NASA History DIVISION

Office of External Relations

volume 24, number 4

FROM

THE CHIEF

HISTORIAN

november 2007

IN THIS ISSUE:

From the Chief Historian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Lessons Learned from the Space Exploration Initiative. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

News from Headquarters and the Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

The Legends of the Fall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Book Commemorates NASA’s 50th Anniversary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

NASA History Fellowships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Other New and Forthcoming Publications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

New Aerospace History Publications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

New Online Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

New Contracts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

NASA Historic Preservation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Other History News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Obituaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Calls for Papers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Upcoming Meetings and Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Recent Images. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

The 50th anniversary of the Space Age finds 

the History Division, appropriately, balancing an extraordinary variety of projects, ranging from books to conferences, grants, and 

activities related to the National Aeronautics 

and Space Administration’s (NASA) 50th 

anniversary next year.

Books recently published. Thor Hogan’s Mars 

Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Space Exploration 

Initiative will prove useful not only as the first 

substantial history of the ambitious plan to 

return to the Moon and go to Mars (announced 

at the 20th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing in 1989), but also for its lessons learned for 

the current Moon-Mars program. America in 

Space: NASA’s First Fifty Years is a large-format 

coffee-table book produced jointly by the History 

Division and NASA’s Office of Public Affairs and 

published by Abrams in New York. It features 

many unusual and seldom-seen photographs, 

in addition to a foreword by Neil Armstrong. 

Among other things, it is a tribute not only 

to NASA’s achievements, but also to NASA 

photographers over the last half-century.

Books due out by the end of 2007. The next few 

months will see the arrival of some long-awaited 

books. Tom Heppenheimer’s The Hypersonic 

Realm has been long in the making, but we 

believe the wait will have been worth it. Volume 2 of Jim Hansen’s The Wind and Beyond: 

A Documentary Journey into the History of 

Aerodynamics in America is about to roll off 

the press, and it will be followed by four more 

volumes. Volume 7 of the popular series NASA 

Historical Data Books, by Judy Rumerman, 

continued on page 3

Lessons Learned from the Space 

Exploration Initiative

By Thor Hogan (Illinois Institute of Technology), author of the new Mars 

Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Space Exploration Initiative (NASA SP2007-4410)

On the 20th anniversary of the first human landing on the Moon (20 July 

1989), President George H. W. Bush stood atop the steps of the National Air 

and Space Museum in Washington, DC, and proposed a long-range human 

exploration plan that included the successful construction of an orbital 

space station, a permanent return to the Moon, and a mission to Mars. This 

enterprise became known as the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI). The 

president charged the newly reestablished National Space Council with providing concrete alternatives for meeting these objectives. To provide overall 

focus for the new initiative, Bush later set a 30-year goal for a crewed landing 

on Mars. Within a few short years after this Kennedyesque announcement, 

however, the initiative had faded into history—the victim of a flawed policy 

process and a political war fought on several different fronts.

The story of this failed initiative was one shaped by key protagonists and 

critical battles. It was a tale of organizational, cultural, and personal confrontation. Cultural struggles pitted the increasingly conservative engineering ethos of NASA against the “faster, better, cheaper” philosophy of 

a Space Council looking for innovative solutions to technical problems. 

Personality clashes matched Vice President Dan Quayle and Space Council 

continued on next page
NASA HISTORY DIVISION

Lessons Learned from the Space Exploration Initiative (continued) 

Executive Secretary Mark Albrecht 

against NASA Administrator Dick 

Truly and Johnson Space Center 

Director Aaron Cohen. Some 

commentators have argued that 

SEI was doomed to fail, due primarily to the immense budgetary 

pressures facing the nation during 

the early 1990s. The central thesis 

of Mars Wars: The Rise and Fall 

of the Space Exploration Initiative 

suggests, however, that failure was 

not predetermined. Instead, it was 

the result of a deeply flawed decision-making process that failed to 

develop (or even consider) policy 

options that may have been politically acceptable given the existing 

political environment. 

President George H. W. Bush announces his Space Exploration Initiative 

plan on 20 July 1989, the 20th anniverary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. 

(Image Number 89-H-380) 

By 1989, the American space program arguably had been in a steady decline for nearly 

two decades. NASA had failed to find its footing in the years following the triumphs of 

the Apollo Moon landings. During the intervening period, the space agency had become 

increasingly conservative, risk-averse, and bureaucratic. After failing to gain support 

for a robust post-Apollo human exploration program, the Agency had retreated and 

become an ever more cautious organization. During this time, the space program had 

no great supporters in the White House or great advocates within Congress. This lack 

of support forced the Agency to focus its political energies on protecting its turf (e.g., the 

Space Shuttle and Space Station programs) and trying to slow the regular reductions in 

its annual appropriation. The end result was a NASA that hardly resembled the one that 

had taken on the Soviet Union on one of the most prominent battlegrounds of the Cold 

War—an agency that had won a great victory for the United States. 

Despite this long interlude, there had been stirrings within the space policy community 

that seemed to indicate that a return to glory might be achievable. During the mid- to 

late 1980s, the American public had rallied around NASA in the wake of the Space 

Shuttle Challenger accident, the National Commission on Space had recommended 

human exploration of Mars as the appropriate long-term objective of the space 

program, and President Bush was an outspoken supporter of the space program. On 

the larger national stage, however, more significant forces were developing that did 

not bode well for the adoption of an overly aggressive or expensive new undertaking 

in human spaceflight. In particular, a struggling economy and rising deficits were 

placing enormous pressure on the federal budget. This political reality would be the 

most important constraint facing the adoption of an expanded exploration program 

and attempts to revitalize the national space program. In fact, the situation was so 

serious that it called into question whether the new president should support such an 

endeavor at all. Despite the potential hazards, only a few short months after taking 

office, President George Bush and his key space policy advisers decided to champion 

an ill-defined yet exorbitantly expensive exploration plan. 

continued on page 4 

2 

NASA History Division
VOLUME 24, NUMBER 4 November 2007 

From the Chief Historian (continued) 

covers the period 1989–98, with volume 8 to follow shortly. Societal Impact of 

Spaceflight, edited by Roger Launius and me, represents the proceedings of the 

meeting we held last year on this important subject. The arrival of copies of Sunny 

Tsiao’s Read You Loud and Clear! The Story of NASA’s Spaceflight Tracking and 

Data Network is also imminent. Finally, an update of monograph 9, U.S. Human 

Spaceflight, covering 1961–2006, will soon be published. 

Books due out in 2008. Volume 7 of John Logsdon’s documentary history of the of the 

U.S. civil space program, Exploring the Unknown, covers human spaceflight and will 

appear in early 2008, followed later in the year by the final volume. Volume 3 of our translation and annotation of Boris Chertok’s memoirs (series editor Asif Siddiqi) will also be 

published early in the year, with one more volume to follow. Paul Dickson has updated 

and extensively added to the Origins of NASA Names (1975) to produce a new Dictionary 

of the Space Age, to be published by Johns Hopkins University Press in the New Series in 

NASA History. Hopkins will also publish Erik Conway’s history of the atmospheric sciences in the same series. Doug Mudgway’s biography of W. H. Pickering will appear just 

in time for the Explorer 1 anniversary. And Michael Meltzer’s Keeping the Solar System 

Clean: A History of NASA’s Planetary Protection Effort is now complete. 

Further down the line. Work is actively proceeding on full-scale histories of deep 

space navigation (Andrew Butrica), NASA’s international relations (John Krige 

and his team at Georgia Tech), NASA’s Decadal Planning Team and events leading 

to the new Vision for Space Exploration (Steve Garber and Glen Asner), a history 

of aeronautics at NASA since 1958 (Rob Ferguson), an updated history of NASA’s 

wind tunnels (Larry Lee), a history of life sciences at NASA since 1980 (Maura 

Mackowski), a translation and commentary on selected parts of the Mishin and 

Feokstikov diaries (Peter Gorin and Asif Siddiqi), and a new volume of Astronautics 

and Aeronautics: A Chronology, covering 1996–2000. Michael Meltzer has just been 

awarded a contract to write a history of the Cassini project. 

History of the Scientific Exploration of Earth and Space (HSEES). This is a major 

initiative to fill the gap in the history of the Earth and space sciences, sponsored 

jointly by the Science Mission Directorate and the History Division. A peer-review 

panel met in June and selected a dozen projects to be funded, many of them fullscale books. A full list will be published in the next newsletter. 

NASA Historical Reference Collection. This mainstay of the NASA History Division, 

some 2,000 cubic feet of materials, continues to be heavily used, especially in light of 

the 50th-anniversary activities. You can see more details at our Web site. 

Remembering the Space Age. This conference was held 22–23 October in Washington, 

DC, immediately following the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) meeting. The Proceedings will follow next year. 

New NASA History Grant Programs. Readers of this newsletter will be aware of the 

long-established American Historical Association (AHA) fellowship in Aerospace 

History. We have now added two more grants: one in the history of space science, 

administered by the History of Science Society (HSS), and the fellowship in the 

history of space technology, administered by SHOT. Application information is 

available at each society’s Web site. 

NASA at 50. This oral history project is funded by the History Division and carried 

out by our expert oral history team at Johnson Space Center, including Rebecca 

continued on next page 



NASA HISTORY DIVISION

From the Chief Historian (continued) 

Wright and Sandra Johnson. The idea is to have a snapshot of NASA at 50, its 

current goals and future aspirations, as seen by top NASA management throughout the Agency. As photos in this newsletter will attest, 

interviews were recently undertaken with Administrator 

Michael Griffin and Deputy Administrator Shana Dale. 

We plan to publish a selection of these interviews in book 

form for NASA’s upcoming 50th anniversary. 

The Bigger Picture. Planning for NASA’s upcoming 

50th anniversary goes far beyond the History Division. 

The Office of Communications Planning, located in the 

Strategic Communications part of NASA Headquarters, 

is planning a full year of events, some of which are already 

beginning. The events are being implemented by the 50th 

Anniversary Working Group, on which the History 

Division is represented. On 13 September, NASA unveiled 

its 50th-anniversary logo. On 17 September, Administrator 

Griffin kicked off NASA’s 50th-anniversary lecture series 

with remarks on the value of the space economy. The full 

lecture is at http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/189537main_mg_space_economy_20070917.pdf. 

NASA will celebrate its history through a variety of publications and events at the 

local and national level. 

Happy anniversaries! 

Steve Dick 

Lessons Learned from the Space Exploration Initiative (continued) 

SEI reached the national agenda after an incredibly short two-month alternative generation process that was conducted in secret by senior leaders at NASA Headquarters and 

Johnson Space Center. Rather than providing President Bush with a variety of potential 

mission architectures, the space agency selected a long-term strategy (based largely 

on existing technology) that would have cost an estimated $400 billion. Although this 

would require NASA’s budget to increase to over $30 billion annually, Vice President 

Dan Quayle and the National Space Council initially supported the space agency’s 

approach. Thus, on 20 July 1989, President Bush announced a long-range, continuing 

commitment to human spaceflight: “First, for the coming decade, for the 1990s: Space 

Station Freedom, our critical next step in all our space endeavors. And next, for the new 

century: back to the Moon; back to the future. And this time, back to stay. And then a 

journey into tomorrow, a journey to another planet: a manned mission to Mars.” 

Unfortunately, the public and congressional reaction to President Bush’s announcement was generally negative. For example, Senator Al Gore said that “by proposing a 

return to the Moon and a manned base on Mars, with no money, no timetable, and no 

plan, President Bush offers the country not a challenge to inspire us, but a daydream.” 

