

Ames,Joseph:2, 8

_I1CIll()lllCtCF: 4

Apollo Pr()gram: 15, 18

Army, U.S.: 12, 14

Ballistic Missilc Agcncy: 14

Army Air Forccs, U.S.: 7

Scicntific Advisory Group: 6-7

Arnold, Hcnrv H.: 6 7

Baltimore City Collcgc: 1

Baltimore, Mar'viand: 1

Bat Missile: 5-6

Blagonravov, Anatolv A.: 14

Braum Wcrnhcr yon: 6, 13, 14

Briggs, I,vman: 3

Brooks, Ovcrton: 16 ill.

Bush, Vanncvar:

(;alifornia Institutc ()fTcchn()l()gy: 14

D-558-1:10

D-558-2:10

l')()()littlc, ]amcs: 12

1)ornbcrgcr, Waltcr: 6-7

l')rvdcn Flight Rcscarch Ccntcr: 20. Scc also NACA High Spccd Flight

Station and thc other early namcs listcd thcrc.

Dryden, Hugh I,atimcr: 2 ill., S ill., 7 ill., 9 ill., 12 ill., 16 ill., 19 ill.

Acadcmic career: 1-2

Acr()dvnamic rcscarch: O_ -D

Acrodwmmic 7bcow, c(mtributi(m t(): 5

"Air F()rccs (m (',ircular (;\iindcrs" (doctoral disscrtati(m ): 2

"Airplancs: An Intr()ducticm t() thc Physical Principles

Embodied in their Usc" (masters thesis): 2

Awards and rcc()gniti(m: 4 5, 7, 20

Carccr: 2-3 , 4-5, 8, 9, 13

Character and qualitics: 1, 12, 13-14, 17

1)cath: 20

Enginccring projects: 4

Final illness: 17 20

l.it'c in general: 1, 20

Ncgotiati(ms with thc S()\ict Union: 14

Rcligi()sity: 1,4

"Turbulcncc and the l_()undarv I,avcr': 5, 20

Dryden, Hugh I,atimcr, It. (s(m): 4

Dr.vdcn, l,cslic (brother): 1

132
Dryden:

Dryden,

Dryden,

Dryden,

Dryden,

l')rydcn,

Mary LibbicTravcrs(wifk): 3

Mary Ruth (daughter): 4

Nancy (daughter): 5

Ra)'mond (brother): I

Samuel Isaac (father): 1

Zcnovia Hill Culvcr (mothcr): 1

Echo 1:15

Eiscnhowcr, Dwight D.: 12

Empire State Building: 4

Explorer 1:14

Explorer 6:15

F-1 r(}ckct engine: 14

Gagarin, Yuri: 18

Gemini Project: 18

Gilruth, Robert: 11, 13

Glcnnan, T. I¢.cith: 13, 15

Goddard Space Flight Centcr: 14

House Select Committee on Astronautics and Space: 12

Jacobs, Eastman: 9

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPlJ: 14

Johns Hopkins University: 1-2

Johnson, Lvndon B.: 20

Jones, Robert T.: 9

Journal _f thc Institute of the Aeronautical Scicnccz 9

K_rm/m, Theodore yon: 6-7, 7 ill.

Kennedy, John F.: 15, 18

Kerr, (;lark: 19

Kucthc, A. M.: 3

Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory: 8, 11, 16

Lewis, George W.: 8, 9

Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory: 9

Lockspciscr, Ben: 7 ill.

Lodge, Henry Cabot: 14

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT): 5, 6

Mercury Project: 1 1, 15, 18

Munk, Max: 9

Muroc Flight Test Unit (later, Dryden Flight Research Ccntcr): 9

NACA High Speed Flight Station: 9, 16. Scc also NASA Flight Research

Center, Muroc Flight Test Unit, Dryden Flight Research Center.

Nati(mal Advisory Committee tbr Aeronautics (NACA): 2, 5, 8-1 1,

10 ill., 11 ill., 12

Aeronautical research: 8-1 1

Space Research: 10-1 1

133
National Aeronautics and Spacc Act: 12

National Acronautics and Space Adnfinistration (NASA): 12-20

Coopcration with thc Sovict Union: 14

Spacc efforts: 13t't:

Ten Ycar Plan: 14

NASA Flight Rcscarch Ccntcr: 17

National Burcau of Standards {NBS): 2-5, 7-8

National Dcfi:nsc Rcscarch (7ommittcc (N1)RC): 5

Navy, U.S.: 5

New York Times: 15-16

()fficc of Scientific Research and 1)cvch)pnlcnt (OSRD): 5

Pickcring, William: 13

Pih)tlcss Aircraft Rcscarch Station: 9, 1 1

Pioneer 5:15

Pocomokc City, Maryland: 1

Prandtl, IaMwig: 4

Quarterly of Applied Mechanic_: 9

Rowe, A.P.: 7 ill.