In fall 1989, things got worse when NASA released its Report of the 90-Day Study on 

Human Exploration of the Moon and Mars. What the Bush White House had expected 

would be a study providing additional project alternatives with a broad range of cost 

profiles turned out to be an endorsement of a single architecture offered with three 

different timelines (it would have cost upwards of $550 billion). The universal response 

was outrage—the initiative never recovered and slowly faded away over the next year. 

4 

NASA History Division
VOLUME 24, NUMBER 4 November 2007 

There are numerous lessons that can be learned from the failure of SEI. The initiative was originally endorsed by President Bush to provide direction to what some felt 

was a directionless agency. The Space Council, however, failed to provide adequate 

guidance regarding the political and budgetary constraints confronting any new 

programs. As a result, NASA’s 90-Day Study was significantly at variance with 

what Congress judged to be in the long-term interest of the nation. This situation 

might have been ameliorated if the Space Council had engaged space policy community actors outside NASA that could have provided architecture alternatives that 

leveraged new technologies and had different cost profiles. However, Vice President 

Quayle and Mark Albrecht largely abdicated their authority to the space agency. 

Responsibility should not land entirely at the White House doorstep, as missteps by 

NASA’s leaders shared equally in the initiative’s failure. Many within the Agency 

believed that President Bush’s endorsement of a bold human spaceflight initiative 

was an opportunity to obtain a large funding increase. Preparing expensive plans 

for SEI based on this fundamental principle proved to be an enormous political miscalculation, and the Agency missed a historic opportunity to right itself two decades 

after the post-Apollo deceleration. If the White House had consulted with Congress 

during the agenda-setting process for the initiative, the glaring shortcomings with 

the NASA approach might have been understood and addressed much earlier. The 

failure to engage Congress explains why SEI never had any true champions on Capitol 

Hill, even among constituencies usually supportive of the space program. 

During the second half of the 20th century, there were a number of seminal moments 

in American space policy. These included the creation of NASA, President Kennedy’s 

Moon decision, and the Space Shuttle and Space Station decisions. Due to its influence on the space program’s future course, SEI rightfully belongs on this list. It is 

an anomaly in some respects because it was a failed initiative. Combined with the 

Hubble Space Telescope flaw and Space Shuttle fuel leaks, its demise led to significant changes at NASA. Perhaps the most important of these was the appointment 

of Dan Goldin, the most change-oriented NASA Administrator since James Webb. 

The most important change he wrought was forcing NASA to face budgetary reality 

and focus on evolutionary advancement. This arguably would not have happened 

absent the extraordinary budgetary requirements of NASA’s SEI system architecture approach and the resulting downfall of the initiative. 

As indicated above, the demise of SEI was a classic example of a defective decision-making process. The decision to conduct the agenda-setting process in secret 

made it difficult to generate support within Congress or the larger space policy 

community. The Space Council’s inability or unwillingness to provide high-level 

policy guidance, combined with NASA’s failure to consider critical fiscal constraints 

independently, derailed the initiative before it really got started. Finally, the failure of the Space Council to initiate a competition of ideas after President Bush’s 

announcement speech removed any possibility of gaining congressional support 

after the devastating release of the 90-Day Study. It is far from obvious that the failure of SEI was predetermined. What is clear, however, is that its failure was ensured 

because options that might have been politically feasible were not considered. While 

this had the benefit of forcing some positive changes within NASA, some observers 

believe it also damaged the Agency’s reputation. To ensure the success of future 

efforts to send humans to Mars, current and future policy-makers must learn the 

lessons of SEI. This alone is why its history is so fundamental to understanding what 

is required to gain support for large human spaceflight initiatives. 



NASA HISTORY DIVISION

NEWS FROM HEADQUARTERS AND 

THE CENTERS 

Headquarters 

Jane Odom continues to acquire new material for the Historical Reference Collection. 

She appraises new and existing material in the collection and directs the subsequent 

processing of collections. She has been offering guidance especially to Liz Suckow, 

our newest archivist, as she works on processing a number of different collections. 

Additionally, an archival practicum student is working under Jane’s direction to 

process a space sciences collection dealing with solar missions. Jane continues to 

answer reference requests and also facilitates the entry of our international visitors 

into the building. The entire archival staff worked with the information technology 

(IT) staff on a modification to the database that will allow selected PDFs in the 

database to be published to an external Web site accessible to all. Jane attended 

the Society of American Archivists’ (SAA) Annual Meeting from 29 August to 1 

September in Chicago. She attended sessions on conducting oral histories, evaluating archival user tools such as finding aids and Web sites, the impact of minimal 

processing on reference services when applied broadly across an institution, the 

roles of female leaders in archival institutions, and a discussion by three early SAA 

feminist leaders on the profession’s past and present challenges. 

Colin Fries and John Hargenrader have completed a two-and-a-half-year project to 

scan and add the Current News collection to our database. This will be a valuable 

collection for historians and others seeking secondary source material on NASA’s 

activities over the years. They have begun the next scanning project, which involves 

digitizing all of the past Administrators’ and Deputy Administrators’ speeches and 

adding them to our database. John and Colin continue to work jointly to process the 

NACA Collection, which consists of 40 cubic feet. Colin is processing the subject 

files and John the biographical files; they are at the point where they are adding 

descriptions to the database. 

Colin continued reorganizing the History Division book series Web page, which lists 

all of our publications, and is correcting errors on the Web site. John is working on 

preparing photographs from the Plum Brook monograph to be added to our GRIN 

Web site. John has completed the preservation photocopying of all the old newspaper clippings in the human spaceflight files. He, Colin, and Liz Suckow continue to 

photocopy deteriorating items throughout the collection as they encounter them. 

Liz Suckow appraised 16 cubic feet of former Headquarters official Francis Hoban’s 

files on project management and the space station and copied numerous items for 

inclusion in the Historical Reference Collection. She has prepared the official files 

for transfer to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and 

has described in the database the copies that will be retained in our office. Liz also 

processed 2.5 cubic feet of oral history interviews on NASA culture, SEI, and space 

station donated by Howard McCurdy. She appraised 8 cubic feet of Teacher in Space 

and Educator Astronaut files and prepared this collection for transfer to NARA. 

Her current project involves processing a 7-cubic-foot collection of life sciences 

material, ca. 1991–2002. John, Colin, and Liz share reference duties such as answer­




NASA History Division
VOLUME 24, NUMBER 4 November 2007 

ing inquiries sent to the public e-mail account on the History Division Web site and 

assisting walk-in researchers. 

Welcome to Nicole Herrmann 

The NASA History Division welcomes aboard Nicole Herrmann as an intern this 

fall. Nicole hails from New Jersey and is a junior at the University of Maryland, 

where she is majoring in history and also studying for a minor in astronomy. She 

quickly has gotten involved in a number of projects and has been particularly instrumental in creating content for NASA’s new 50th-anniversary Web site (http://www. 

nasa.gov/50th/home.html). 

Ames Research Center (ARC) 

Jack Boyd kicked off the celebration of NASA’s anniversary year with a series of 

television and newspaper interviews on Sputnik and its impact on Silicon Valley. 

Jack has also begun honing his presentation on the 50-year span of NASA history, 

and he has begun delivering it to visiting dignitaries. Jack and Glenn Bugos delivered two papers at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) 

Space 2007 meeting in Long Beach, one on the National Advisory Committee for 

Aeronautics (NACA) as a model for NASA support of space commercialization 

efforts, the other on how the Ranger, Surveyor, and Lunar Orbiter programs served 

as precursors to Apollo. Glenn also spoke on the role of NASA in Silicon Valley at a 

conference at the Huntington Museum on “Rockets and Region: The Rise, Fall, and 

Rise of the Aerospace Industry in Southern California.” 

April Gage, Ames Archivist, is now a Certified Archivist, having passed the exam 

of the Academy of Certified Archivists. The NASA Ames History Office welcomed 

Ruth Dasso Marlaire on a six-month assignment from the Ames Public Affairs 

Office. Ruth will be writing various articles to support plans and outreach for 

NASA’s 50th anniversary. 

Artifacts have been the theme recently at the NASA Ames History Office, both 

accessioning them and putting them on display. In the lobby of N207, where the 

History Office is located, the staff set up an exhibit on projects and research done 

by scientists, engineers, and test pilots from Ames’s NACA and NASA years. The 

exhibit includes models, photographs, timelines—most compiled by longtime Ames 

employee Roger Ashbaugh—describing an array of innovations in aeronautics 

research, contributions from planetary research spacecraft, and the use of specialized airborne science aircraft to increase our understanding of the planet Earth. 

History Office staff are also partnering with other divisions to install small outreach 

exhibits in buildings around the Center. This endeavor includes finding ways to 

support these ongoing efforts without overstraining resources and space. The office 

developed new procedures for tracking accessions, as well as policies and procedures 

for loaning artifacts from its collection. Gradually, staff members are compiling 

caption information for the artifacts already in the History Office’s possession. The 

first exhibit, featuring small spacecraft, will be installed in the lobby of the building housing the NASA Ames Small Spacecraft Division and will include historical 

information taken from existing History Office publications, as well as mockups 

and models from its artifact collection, including Galileo, Pioneers 6 through 9, and 

Lunar Prospector. 

continued on next page 

7

NASA HISTORY DIVISION

News from Headquarters and the Centers (continued) 

Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) 

Christian Gelzer continued work on the truck fairings monograph. He, Peter 

Merlin, and Curtis Peebles relocated most of the historical artifacts in the collection 

to make them more accessible. 

Curtis Peebles has completed editing The Spoken Word: Recollections of Dryden 

History, Beyond the Sky. This is the second volume of oral histories with former 

employees of the Center, and it deals with Dryden’s space activities from the 1960s 

to the first Shuttle. The text is now moving to page layout. In August, he presented 

“The Antelope Valley and Aerospace: An Overview” (a look at the influence of the 

aerospace industry on the Antelope Valley) at an aerospace history conference jointly 

sponsored by the University of Southern California and the Huntington Library. 

Peter Merlin has finished his SR-71 manuscript (intended for AIAA publication) and 

is cleaning up odds and ends on the book. He assisted an outside magazine publisher 

with information on X-planes, looking for old line drawings, including plans for model 

variations that never left the drawing board. He provided a special tour to the Dryden 

Technical Library staff and visitors, answered nearly 50 information requests, and 

assisted James Murray with information regarding aircraft accident data for use in the 

search for missing aviator Steve Fossett. He also assisted the Edwards Air Force Base 

(AFB) Environmental Management Division with the identification of World War 

II–vintage aircraft debris collected during archaeological survey. 

Bill Dana’s book on flight-testing the X-38 has now been published. (Bill is a former 

research pilot, was the Chief Engineer at DFRC, and was the last man to fly the 

X-15.) We will be sending each Center copies of the book, the second in the Dryden 

Historical Study series. Those outside the immediate NASA community who wish 

to obtain a copy of the book may send a self-addressed, stamped envelope (with 

$2.32 in postage) to this address: 

History Office 

NASA Dryden Flight Research Center 

4800 Lilly Drive 

Building 4839 

Edwards, CA 93523 

Betty Love continues to sort through recent accessions to the archives. She is currently 

working her way through the papers of R. Dale Reed, the Dryden engineer so central 

to the development of lifting bodies and early remotely piloted research vehicles. 

Glenn Research Center (GRC) 

The Glenn History Program has been very lucky to have a number of special 

guests in recent months. On 20 July, the Center was treated to a special prescreening of the film In the Shadow of the Moon. The film’s producer, Chris Riley, was on 

hand to answer questions about the film. Through discussions with Glenn History 

Officer Kevin Coleman and archivist Bob Arrighi (RSIS), Riley came to know the 

significant contributions Glenn made to the Apollo program through its liquidhydrogen research. Mr. Riley has chosen a number of films from our archives to 




NASA History Division
VOLUME 24, NUMBER 4 November 2007 

view and may include a segment about Glenn’s contributions in a future planned 

documentary. 

From 12 through 16 September, the History Program cosponsored and supported 

Glenn’s 2nd Annual Space Memorabilia Show with the Glenn Visitor’s Center. 

Three very special guests spoke with employees during the week and gave presentations to the public during the Memorabilia Show held on the 16th. Sy Liebergot, 

former Apollo Electrical, Environmental and Consumables Manager (EECOM) 

Flight Controller; Andrew Chaikin, science journalist and author of A Man on 

the Moon; and Scott Carpenter, former Mercury astronaut, all spoke of their 

unique experiences and answered questions. The events were attended by many 

and enjoyed by all. 

Archivist Nora Blackman (RSIS) has been working with our Visitor’s Center on 

an exhibit chronicling the history of the Cleveland National Air Races, held on the 

grounds where Glenn now sits. At the center of the exhibit will be a replica of the 

prestigious Thompson Trophy, awarded to the winner of the Thompson Trophy 

Race, dubbed “a horse race in the air.” The trophy depicts Icarus, the first man 

to fly according to Greek mythology, with wings spread facing skyward, symbolizing humanity’s ever-constant desire to fly. A tapered cliff rises behind Icarus, 

suggesting humankind’s progress in conquering the air throughout the centuries. 

In bas relief around the cliff are sculptured epochal milestones of humankind’s 

attainment of great speeds. The exhibit will be on display in the Glenn Visitor 

Center in the near future. 

Archivist Bob Arrighi has moved on to the dissemination products phase of the 

Altitude Wind Tunnel documentation project. The Altitude Wind Tunnel (AWT) 

multimedia piece has been nearly completed. This piece includes facility layout 

sections, a chronological history, an archive of technical reports, many digital 

images, and historic film transfers. A monograph history of the AWT is also 

in progress, and a draft should be completed by early November. The AWT is 

scheduled for demolition in 2008. Bob Arrighi also attended the NASA Cultural 

Resources Management workshop at Langley Research Center, where he shared a 

great deal of the documentation work done on Glenn’s historic facilities. 

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) 

This summer marked the 30th anniversary of the Voyager missions to Jupiter and 

Saturn. Both vehicles appear to be within the heliosheath, with Voyager 1 more 

than 100 astronomical units from the Sun. Both are still returning particles and 

fields data. JPL’s commemoration of the event was low-key, with a lunchtime band, 

an evening lecture, and a scattering of popular media articles. 

This is also the year of Sputnik anniversaries, and JPL participated in two local 

conferences commemorating the opening of the Space Age. The first, sponsored 

by the University of Southern California’s Center for the American West and the 

Huntington Museum and Library, was titled “Rocket Science and Region.” Held 

3–4 August, this meeting’s sessions concentrated on the impact of the Space Age 

in California. The second, held 20–21 September, was sponsored by the California 

Institute of Technology’s GALCIT (now known as the Graduate Aeronautical 

continued on next page 



NASA HISTORY DIVISION

News from Headquarters and the Centers (continued) 

Laboratory), JPL, and Northrop Grumman Space Technologies. This meeting’s 

panelists considered the Space Age’s past and future. JPL also plans a series 

of events in December and January to commemorate the launch of Explorer 1, 

America’s first satellite, on 31 January 1958. 

In August, Erik Conway, JPL historian, attended the International Committee 

for the History of Technology’s (ICOHTEC) annual meeting in Copenhagen and 

presented a paper on the development of the Viking mission’s Mars entry, descent, 

and landing system. This presentation was oriented toward Walter Vincenti’s 

question, “What do engineers know and how do they know it,” which explored 

how that generation’s engineers designed for a largely unknown planet. After the 

ICOHTEC meeting, Conway gave an invited lecture on NASA and climate science 

at the Steno Institute, Aarhus University. He has also given lectures on the history 

of planetary science in JPL’s Von Karman lecture series (in July) and at the University 

of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering (September). 

Conway’s major research project is still a history of robotic Mars exploration, and 

he completed two more chapters this spring and summer. He plans to complete 

two more this winter. These will encompass the Mars Climate Orbiter and Polar 

Lander development and loss, the Mars Surveyor 2001 missions’ development, and 

the Mars Sample Return effort of 1998–99. 

Julie Cooper recently finished processing a 26-cubic-foot collection of Mars 

Pathfinder project records dated 1975–98 (collection number JPL508). The catalog 

record for this collection includes a link to a detailed container list in PDF format. 

This year, the Library, Archives and Records staff has also started a long-term 

effort to review and edit our older oral history transcripts against the original 

audio recordings (if we have them) and obtain releases for the many interviews we 

lack permission to release. A limited number of analog audio recordings will also 

be digitized to aid preservation. 

Johnson Space Center (JSC) 

The JSC History Office team continues to collect information for the NASA at 

50 Oral History Project, sponsored by the NASA Headquarters History Office. 

Recently, interviews with NASA Administrator Michael Griffin and Deputy 

Administrator Shana Dale were conducted by Rebecca Wright, Sandra Johnson, 

and NASA Chief Historian Steve Dick. At least 12 more individuals will be interviewed before the project moves into the next phase, which will be a publication to 

be released as part of the Agency’s 50th-anniversary activities. 

In support of a proposed JSC publication, the JSC History Office has been conducting oral history interviews specific to the Space Shuttle Program. Speaking 

with former Shuttle Program Managers, the team has been gathering details of 

the day-to-day operations as well as the overall programmatic changes that have 

occurred through the years. JSC Historian Jennifer Ross-Nazzal is contributing to 

this Center-wide project as a coauthor on two of the chapters. She also continues 

to support the ongoing efforts of the Historic Preservation Office at JSC and its 

efforts toward documenting data for reports and responses to surveys. 

Sandra Johnson continues to digitize audio recordings from the archives and, during September, prepared several of these for transcription. Shelly Henley Kelly, 

10 

NASA History Division
VOLUME 24, NUMBER 4 November 2007 

the archivist at the University of Houston–Clear Lake (UH-CL), where the JSC 

History Collection is housed, identified approximately 15 hours of audio that, if 

transcribed, would be of additional value to researchers. Sandra’s preparations 

include the reduction of distortion and background sounds while enhancing the 

voices to provide a better quality for the transcribers. The transcripts will be filed 

in the archives as another resource. 

During the next few months, the History Office will benefit from the assistance 

of Jessica Cannon, a graduate student from Rice University in Houston. Jessica 

provided research assistance for the office this past summer and will continue in 

these duties until the end of the fall semester. She then will return her attention 

full-time to finalizing her dissertation. 

Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) 

Architects, Historians, Photographers, Documenting Marshall Dynamic Test Stand 

A team of student architects, professional architects, photographers, and historians 

has documented the Saturn V Dynamic Test Stand at Marshall. This summer, the 

team focused its work on the stand in the East Test Area as part of a summer project 

for the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), a division of the National 

Park Service (NPS). 

“The Historic American Engineering Record is a documentation program based 

out of Washington, DC, for the national government, where we document historic 

American engineering sites across the United States,” said Brandy Blanchard, one 

of the student architects working on the project. 

The stand has played a significant role in Marshall history for more than 30 years 

and is expected to serve as a vital asset in testing space vehicles that NASA will 

use to send future astronauts into orbit. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Center used 

the stand for vibration testing. It was first used to test the Apollo/Saturn V rockets and later the Space Shuttle. In the late 1970s, Marshall played a prominent 

role in the yearlong Mated Vertical Ground Vibration test program, the critical 

evaluation of the entire Shuttle complement—orbiter, external tank, and boosters. This phased test sequence began in March 1978, when the orbiter Enterprise 

arrived at Marshall and was greeted by thousands of employees and citizens. 

The orbiter was hoisted into the modified stand, mated first to an external tank, 

and subjected to vibration frequencies comparable to those expected during 

launch and ascent. Several months later, the solid rocket boosters were added 

for tests of the entire Shuttle assembly. The test series confirmed the structural 

interfaces and mating of the entire Shuttle system and allowed mathematical 

models used to predict the Shuttle’s response to vibrations in flight to be adjusted 

so that effects for future flight environments could be predicted adequately prior 

to launch. 

Previous HAER projects at Marshall have included documenting other structures 

in the Marshall test area as well as the Redstone Test Stand and the Marshall 

Neutral Buoyancy Facility, which was once used to provide astronauts with the 

opportunity to experience weightlessness in a huge water-filled simulator. 

continued on next page 

11

NASA HISTORY DIVISION

News from Headquarters and the Centers (continued) 

“This particular survey related to the Dynamic Stand gives us a chance to look 

back in time and get an idea of what the stand was like back then so we can 

record it for future generations,” Blanchard added. 

At 360 feet tall, the stand is considered to be a one-of-a-kind structure. Its 

extreme height also made it possible for Marshall to use the stand during the 

1970s for zero-gravity drop tests, in which components were dropped the full 

height of the structure in a contained environment, allowing brief periods of 

weightlessness. 

The 12-week survey of the stand will culminate in an archive of historical 

engineering documentation including more than a dozen sheets of large-format 

drawings. These materials added to the Historic American Buildings and 

Historical American Engineering Record’s archive at the Library of Congress 

in Washington, DC. 

The HAER team has measured the stand and its instrumentation and compiled a 

collection of related documentation in order to interpret how the stand functioned 

and what tests were conducted. A staff photographer from HAER will spend several days shooting large-format photographs of the structure in its current state. 

The team is composed of project leader Tom Behrens, an HAER architect; student 

architects Blanchard (Louisiana Tech University), Sonnier Francisco (California 

State Polytechnic University Pomona), and Michael Sundrup (University of 

Cincinnati); historian Sara Wermiel, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute 

of Technology; and HAER staff photographer James Rosenthal. In addition, 

Ralph Allen, Marshall’s Historic Preservation Officer, has served as adviser for 

the team. 

Stennis Space Center (SSC) 

On 23 August 2007, SSC broke ground for a new rocket engine test stand that 

will provide altitude testing for the J-2X engine. The engine will power the upper 

stages of NASA’s Ares I and Ares V rockets. The SSC History Office has been 

documenting the construction progress of the A-3 Test Stand, which is the first 

large test stand to be built since the Apollo era. The A-1 Test Stand has been 

undergoing modifications for its transition from the Space Shuttle Program 

to the Constellation Program. This stand was converted in the 1970s to begin 

testing the Space Shuttle main engine and is now being converted once again to 

begin J-2X powerpack testing later this year. The SSC History Office has been 

documenting this process as well through video, photos, and interviews. 

The SSC History Office recently worked with the Headquarters History Division 

to have Way Station to Space: A History of the John C. Stennis Space Center 

placed online. 