Saturn booster: 14

Scamans, Robert C.: 19 ill.

Silvcrstcin, Abe: 13

Sovict Union: 14 Scc also Sputnik.

Spumik: 12

Stack, John: 9

Stcvcr, H. GuyR)rd: 13

Symington, W. Stuart: 10

Tiros 1: 15

Toward New Horizon_. 7-8

V-1 cruise missilc: 7

V-2 ballistic missile: 7

Van Allcn, James A.: 13

Vanguard Project: 12, 14

Variable swccp wing: 16

Victor}; John F.: 5

Wcbb, lamcs E.: 16 ill., 18, 19 ill.

Wcick, Frcd: 9

Where Wc Stand: 7

Whitcomb, Richard: 9

Wicsnc,', Jcromc: 15

Wicsncr Rcport: 15-16

Wind tunncls: 2, 3-4, 8 ill., 8, 10, 16,

Worcester County, Maryland: 1

World War I: 2

World War II: 5-7, 10

17

134
X-l: 10

X-2:10

X-.,: 10

X-4:10

X-5: 10,16

X-15: 10,11, 16-17

YF-92A: 10

Ycagcr, Charlcs E.: 9-10

135
136
About the Author

Michacl H. Gorn is Associatc Editor, Smithsonian History of

Aviation Book Series, and Rcscarch Collaborator, Smithsonian

Institution, National Air and Spacc ,MtlSctlnl. Hc is the author of

scvcral books, articlcs, and rcvicws in acrospacc history, including

7he Univc_:_'al Man: 7hcodorc yon Ktirman's Lit? in Acrmmutics

(Smithsonian Institution Prcss, 1992)and Harnt:_sitzo the (;e,lic:

Scicncc a n d 7?chnolwy Forccastitqt fbr the A ir Force, 1944-1980

(G{}vcrnmcnt Printing Officc, 1988). Hc is working {m a thlllcngth biography {)f Hugh Drvdcn undcr c{}ntract with the

Smithsonian Institution Press. It is provisionally entitled "Skyward:

Thc I_it_:{}f Hugh L. 1)rvdcn of NASA." Dr. G{}rn carncd his B.A.

(1972) and M.A. (1973) degrees in hist{}rv at the Califi}rnia Statc

University at N{)rthridgc and his 1}h.D. dcgrcc, also in hist{}ry, fi'{}m

thc L!nivcrsitv oE"S{}uthcrn Califbrnia ( 1978 ).

Monographs in Aerospace History

This is the fifth publication in a new scrics ofspccial studics prcparcd undcr thc auspices of thc NASA History Program. Thc

Monwraphs in Aerospace History serics is dcsigncd to provide a widc

varictv of invcstigations rclativc to thc history of acronautics and

space. Thcsc publications arc intendcd to bc tightly fi_cuscd in

tcrms ofsubjcct, rclativcly short in lcngth, and rcproduccd in

inexpensive tbrmat to allow timely and broad dissemination to

rcsearchcrs in acrospacc history. Suggestions fbr additional publications in the Monwraphs in Aerospace History series arc welcome and

should bc scat to Roger D. Launit, s, Chief Historian, Code ZH,

National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC,

20546. Previous publications in this scrics arc:

Launius, Roger D. and Gillette, Aaron K. Compilers. Toward a

History or'the Space Shuttle." An Annotated Bibliography. (Number 1,

1992)

Launius, Roger D. and Hunlcy, J. D. Compilcrs. A_z Almotatcd

Bibliwraphy _g'the Apollo Prwram. ( Number 2, 1994)

I.aunius, R()gct D. Apollo: A Retrospective Anal3sis. (Numbcr 3,

1994)

Hanscn, Jamcs R. Enchanted Rendezvous. John C. Houbolt and the

Genesis of the Lunar-Orbit Rendezvous Concept. (Numbcr 4, 1995 )

137
,_ U=S. (X)VF/RNME_TP PRINTING OFFICE,: 1996-780-562