12 

NASA History Division
VOLUME 24, NUMBER 4 November 2007 

The Legends of the Fall


By Colin Fries 

As we celebrate the anniversary of the dawn of the Space Age on that fateful day, 

4 October 1957, when Sputnik 1 entered orbit, we may forget that there exists 

a perennial controversy over where the pieces of the spacecraft landed after it 

reentered the atmosphere. According to the National Space Science Data Center 

(NSSDC), the satellite’s orbit was observed optically to decay 92 days after 

launch on 4 January 1958, when the satellite had completed about 1,400 orbits of 

Earth over a cumulative distance of 70 million kilometers. The Russians stated 

in December 1957 that burned remnants fell in Alaska and other northern areas 

of North America, and Soviet scientists demanded their return. 

All that exist are replicas in Russian museums and at the Smithsonian’s National 

Air and Space Museum (NASM). Though many private citizens have claimed to 

have recovered charred fragments of the original, there has never been a credible 

confirmation. The latest claim to hit the media was reported by the New York 

Times on 18 February 2007. The Beat Museum in San Francisco advertised that it 

had obtained several chunks of Sputnik 1 from Bob Morgan, whose grandfather 

recovered them on the morning of 8 December 1957 when they fell from the sky. 

Roger Launius, space history curator at NASM, and other experts concluded 

that the debris was unlikely to have been from the satellite but that it might have 

been part of the satellite’s booster. “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary 

proof,” stated Carl Sagan, describing a category that includes the recovery of the 

remains of famous spacecraft and satellites in the backyard. 

Throughout the Space Age, a growing mythology has developed around space 

debris and its extent. On one hand, the conventional wisdom (typically that of 

the launching governments and space industry) is that large objects burn up 

when they enter the atmosphere—this despite the fact that hundreds of pieces 

have been found and returned to their respective governments. On the other is 

the popular belief that these pieces frequently land in inhabited areas and have 

injured people. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The Center for Orbital 

and Reentry Debris Studies estimated that in the first 40 years of the Space 

Age, 1,400 tons of debris has reached Earth, but only 250 pieces of verifiable 

spacecraft have been identified. This is because most pieces have landed in water. 

Such was the case with the Mir space station when it harmlessly reentered the 

atmosphere on 23 March 2001 over the South Pacific. 

Nevertheless, the premise of a cult Showtime cable series, Dead Like Me, was 

based on the heroine’s being hit and killed in the first episode by a zero-gravity 

space toilet reentering from Mir. (She survives as a grim reaper in this black-comedy 

fantasy). There is only one reported case of someone being hit by debris. On 22 

January 1997, after watching a fireball streak across the sky, a woman in Tulsa, 

Oklahoma, was brushed on the left shoulder from charred woven fabric later identified as originating from a Delta 2 reentry. And on 30 November 1960, the Cuban 

government claimed that a cow was killed by debris from the failure of the U.S. 

Thor booster used to launch the Transit 3 satellite and demanded compensation. 

Another case for the “Strange But True” category was related by Soviet engineer 

Boris Chertok in his memoir Rockets and People, Volume 2. In the summer of 

continued on next page 

1

NASA HISTORY DIVISION

14

1963, Sergey Korolev, Chief Designer, summoned Chertok to his office. He held 

up a partially melted piece of iron on which an inscription could still be read: 

“*1961* Union of Soviet Socialist Republics *”. It was a medal that had been 

certified for flight in 1961 aboard a probe intended for Venus and was designed to 

survive the heat of entering that planet’s atmosphere. The spacecraft burned up 

over Siberia instead, and after a local boy hurt his foot on a piece of iron while 

swimming in a tributary of the Biryusa River, the object was identified as the 

Venus pendant and returned to Moscow by the KGB. Since the Pacific was the 

likely point of impact, the probability of this reentry happening over the USSR 

was 3 percent, according to Chertok. It then follows, he stated, that the probability of anyone finding the pendant was close to zero.

Unlike this anecdotal event, which remained within the jurisdiction of the 

Soviet Union, another piece of falling Russian space junk attracted international attention and held significant implications for Cold War relations and 

international space law. The spacecraft was dubbed Korabl-Sputnik 1 (satellite 

ship), or Sputnik 4 in the West, and was an unmanned rehearsal intended to test 

reentry systems for the upcoming Vostoks. Launched on 15 May 1960, it was the 

first full-scale test in the series, and it failed miserably. Instead of returning as 

planned, it was boosted to a higher orbit and broke up on 5 September 1962. 

The Korabl program proceeded, and by Korabl-Sputnik 4, the Russians got it 

right. Launched on 9 March 1961, it carried a dog, Chernuschka, and a full-size 

mannequin in the ejection seat. Both were recovered successfully. After one 

additional test flight, the Russians were ready to launch a human, and on 12 

April 1961, they did just that—and the human was Yuri Gagarin. 

Yet important as it was technically, this next-to-last Korabl was famous for a 

little-known first: it broadcast the first music from space. One of the Vostok 

engineers explained:

[T]he main purpose was to ensure reception of voice transmissions from 

[the ship]. We rejected a numerical countdown, fearing Western radio 

stations would monitor the human voice and raise a clamor throughout the world alleging that Russia has secretly put a man in orbit. A 

song also aroused objections because it would be said in the West that 

“the Russian” cosmonaut had lost his head and started singing! It was 

then decided to tape a popular Piatnitsky Russian choir, and when the 

dummy, clothed for purposes of decency in a white smock, suddenly 

sang like a choir, it was very funny.1

Even though intended as a joke, this may have sounded like a cosmic manifestation of the Greek “The Music of the Spheres” to anyone who did listen in. 

The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, had 

alerted its Moonwatch teams around the world to watch the skies for Sputnik 

4 since its orbital decay was being tracked and its date of entry had been predicted in advance. The watch was part of a concerted effort to recover an object 

exposed to the radiation of space.

The Legends of the Fall (continued)

1Asif Siddiqi, Challenge to Apollo (Washington, DC: NASA SP-2000-4408, 2000), p. 265.
VOLUME 24, NUMBER 4 November 2007

1

“We have chosen Sputnik IV as our first re-entry observing satellite because it is the 

next large artificial earth satellite expected to re-enter the earth’s atmosphere after a 

long exposure to the space environment,” the observatory stated.2

Pieces rained down on the American Midwest after it disintegrated, particularly on 

several locations in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The largest of these became embedded 

three inches deep into 8th Street. Two patrolmen noticed it, but, assuming it was a 

mound of cardboard or slag from a foundry, ignored it for an hour. Then, after they 

associated it with the fiery streaks across the sky that the public was reporting, they 

hauled it away—7 hours later.

After the 20-pound fragment was identified and analyzed as an authentic remnant of 

Sputnik 4, the U.S. government tried to return it during a meeting of the United Nations 

(UN) Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space on 14 September. The Soviet delegate 

to the Committee, P. D. Morozov, refused to accept it, charging that it was a “circus 

trick” designed to solidify the U.S. position to set rules for reimbursing parties injured 

or damaged by falling space debris.

On 15 November 1963, the International Association of Machinists placed a brass 

ring in the middle of 8th Street to commemorate where the debris had fallen. A 

plaque near the sidewalk reads: “Sputnik IV Satellite Fragment was Recovered at 

This Site, Sept. 6, 1962.”

The U.S. offered the Manitowoc fragment to the Soviet Union twice, and they refused it 

each time. However, by 1963, the Cold War had thawed and good things began to happen at last. Negotiations began between the two superpowers on a couple of levels—it 

was the year that the two governments managed to agree on a limited test ban treaty. 

And it all began on a good note on 5 January 1963, when a Russian representative picked 

up the fragment at the State Department. It was quickly crated and shipped home.

Still, the space law issues remained unsettled until 1972, when the UN (with the USSR 

as a signatory) agreed to a Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused 

by Space Objects.

Although these earthly encounters with falling junk are so infrequent, orbital debris 

has become such a problem that it would increase even if all launches were halted. As 

of 4 July 2006, the U.S. Space Surveillance Network was tracking 8,680 pieces of debris. 

On 11 January 2007, the Chinese destroyed an old weather satellite with an antisatellite 

(ASAT) weapon in what was called the worst space debris event ever. Sharp criticism 

prompted China to join with the subcommittee of the UN Committee on the Peaceful 

Uses of Outer Space to draft guidelines for the limitation of such junk. The fear is that 

a massive chain reaction of all this accumulation is soon to occur, endangering orbiting 

satellites and the International Space Station (ISS).

In retrospect, that broadcast of the Piatnitsky Russian Choir takes on a more symbolic 

significance. Even though meant as a joke, it can be seen as heralding a new era in some 

ineffable way. Perhaps we humans became citizens of the cosmos that day. Of course, 

there were many bumps in the road. The Cold War continued for decades, and actual 

cooperation in space between the two superpowers did not happen until 1975.

continued on next page

2 Walter Sullivan, “U.S. Studies Bits of Spent Sputnik,” New York Times (7 October 1962): 42.
NASA HISTORY DIVISION

The Legends of the Fall (continued) 

Ken Burns, producer of The Civil War miniseries and The War documentary about 

World War II, quoted lines from Lincoln’s first inaugural address when he spoke to the 

class of Lehigh University in 2006. Although uttered early in 1861 about the conflict 

that would rend his nation, Lincoln’s words fit the Space Age quite nicely: “We 

must not be enemies. We must be friends . . . . The mystic chords of memory, 

stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave, to every living heart and 

hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, 

when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.” 

As Burns said, “It is a truly astonishing sentence. The ‘better angels of our 

nature.’ I love that; so certain as it is of our essential goodness and the perfectibility of these so obviously flawed creatures who like to call themselves human 

beings. And the ‘mystic chords of memory.’ Another great phrase, don’t you 

think? Those ‘mystic chords,’ ladies and gentlemen, were not c-o-r-d-s, cords of 

some rope that would bind us by force together, but c-h-o-r-d-s, musical chords, 

signifying some celestial harmony that would unite us through all time in common purpose—in a common anthem, if you will.” 

This should not be considered a uniquely American vision; rather, a new mythology of a new age—the Space Age. 

Book Commemorates NASA’s 50th 

Anniversary 

As the world remembers the 50th anniversaries of the Space Age in 2007 and NASA 

in 2008, the historic legacy of the Agency is captured in a new and lavishly illustrated 

book published on 4 October 2007 by Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York. 

Titled America in Space: NASA’s First Fifty Years, the book is a photographic 

record of the greatest adventures in the history of exploration and documents 

NASA’s many achievements during the past five decades in aeronautics, science 

and technology, and human spaceflight. Published in cooperation with NASA, 

the book features a foreword by Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong, with 

contributions from Steven Dick, NASA Chief Historian; Bob Jacobs, Deputy 

Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs; Constance Moore, NASA lead photo 

researcher; Anthony M. Springer, lead, communications and education, NASA 

Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate; and Bertram Ulrich, NASA curator 

and multimedia manager. 

“This book has a wonderful collection of imagery that chronicles the first halfcentury of NASA,” said Shana Dale, NASA Deputy Administrator, Headquarters, 

Washington. “As we view the historic achievement of our first generation of 

space explorers and see how far we have come in 50 years, we also peer over the 

horizon to a new era of exploration that will provide us with an outpost on the 

Moon and eventually human exploration of Mars.” 

Almost 500 stunning color and black-and-white photographs, including many 

never published before, were selected from NASA’s archives. The images tell 

the Agency’s story, from the drama of liftoff to tension in Mission Control 

and the humor and humanity portrayed in the faces of astronauts, scientists, 

continued on page 18 

1


NASA History Division
VOLUME 24, NUMBER 4 November 2007 

NASA History Fellowships


The NASA History Division is pleased to announce two new fellowships 

in the history of space science and technology. The History Division 

continues to sponsor the American Historical Association Fellowship in 

Aerospace History (please see http://www.historians.org/prizes/NASA.htm 

for more details). 

The new NASA History of Science Society Fellowship in the History of 

Space Science funds a nine-month research project that is related to any 

aspect of the history of space science, from the earliest human interest in 

space to the present. The program is broadly conceived and includes the 

social, cultural, institutional, and personal context of space science history. Proposals of advanced research in history related to all aspects of the 

history of space science are eligible. Space science and sciences affected 

by data and concepts developed in connection with space exploration 

include astronomy, Earth science, optics, meteorology, oceanography, 

and physiology. The fellowship is open to applicants who hold a doctoral 

degree in history or a closely related field, or students who have completed 

all requirements except the dissertation for a Ph.D. in the history of science 

or a related field. The stipend is $17,000; the fellowship term is nine months 

and must fall within the period of 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009. Please see 

http://www.hssonline.org/profession/support/detail.lasso?-Search=Action&­

Table=Events%20web&-Database=hssguides&-KeyValue=3504 for more 

details. The deadline for applications is 3 March 2008. 

The new NASA Fellowship in the History of Space Technology will be 

administered by the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT). This 

$17,000 fellowship will fund one predoctoral or postdoctoral Fellow, 

for up to one academic year, to undertake a research project related to 

the history of space technology. This fellowship may support advanced 

research related to any or all aspects of space history and should lead to 

publications on such topics as the history of space technology broadly 

considered, including cultural and intellectual history; institutional history; economic history; the history of law and public policy; and the 

history of science, engineering, and management. The fellowship’s stipend 

will be paid quarterly; funds may not be used to support tuition or fees. 

Applicants must possess a doctorate degree in the history of technology 

or in a closely related field, or be enrolled as a student in a doctoral degree 

program and have completed all requirements except the dissertation for 

a Ph.D. in the history of technology or a related field. Eligibility is not 

limited to U.S. citizens or residents. Application forms and further information are available from http://www.historyoftechnology.org/awards/nasa. 

html online; questions may go to SHOT secretary Amy Bix, shot@iastate. 

edu. The deadline for applications is 1 March 2008, and the fellowship 

winner will be notified by 1 May 2008. 

17

NASA HISTORY DIVISION

Book Commemorates NASA’s 50th Anniversary (continued) 

engineers, and political leaders associated with the program during the past 

five decades. 

“Abrams is tremendously proud to have collaborated with NASA to create 

America in Space, which celebrates some of our nation’s greatest achievements 

and is also a milestone in photographic publishing,” said Eric Himmel, Abrams 

vice president and editor-in-chief. “It was thrilling to see these amazing images 

materialize from NASA’s vast visual archives as the project took shape.” 

The book is available from most major book retailers. 

Other New and Forthcoming

Publications 

New Book 

Mars Wars: A Policy History of the Space Exploration Initiative (NASA SP-2007­

4410), by Thor N. Hogan. This provocative book argues that the failure of President 

George H. W. Bush’s Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) was the result of a flawed 

policy process. A synopsis of this book appears earlier in this newsletter. 

Forthcoming Books 

The Wind and Beyond: A Documentary Journey into the History of Aerodynamics 

in America, Volume II: Reinventing the Airplane (NASA SP-2007-4409), edited by 

James R. Hansen, with Jeremy Kinney, D. Bryan Taylor, and J. Lawrence Lee. 

The second volume in the Wind and Beyond series discusses the airplane design 

revolution of the 1920s and 1930s and the quest for improved airfoils. This book will 

appear by December 2007. 

Facing the Heat Barrier: A History of Hypersonics (NASA SP-2007-4232), by T. A. 

Heppenheimer. Hypersonics is the study of flight at speeds at which aerodynamic 

heating dominates the physics of the problem (typically Mach 5 and higher) and is 

an engineering science with close links to supersonics and engine design. Hypersonics has had two major applications: the first has been to provide thermal protection 

during atmospheric entry from space; the second has involved high-speed propulsion and has sought to develop the scramjet as an advanced air-breathing ramjet. 

This book will appear by December 2007. 

William H. Pickering: America’s Deep Space Pioneer (NASA SP-2007-4113), by 

Douglas J. Mudgway. This biography of the long-time Director of the Jet Propulsion 

Laboratory was previewed in the August newsletter. This book will appear before 

the 50th anniversary of the Explorer 1 launch in January 2008. 

The Societal Impact of Spaceflight (NASA SP-2007-4801), edited by Steven J. Dick 

and Roger D. Launius. The first in a new subseries for societal impact studies, this 

large volume will contain the edited papers from a conference that was held in 

September 2006. The essays cover a wide range of topics including ideology, turning 

points in history, and applications satellites, as well as social, cultural, and economic 

impacts. This book will appear by December 2007. 

1


NASA History Division
VOLUME 24, NUMBER 4 November 2007 

New Aerospace History Publications 

Compiled by Chris Gamble 

Project Mars: A Technical Tale, by Wernher von Braun (Apogee Books). This neverbefore-printed science fiction novel combines technical fact with a human story line. 

Encompassing the entire story of the journey, this novel moves from the original 

decision for a Mars mission through the mission planning, the building of the mighty 

spaceships, the journey, the amazing discoveries made on Mars, and the return home. 

The author’s attention to the actions and feelings of the characters—both those who 

went and those who stayed behind—makes this an adventure of human proportions, 

rather than merely another fanciful tale. This book comes complete with an appendix 

of von Braun’s original technical drawings, made in the late 1940s, on which the story’s 

plot is based. 

The Rebirth of the Russian Space Program: 50 Years After Sputnik, New Frontiers, by 

Brian Harvey (Springer, May 2007). Aspects covered in this book include piloted versus 

unpiloted missions; the various types of robotic applications programs; the military program; the infrastructure of production, launch centers, and tracking; the commercialization of the program and its relationship with Western companies; and the program in 

a comparative global context as well as Russia’s future space intentions. 

The Voice of Dr. Wernher von Braun: An Anthology, edited by Irene Willhite (Apogee 

Books, May 2007). This collection of speeches by Dr. Wernher von Braun touches on 

a variety of topics including education, the Cold War, religion, and the space program. 

Mining through more than 500 of von Braun’s speeches given from 1947 to 1976, this 

book presents an insightful look at one of the most well-known historical figures in 

the American space program. The editor is the archivist of the U.S. Space and Rocket 

Center in Huntsville, Alabama. 

Space Flight, by Gilles Sparrow (DK Adult, June 2007). With hundreds of photographs, this beautifully illustrated book about the history of human spaceflight covers 

every detail of the quest for the final frontier, from the first spaceflight to today’s 

missions and beyond. 

A History of the Kennedy Space Center, by Kenneth Lipartito and Orville R. Butler 

(University Press of Florida, June 2007). This first comprehensive history of Kennedy 

Space Center, NASA’s famous launch facility located at Cape Canaveral, Florida, 

reveals the vital but largely unknown work that takes place before the rocket is lit. 

Flight Research at NASA Langley Research Center, by Mark A. Chambers (Arcadia 

Publishing, July 2007). Chambers has assembled over 200 images that depict the 

storied and accomplished history of flight research at the NASA Langley Research 

Center. 

Rocketeers: How a Visionary Band of Business Leaders, Engineers, and Pilots Is Boldly 

Privatizing Space, by Michael Belfiore (Collins Publishing, July 2007). 

Touching Space: The Story of Project Manhigh, by Gregory P. Kennedy (Schiffer 

Publishing, August 2007). Project Manhigh took humans to the threshold of space 

using balloons. Drawing upon flight reports and technical data, this book documents 

continued on next page 

1

NASA HISTORY DIVISION

New Aerospace History Publications (continued) 

Project Manhigh and the high-altitude flights that preceded it. Manhigh existed prior 

to the creation of NASA and helped pave the way for human space exploration. 

“Live from Cape Canaveral”: Covering the Space Race, from Sputnik to Today, by Jay 

Barbree (Collins, August 2007). Barbree—the only reporter who has covered every 

mission flown by astronauts—offers his unique perspective on the space program. He 

shares affectionate portraits of astronauts as well as some of his fellow journalists and 

tells some very funny behind-the-scenes stories—many involving astronaut pranks. 

Spies in the Sky: Surveillance Satellites in War and Peace, by Pat Norris (Praxis, 

August 2007). This book tells the story of the single most important contribution satellites have made to humankind in the 50 years since the launch of Sputnik 1, focusing 

particularly on the prevention of nuclear war. 

The Moon: Resources, Future Development and Settlement, 2nd edition, by David 

Schrunk, Burton Sharpe, Bonnie L. Cooper, and Madhu Thangavelu (Praxis, 

September 2007). This book tells the story of the feasible transformation of the Moon 

into an inhabited sister body of Earth in the coming century. 

In the Shadow of the Moon: A Challenging Journey to Tranquility, 1965–1969, by 

Francis French and Colin Burgess (University of Nebraska Press, September 2007). 

In the Shadow of the Moon tells the story of some of the most exciting and challenging 

years in spaceflight, with two superpowers engaged in a titanic struggle to land one of 

their own people on the Moon. 

Into that Silent Sea: Trailblazers of the Space Era, 1961–1965, by Francis French and 

Colin Burgess (University of Nebraska Press, April 2007). It was a time of bold new 

technology, historic moments, and international jousting on the final frontier. But it 

was also a time of human drama, of moments less public but no less dramatic in the 

lives of those who made the golden age of spaceflight happen. These are the moments 

and the lives that Into That Silent Sea captures, a book that tells the intimate stories 

of the men and women, American and Soviet, who made the space race their own and 

gave the era its compelling character. 

Astronautics: Book 1: Dawn of the Space Age, by Ted Spitzmiller (Apogee Books, 

September 2007). Chronicling the history of space rocketry, this resource details the 

discoveries and engineering innovations that have occurred—in both the United 

States and the former Soviet Union—from World War II to the early 1970s. From 

European war missiles to multibillion-dollar spacecraft that orbit Earth today, this 

sourcebook covers the evolution of rocketry in great detail and discusses the impact 

rocket science has had on other areas of humanity. 

Robotic Exploration of the Solar System: Part I: The Golden Age 1957–1982, by Paolo 

Ulivi and David M. Harland (Praxis, September 2007). This book provides a detailed 

history of unpiloted missions exploring the solar system. The subject is treated from 

an engineering and scientific standpoint. Technical descriptions of the spacecraft, 

of their mission designs and of instrumentations are provided. Scientific results are 

discussed in considerable depth, together with details of mission management. 

Earth from Space: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, 2nd edition, revised 

and updated, by Andrew K. Johnson (Firefly Books, September 2007). The newest 

generation of satellites is extraordinarily powerful and accurate, recording the effects 

of human and natural forces and showing how Earth continues to change over time. 

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NASA History Division
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Earth from Space explains how satellite imaging works and showcases some of the 

most remarkable photos of the planet ever produced. Fully revised and updated, 

Earth from Space covers a world of subjects—from aeronautics to ecology to commerce—through unforgettable images. 

Energiya-Buran: The Soviet Space Shuttle, by Bart Hendrickx and Bert Vis (Praxis, 

September 2007). The authors describe the long development path of the Soviet space 

shuttle system, consisting of the Energiya rocket and the Buran orbiter. The program 

eventually saw just one unpiloted flight in November 1988 before the end of the Cold 

War and the collapse of the Soviet Union sealed its fate. 

Red Moon Rising: Sputnik and the Hidden Rivalries That Ignited the Space Age, by 

Matthew Brzezinski (Times Books, September 2007). In Red Moon Rising, Matthew 

Brzezinski takes the reader inside the Kremlin, the White House, secret military 

facilities, and the halls of Congress to bring to life the Soviets and Americans who 

feared and distrusted their compatriots as much as their superpower rivals. Drawing 

on original interviews and new documentary sources from both sides of the Cold 

War divide, he shows how Nikita Khrushchev and Dwight Eisenhower were buffeted 

by crises of their own creation, leaving the door open to ambitious politicians and 

scientists to squabble over the heavens and Earth. 

A Ball, a Dog, and a Monkey: 1957—The Space Race, by Michael D’Antonio (Simon & 

Schuster, September 2007). A Ball, a Dog, and a Monkey tells the remarkable story of 

America’s first efforts to succeed in space, a time of exploding rockets, national space 

mania, Florida boomtowns, and interservice rivalries so fierce that President Dwight 

Eisenhower had to referee them. 

Epic Rivalry: The Inside Story of the Soviet and American Space Race, by Von Hardesty 

and Gene Eisman (National Geographic, September 2007). When Neil Armstrong 

and Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon in 1969, they personified an almost unimaginable feat—the incredibly complex task of sending humans safely to another celestial 

body. This extraordinary odyssey, which grew from the rivalry between the United 

States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, was galvanized by the Sputnik 

launch in 1957. 

Space: The First Fifty Years, by Sir Patrick Moore and H. J. P. Arnold (Mitchell 

Beazley, September 2007). This book chronicles the amazing advances and discoveries made during the momentous last half-century, including the first crewed 

spaceflight and first man in orbit; the first unpiloted landing on the Moon; the 

first craft to leave Earth’s orbit; the piloted Moon landings; the advent of the 

Space Shuttle; and the first probes to Mars, Venus, and the outer planets—Jupiter, 

Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. 

Spacecam, reprint edition, by Terry Hope (David & Charles Publishers, September 

2007). Spacecam celebrates the unique perspective of cameras freed from the confines 

of Earth looking back at our own colorful planet and charting the activity of satellites 

and spacecraft. The book also explores the solar system with stunning pictures of our 

nearest neighbors and, thanks to technology like the Hubble Space Telescope, strange 

and beautiful images of deep space. With amazing photographs from spacecraft, 

space stations, satellites, space telescopes, probes, and planetary rovers, Spacecam 

brings together the beautiful, the pioneering, and the scientifically astounding in a 

spectacular photographic collection. 

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New Aerospace History Publications (continued) 

Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War, by Michael J. Neufeld (Knopf, 

September 2007). This is the first authoritative biography of Wernher von Braun— 

chief rocket engineer of the Third Reich and creator of the infamous V-2 rocket— 

who became one of the fathers of the U.S. space program. In this meticulously 

researched and vividly written biography, Neufeld portrays a man of profound 

moral complexities, a man glorified as a visionary and vilified as a war criminal, 

a man whose brilliance and charisma were coupled with an enormous and, some 

would say, blinding ambition. 

Space Exploration 2008, by David Harland and Brian Harvey (Praxis, October 2007). 

The aim of the Space Exploration annuals is to provide a yearly update on recent 

space launches, missions, and results, to be published every September. The series 

will cover space exploration from a variety of angles, looking back at past missions, 

reviewing those currently under way, and detailing those planned for the future; it will 

encompass both piloted and robotic spaceflight. 

Human Missions to Mars: Enabling Technologies for Exploring the Red Planet, 

by Donald Rapp (Springer, October 2007). This book looks at human missions to 

Mars from an engineering perspective. It begins by describing the pros and cons of 

robotic exploration versus human exploration and then examines the ideas for sending 

humans to Mars from the point of view of both the enthusiast and the skeptic. 

America in Space: NASA’s First Fifty Years, by Steven Dick, Neil Armstrong, Robert 

Jacobs, Constance Moore, and Bertram Ulrich (Abrams Books, October 2007). Written and edited by a team of experienced NASA staffers and illustrated with many 

unpublished and rare photographs from the voluminous NASA archives scattered 

across the country, America in Space offers an unparalleled vision of half a century of 

exploration and discovery. 

Astronautics: Book 2: To the Moon and Towards the Future, by Ted Spitzmiller 

(Collector’s Guide Publishing, Inc., October 2007). An accessible and elucidating 

account of the events surrounding America’s commitment to land a man on the 

Moon, this followup book demonstrates how that venture shaped the future of space 

exploration. Topics ranging from the Gemini, Voskhod, Soyuz, and Apollo programs 

to the development of the Space Shuttle and the evolution of the International Space 

Station are detailed. The politics and contemporary events of the period and how they 

influenced space exploration are also explored. 

The International Politics of Space, by Michael Sheehan (Routledge, October 2007). 

Michael Sheehan analyzes the space programs of the United States, Russia, China, 

India, and the European Space Agency and explains how central space has become to 

issues of war and peace, international law, justice and international development, and 

cooperation among the world’s leading states. It highlights the significance of China’s 

and India’s commitments to space and explains how the theories and concepts we use 

to describe and explain space are fundamental to the possibility of avoiding conflict 

in space in the future. 

Final Countdown: NASA and the End of the Space Shuttle Program, by Pat Duggins 

(University Press of Florida, October 2007). The Space Shuttle was once the cornerstone of the U.S. space program. However, each new flight brings us one step closer 

to the retirement of the Shuttle in 2010. Final Countdown is the history of NASA’s 

Space Shuttle Program, its missions, and its impending demise. It also examines the 

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VOLUME 24, NUMBER 4 November 2007 

plans and early development of the space agency’s next major effort: the Orion Crew 

Exploration Vehicle. 

The Development of Propulsion Technology for U.S. Space-Launch Vehicles, 1926– 

1991, by J. D. Hunley (Texas A&M University Press, August 2007). In this definitive 

study, J. D. Hunley traces the development from Robert Goddard’s early rockets 

and the German V-2 missile through the Titan IVA and the propulsion system of the 

Space Shuttle. Since these rockets often evolved from early missiles, he pays considerable attention to missile technology, not as an end in itself, but as a contributor 

to launch-vehicle technology. Focusing especially on the engineering culture of the 

program, Hunley communicates this very human side of technological development 

by means of anecdotes, character sketches, and case studies of problems faced by 

rocket engineers. 

New Online Resources 

NASA History Web Sites 

With very significant historical content, NASA has unveiled a new Web site 

devoted to its upcoming 50th anniversary at http://www.nasa.gov/50th/home.html 

online. Special thanks to Nicole Herrmann, Cindy Miller, Eric Myers, and Erika 

Vick for their hard work on this site. 

For those interested in the 50th anniversary of the Space Age, the NASA History 

Division has a site devoted to Sputnik at http://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/ online. 

This site also links to a new multimedia site on this same topic on the main NASA 

Web site. Thanks to Colin Fries for his help with this Sputnik site. 

Mack R. Herring’s Way Station to Space: A History of the John C. Stennis Space 

Center (NASA SP-4310, 1997) is now available at http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4310/ 

sp4310.htm online. Special thanks to Rebecca Strecker for collecting these images 

electronically and to Chris Gamble for formatting this in HTML. 

Harold D. Wallace, Jr.’s Wallops Station and the Creation of an American Space 

Program (NASA SP-4311, 1997) is now available at http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4311/ 

sp4311.htm online. Special thanks to Chris Gamble for scanning and formatting 

this in HTML. 

We have updated our mission patch site to include patches for almost all of the 

individual U.S. human spaceflight missions (including each Shuttle mission). 

Images of most of these patches are available in high resolution. These patches are 

available at http://history.nasa.gov/mission_patches.html online. Thanks to Colin 

Fries for scanning these graphics and setting them up online. 

We have also augmented our section on NASA organizational charts with 

some additional charts, which are available at http://history.nasa.gov/orgcharts/ 

orgcharts.html online. Thanks to Colin Fries for scanning these charts and setting them up online. 

continued on next page 

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New Online Resources (continued) 

Other New Electronic Resources 

The American Historical Association has several new electronic resources available. 

A new database called Directory of History Journals is available at http://www. 

historians.org/pubs/free/journals/ and provides links to more than 350 specialized 

history journals; the database makes it easier for scholars to locate the best journal 

in which to publish their work. 

The AHA site also has a recently updated site for graduate students at http://www. 

historians.org/grads/index.cfm online. 

The University of Central Florida’s Florida Space Coast History Project, established to preserve Florida’s unique space and missile legacy, is now online at 

http://132.170.190.41/cchp/index.html. This digital history project is working to 

construct a three-dimensional virtual replica of Cape Canaveral from the 1950s and 

1960s. The project also is a repository for over 35,000 images. 

New Contracts 

Dr. Michael Meltzer has been awarded a contract to research and write a booklength history of the Cassini spacecraft program, with special emphasis on its 

scientific and international aspects. Dr. Meltzer is the author of Mission to Jupiter: 

A History of the Galileo Project (NASA SP-2007-4231) and a forthcoming NASA 

history book on planetary protection. 

NASA Historic Preservation 

By Tina Norwood 

While NASA’s historic accomplishments in aeronautical research, science, and space 

exploration are well documented, less is known about the buildings and structures that 

supported and enabled these accomplishments.This article is the second in a series that 

provides a brief review of the real property assets that NASA owns and operates across the 

country. Of the many assets that are listed or eligible for listing on the National Register 

of Historic Places, 20 are National Historic Landmarks (NHLs). 

The National Park Service (NPS) manages the National Register of Historic Places 

(NRHP). This includes over 80,000 historic properties: buildings, districts, structures, 

and objects that are important to state or local history. The NRHP contains approximately 2,500 NHLs: the buildings, districts, structures, and objects that are significant 

to America’s history nationally. In 1983, the NPS conducted an NHL Man-in-Space 

Theme Study. This study resulted in the designation of 24 NHLs, 20 of which are currently managed by NASA. 

Though much has been published on the history of the Apollo space program, this series 

focuses on the unique NHL assets and the essential role they played in the success 

of space exploration. This issue features NASA’s Space Environmental Simulation 

Laboratory (SESL). 

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VOLUME 24, NUMBER 4 November 2007 

NASA Space Environmental Simulation Laboratory 

Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas 

By Abdul Hanif 

Most Americans are familiar with the Apollo Control Room, the NHL located within 

Building 30, the Mission Control Center at Johnson Space Center (JSC), Houston, Texas. 

Few people know that JSC has a second NHL, the Space Environmental Simulation 

Laboratory (SESL). The National Park Service designated the SESL an NHL in 1984 

due to its significant association with in the human spaceflight program of the United 

States. The SESL is located in Building 32 at JSC. The SESL NHL is defined “by the 

outside perimeters of both Chambers A and B located within Building 32 at the Lyndon 

B. Johnson Space Center.” 

The National Park Service’s NHL nomination states, 

The SESL was designed, built, and used to conduct thermal-vacuum 

testing for all United States manned spacecraft of the Apollo-era. The large 

size of both chambers in the SESL meant that full scale flight hardware 

could be tested for a variety of design and development problems involving 

such factors as operating temperatures, fluid leak rates, changes in absorptive or emissive properties of thermal coatings and other materials. This 

testing was absolutely essential to man rate flight hardware. The safety of 

the astronauts and the success of the manned space program depended on 

information that resulted from these tests in the SESL. 

Since it was constructed in 1965, the SESL has tested all Apollo command and service modules, Apollo lunar modules, space suits for extravehicular activity, the Skylab/Apollo telescope mount system, various Space 

Shuttle systems, the Apollo/Soyuz docking module, many assembled-inorbit components of the International Space Station, and various large scale 

scientific satellite systems such as the parabolic reflector subsystem of the 

Applications Technology Satellite. The thermal vacuum testing done at the 

SESL since 1965 has been a significant factor contributing to the success 

JSC open house, 2005. Overall view of visitors listening 

to Heather Paul and Amy Ross at the spacesuits exhibit 

in Building 32, with Chamber A’s 40-foot door open in 

the background. (Image Number jsc2005e16878) 

of both the manned and unmanned space 

program of the United States. 

Chamber A possesses several unique features 

and utilizes many subsystems to achieve highfidelity space simulation. Chamber A is a 65­

foot-diameter, stainless steel vessel, having an 

overall height of 120 feet. The diameter was 

established to accommodate the entire Apollo 

Command/Service Module. It was designed 

to support a weight of 150,000 pounds in a 

vertical position on a 45-foot-diameter rotating platform (lunar plane). The lunar plane 

surface temperature can be controlled from 

100 to 400 kelvins. The temperature extremes 

are created by liquid-nitrogen panels and electrical resistance integrated into the chamber, 

continued on next page 

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NASA HISTORY DIVISION

NASA Historic Preservation (continued) 

while the vacuum system can create a pressure of 1 x 10-6 torr, which is equivalent 

to 650,000 feet of altitude. 

Chamber B is one-tenth the volume of Chamber A. It has the same basic capability as Chamber A and can accommodate a variety of smaller scale tests more 

economically and with faster responses. Chamber B has systems to provide the 

capability to insert a suited crew person into the simulated space environment. A 

dual manlock provides easy access to the test articles as well as a means of supInterior view of Chamber A with Apollo spacecraft, 1968. 

(Image Number S68-34450) 

porting and transporting test subjects to the test 

environment and back during manned tests. The 

manlock can also be used as an altitude chamber 

for independent tests. 

The first Apollo tests began in May 1966. The SESL 

was utilized over the next four decades for thermal-vacuum testing of large, complex spacecraft 

subsystems. In the early 1970s, the chambers supported tests associated with the Skylab Program. 

By the end of the 1970s, they were used less and less. 

Chamber A was deactivated in 1982. However, it 

was reactivated in 1988 as part of the return-to-flight 

effort following the loss of Challenger. Currently, 

both chambers are maintained at operational readiness and are used in support of the Space Shuttle, 

Space Station, and advanced programs. They have 

been active contributors to testing large hardware 

systems and subsystems ever since. 

At the time of the NHL nomination, the major 

structural elements were, and still are, the rotatable floor, the 40-foot-diameter single-hinged 

access door, and the dual manlocks at the floor 

level and at the 31-foot level. Approved modifications are currently under way to remove solar 

simulation modules and the lunar plane to support testing of the James Webb Space Telescope 

(JWST). According to Mary Halligan, SESL 

Facility Manager, NASA obtained approval in 

2005 to make the modifications. She states, “At 

first we worried that it would not be possible to 

make major modifications to Chamber A since 

it’s a National Historic Landmark. Yet, we were 

pleased to learn that the regulators are supportive 

of the continued use of landmarks. They understand that major modifications are needed for 

highly specialized facilities.” John Speed, JWST 

Systems Engineer at JSC, was also pleased with 

the outcome of the consultation process. 

Compliance with the National Historic Preservation 

Act (NHPA) is required when projects, called 

High-angle interior view of Chamber A showing 

three astronauts preparing to enter the Block II 

Thermal Vacuum Test Article in 1969. 

(Image Number S68-37430) 

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VOLUME 24, NUMBER 4 November 2007 

undertakings, may adversely affect properties that are listed or eligible for listing on 

the NRHP. The NHPA is governed by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation 

(ACHP) in Washington, DC, with regulatory oversight the responsibility of State 

Historic Preservation Officers (SHPOs). In the case of Texas, the Texas SHPO is 

the commissioner of the Texas Historical Commission (THC). In consultation 

conducted in accordance with the NHPA, NASA agreed to prepare a Historic 

American Building Survey (HABS). Perri Fox, JSC’s Historic Preservation Officer, 

explains, “HABS provides recordation that is often prepared of an historic property 

before it is modified or demolished. It provides a standardized recordation protocol 

of facilities and structures for future NASA architects and engineers.” As Derek 

Satchell, THC Project Reviewer, emphasizes, “HABS is an acceptable option in this 

case for NASA to document the technical and historic uniqueness of this resource 

and still accommodate future use. In doing so, it reinforces the collaborative effort 

between the THC and the Johnson Space Center.” 

New Historic Preservation Officer at Wallops 

By Tina Norwood 

Welcome aboard to Paul Neidinger, the new Historic Preservation Officer at the NASA 

Goddard Space Flight Center Wallops Flight Facility. Paul Neidinger comes to Wallops 

from the National Park Service, where he served since 1991 as a historical architect 

working out of the National Park Service Southwest and Intermountain Regions in 

Santa Fe, New Mexico. He also served as a staff architect for the Historic Preservation 

Training Center in Frederick, Maryland, before making a transition to the southwest 

again. Through the Center, he was involved in the restoration of many buildings, including two lighthouse lantern rooms at St. Simons Island, Georgia, and Pensacola Light 

in Florida. He contributed to the Historic Lighthouse Preservation Handbook and was 

a team member of the condition assessment program for the historic lighthouses of the 

United States Coast Guard. He holds a master’s degree in architecture and an undergraduate degree in environmental design from Texas A&M University. 

For more information, please contact authors Tina Borghild Norwood, NASA 

Federal Preservation Officer, at tnorwood@hq.nasa.gov, or Abdul Hanif, Real 

Property Specialist, JSC, at Abdulaziz.hanif-1@nasa.gov. 

Other History News 

News from the National Air and Space Museum 

Michael J. Neufeld, Chair of NASM’s Space History Division, has just published 

Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007). 

The book has received quite favorable advance reviews, including one in the 

Washington Post. Derived from this work are several papers he has published or will 

be presenting at scholarly conferences. “Wernher von Braun’s Ultimate Weapon,” 

an abridgement of a Space Policy article that appeared last year, appeared in the 

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (July–August 2007, pp. 50–57, 78). At the International 

Astronautical Congress in Hyderabad, India, in late September, Neufeld presented 

“Wernher von Braun and the Lunar-Orbit-Rendezvous Decision: Finding a Way 

to Go to the Moon.” At the NASA-NASM Space History Division conference 

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NASA HISTORY DIVISION

Other History News (continued) 

“Remembering the Space Age” in October, he gave a talk on “Creating a Memory 

of the German Rocket Program for the Cold War.” He was in a session with a 

recent Guggenheim Predoctoral Fellow in Space History, Monique Laney of the 

University of Kansas, who spoke on “Operation Paperclip in Huntsville, Alabama.” 

Also at that conference, Space History curators Martin Collins and Cathy Lewis 

spoke on “A Second Nature Rising: Spaceflight in a Time of Representation” and 

on “Cosmonaut Representation in Film,” respectively; Roger Launius was active as 

co-organizer and as session chair. 

Roger Launius has recently published “Human Spaceflight and the Foundation 

of USAF-NASA Relationships,” in Wayne Fessey and Jacob Neufeld, editors, 

United States Air Force: Founding Centennial & 60th Anniversary, 1907—1947—2007 

(Essex, U.K.: Times Group, 2007, pp. 183–188); “Is There a Borg in Our Future?” in 

Ad Astra 19 (fall 2007, pp. 26–27), with Howard E. McCurdy (a short article exploring the debate over humans and robots in space and possible futures); “Viewpoint: 

A Significant Moment for the Space Age,” in Space Policy 23 (August 2007, pp. 

141–143) (discussing how anniversaries offer opportunities not only to celebrate and 

commemorate a significant event, but also to reflect on larger meanings and consider 

the place of the events and their actors in the larger fabric of modern society); and 

“Robots and Humans in Space Flight: Technology, Evolution, and Interplanetary 

Travel,” in Technology in Society 29 (August 2007, pp. 271–282), with Howard E. 

McCurdy (exploring the history and possible future for human/robotic spaceflight; 

one area in which all spaceflight visionaries failed to make meaningful predictions 

was in the rapidly advancing capabilities of robotics and electronics). 

Roger Launius has also been elected a member of the International Academy of 

Astronautics (IAA). Founded in Stockholm on 16 August 1960, this organization 

includes the world’s foremost experts in the disciplines of astronautics, who explore 

and discuss cutting-edge issues in space research and technology and provide direction and guidance in the nonmilitary uses of space and the ongoing exploration of 

the solar system. The purposes of the IAA are to foster the development of astronautics for peaceful purposes, recognize individuals who have distinguished themselves 

in a branch of science or technology related to astronautics, and provide a program 

through which the membership can contribute to international endeavors and 

cooperation in the advancement of aerospace science, in cooperation with national 

science or engineering academies. Membership is highly selective, with only 1,213 

full and corresponding members. 

Paul Ceruzzi, Martin Collins, and Roger Launius participated in “Artefacts XII,” 

an annual international seminar organized by the Smithsonian, the Science Museum 

(London), and the Deutsches Museum to examine the relationship of museums and 

the history of science and technology. This year’s meeting, held 16–18 September 

2007, was in Oslo, Norway. Launius presented a research paper; Collins chaired a 

session and, because of a family emergency, presented Paul Ceruzzi’s paper. 

Paul Ceruzzi also was the chair of the Program Committee for the Society for 

the History of Technology (SHOT) Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, 18–21 

October 2007; at it, several curators each from the Space History and Aeronautics 

Divisions presented papers, chaired sessions, or commented. He has two books 

forthcoming in 2008: Internet Alley: High Technology in Tysons Corner, 1945–2005 

and The Internet and American Business, the latter edited with William Aspray, 

both published by MIT Press. 

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VOLUME 24, NUMBER 4 November 2007 

David DeVorkin and Roger Launius, along with James Fleming of Colby College 

in Maine, organized a symposium at the Smithsonian’s S. Dillon Ripley Center, 

“Making Science Global: Reconsidering the Social and Intellectual Implications of 

the International Polar and Geophysical Years,” held 31 October–1 November 2007, 

just before the History of Science Society (HSS) conference in Crystal City. In addition, David DeVorkin has been honored by the American Astronomical Society’s 

Historical Astronomy Division with the 2008 LeRoy E. Doggett Prize for all his 

contributions to the history of astronomy. 

NASM’s new Lindbergh Chair (2007–08) is Dr. Robert W. Farquhar, retired from the 

Principal Staff of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory’s (JHU/ 

APL) Space Department. Dr. Farquhar’s research interests have focused on the dynamics, control, and use of libration-point satellites. He has served as the Flight Director for 

a number of deep space missions including the first mission to a comet (ISEE-3/ICE) and 

the first mission to a near-Earth asteroid (Near-Earth Asteroid Rendezvous, or NEAR). 

He is working on a memoir of his experience in space science. 

Space History also has two predoctoral Guggenheim fellows in 2007–08. Matthew 

Tribbe, University of Texas at Austin, was in residence June–August 2007. His topic is 

“Apollo and American Culture.” Matthew Hersch is in residence at NASM during the 

2007–08 academic year. He is working on a dissertation at the University of Pennsylvania 

entitled “SPACEWORK: Labor and Culture in America’s Astronaut Corps, 1969–1985.” 

The National Geographic Society recently released a new book that Von Hardesty, 

Aeronautics Division, coauthored with Gene Eisman: Epic Rivalry: The Inside Story 

of the Soviet and American Space Race. This new overview of the space race gives 

balanced attention to the American and Soviet space programs, and it includes a 

foreword by Sergei Khrushchev. Hardesty has also edited (with a new concluding 

chapter) a revised version of Milestones of Aviation, which will appear later this year. 

For a collaborative effort by the Smithsonian and HarperCollins, he has written Black 

Wings: Courageous Stories of African Americans in Aviation and Space History, with a 

foreword by astronaut Fred Gregory, a book scheduled to appear next February to 

coincide with Black History Month. 

On a separate front, John Anderson and Von Hardesty continue to work as editors 

for the Centennial of Flight series with the Cambridge University Press, with plans 

to publish a new book by Asif Siddiqi in the near term. 

For the Sputnik 50th anniversary on 4 October 2007, Margaret Weitekamp, Space 

History, and David DeVorkin worked on a new pylon mini-exhibit for the Sputnik 

and Explorer satellites to be installed in the main Milestones of Flight hall in the 

Museum. For the anniversary and thereafter for six months to a year, the Sputnik 

1 and Explorer 1 satellite models have been moved to the center of Milestones and 

placed there with a special anniversary banner. They will return to their original 

hanging positions in Milestones later. 

Finally, in mid-November, NASM will be opening a major new gallery, America by 

Air, curated by Bob van der Linden, Aeronautics Division Chair, in a complete reinterpretation of the old Air Transportation Gallery. It covers the history of airlines 

from their origins to the present and includes as its most spectacular new addition 

the nose section of a Northwest Airlines Boeing 747, with a walkway to allow visitors 

to see the cockpit and upper deck. NASA was a major donor for this exhibition. 

continued on next page 

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NASA HISTORY DIVISION

Other History News (continued) 

News from the American Astronautical Society’s 

History Committee 

The 2006 Emme Award for Astronautical Literature goes to Peter J. Westwick for Into 

the Black—JPL and the American Space Program, 1976–2004 (Yale University Press). 

Maura P. Mackowski receives an Honorable Mention for Testing the Limits—Aviation 

Medicine and the Origins of Manned Space Flight (Texas A&M University Press). 

The ABC-CLIO/American Astronautical Society (AAS) space history encyclopedia 

project, Space Exploration and Humanity: A Historical Encyclopedia, is now 84 

percent complete. Editorial work is scheduled to be completed on the project early 

next year to achieve publication next fall. While there is quite a bit of work yet to 

do (including writing, editing, and reviewing), “we can see the light at the end of the 

tunnel and have decided that it really isn’t an oncoming train!” says general editor 

Stephen Johnson. If any historians would like to volunteer to help complete the 

project, please contact Johnson at stephen.b.johnson@nasa.gov or 719-487-9833. 

The AAS History Committee publishes its Explorer newsletter quarterly. To 

receive Explorer via e-mail, send a message to michael.l.ciancone@nasa.gov. You 

will receive confirmation that your e-mail address has been added to the AAS 

History Committee’s e-mail list for the newsletter. 

Obituaries 

Charles T. Force 

NASA notes with sadness the passing in August of Charles T. Force, former Associate 

Administrator for the Agency’s Office of Space Communications. 

Force left NASA in May 1996 after an aerospace career that spanned more than four 

decades. He joined NASA in 1965 as director of the Guam tracking station used to 

support the Apollo lunar landings. He would later go on to help develop, construct, 

and employ NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, known as TDRSS. 

The users of TDRSS read like a who’s who of the space program. Programs such as 

the Hubble Space Telescope and Landsat relay their observations to their respective 

mission control centers through the network. 

In a 1992 op-ed in the Washington Post, Force complimented NASA and its employees, writing, “[I]ts [NASA’s] accomplishments are unequaled and attest to its people 

forming one of the most capable and effective teams ever assembled.” 

Force assisted Sunny Tsiao in his research and writing of a NASA History manuscript about tracking and communications satellites. In fact, before he died, Force 

wrote a notable foreword for Tsiao’s forthcoming book on NASA’s Spaceflight 

Tracking and Data Network (STDN), which will be published in early 2008. 

A native of Shoals, Indiana, Force was a 1957 graduate of Purdue University. He was 

72 years old at the time of his death. For more information about Force, please see 

http://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/force_obit.html and http://www.nasa.gov/home/ 

hqnews/1996/96-88.txt online. 

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VOLUME 24, NUMBER 4 November 2007 

Dr. W. David Lewis 

Distinguished University Professor of History 

By Professor Anthony Carey of Auburn University 

Dr. W. David Lewis passed away on 28 September 2007. 

He was born on 24 June 1931 in Towanda, Pennsylvania. He took his B.A. and M.A. 

degrees from Pennsylvania State University, and he completed his Ph.D. at Cornell 

University in 1961. 

Dr. Lewis came to Auburn University in 1971 as the Hudson Professor of History 

and Engineering. He founded Auburn’s History of Technology program and pioneered the teaching of technology and civilization in the core curriculum. He also 

helped found what became the Human Odyssey program, and he was instrumental 

in the creation of an honors program that has grown into an Honors College. Since 

1994, he was a Distinguished University Professor. Over several decades, David 

played a critical role in hiring department heads and faculty who have led the 

History Department and built its reputation. As Athletic Director Emeritus David 

Housel wrote, “David was a good man, and I have always thought that in many ways 

he revolutionized the teaching of history at Auburn.” 

Dr. Lewis authored or edited 13 books and published dozens of smaller pieces, as 

well as giving scores of talks around the globe. Among his best-known books were 

acclaimed studies of New York prisons in the early 19th century, of Delta Airlines, of 

Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham, and of Eddie Rickenbacker. His honors and awards 

are too numerous to mention in full. Among them, he was the Charles A. Lindbergh 

Professor of Aerospace History at the National Air and Space Museum and he won 

the Leonardo da Vinci Medal from the Society for the History of Technology. 

Saying that David was enthusiastic about his work is like saying that Mount 

Everest is high. He once said that he became involved in the history of technology 

through “serendipity,” since it did not exist as an organized field at the time that 

he attended graduate school. Early in his career, he associated with giants such 

as Alfred D. Chandler and Melvin Kranzberg, the former a famous historian of 

business and the latter the recognized founder of the field of history of technology. 

Whatever research or teaching David was doing at the moment was the most exciting project ever undertaken. His friends vividly recall papers that he delivered 30 

or 40 years ago; they describe him jumping up and down, gesticulating broadly, 

and generally acting like a man who had discovered the best stories ever and could 

not wait to tell them. 

1

NASA HISTORY DIVISION

Calls for Papers


Society for History in the Federal Government 

2008 Meeting 

The Society for History in the Federal Government (SHFG) is accepting proposals 

for individual papers or panels on any aspect of federal government history. SHFG 

welcomes submissions from historians, graduate students, archivists, librarians, 

curators, and others, regardless of whether they are federal employees. The SHFG 

annual meeting will be held on Thursday, 13 March 2008, at the National Archives 

and Records Administration (NARA) in College Park, Maryland. The deadline for 

proposals is 1 December 2007. Please mail proposals to 2008 Program Committee, 

Society for History in the Federal Government, Box 14139, Ben Franklin Station, 

Washington, DC 20044, or via e-mail to shfgannualconference@yahoo.com. 

Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly 

David Arnold, editor of Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly, is seeking 

articles for publication. For more about the journal, see http://www.spacebusiness. 

com/quest/. Dr. Arnold sent a note to the editorial board indicating that he has a terrific issue coming together for the 50th anniversary of the Space Age but is looking 

for additional items relative both to the anniversary and to other non-anniversaryrelated topics for the fall 2007 issue as well as other issues. If you have possible 

articles for publication or know of people who might have articles about ready for 

publication, please contact Dr. Arnold at historyofspace@aol.com. 

International Test and Evaluation Association Journal 

The Journal of the International Test and Evaluation Association (ITEA) is looking for history articles. Each quarter, there is a column entitled “Historical 

Perspectives” involving short historical sketches of up to 1,200 words, with three 

or four photographs to accompany them. Longer historical pieces have also been 

published in the main part of the journal about subjects of special interest to the 

association. 

The subject matter for these columns has been intentionally broad. The editors 

are appealing to a wide range of test and evaluation (T&E) practitioners—not 

so much professional historians—so it is important to publish subjects that are 

varied and novel to keep the readers interested. The journal has done one article 

about an incident involving flight testing during World War I, another on truck 

fairing tests designed to increase fuel economy during the energy crisis of the 

1970s, and a third on the human factors—not just the machinery—involved in 

the near-fatal crash of a pilot of one of the NASA lifting bodies. All have endnotes and, although short, offer good scholarship to pique further reading and 

fresh perspectives. 

All periods of history are open, and T&E is defined liberally: in the modern sense 

of complex, computerized experiments, but also the much less complex T&E as 

understood in earlier periods. For example, articles can be about specific aircraft 

(or subsystem) tests, influential individuals in the field of testing, technological 

turning points, or unique supporting subjects (for instance, the T&E of airline 

2


NASA History Division
VOLUME 24, NUMBER 4 November 2007 

food!). It can also be a first-person account. Moreover, submissions need not be 

dominated solely by test and evaluation; ideally, they will feature T&E in some 

broader context. 

Finally, the journal is informal in its editorial process. The journal gives the 

historical editor wide latitude to find submissions, so once he makes contact with 

a potential author and hashes out a subject, it is very likely that it will indeed be 

published. For more information, please contact Michael Gorn, Ph.D., NASA 

Dryden Flight Research Center, at michael.gorn@dfrc.nasa.gov. 

Upcoming Meetings and Events 

3–6 January 2008, the American Historical Association will hold its annual meeting 

in Washington, DC. Please see http://wwww.historians.org/annual/2008/index.cfm for 

more information. 

5–6 March 2008, the annual Goddard Memorial Symposium, sponsored by the 

American Astronautical Society, will be held in Greenbelt, Maryland. Please see 

http://www.astronautical.org for more information. 

13 March 2008, the Society for History in the Federal Government (SHFG) annual 

meeting will be held at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) 

in College Park, Maryland. For more information, please see http://www.shfg.org or 

e-mail shfgannualconference@yahoo.com. 

29 March–1 April 2008, the next Mutual Concerns of Air and Space Museums will 

be held in Washington, DC. The meeting will be held at the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel, 

with a day of sessions at the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. UdvarHazy Center. For more information, please see http://www.nasm.si.edu/getinvolved/ 

mutualconcerns/. 

10–13 April 2008, the National Council on Public History will hold its annual meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. Please see http://www.ncph.org/2008annualmtg.html for 

more information. 

The National Academy of Science and National Research Council’s Space Studies 

Board (SSB) is sponsoring an international public seminar series through 2007 and 

2008 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the International Geophysical Year 

and the establishment of the SSB. Please see http://www7.nationalacademies.org/ssb/ 

International_Public_Seminar_Series.html for more information. 



Recent Images


Among the recent visitors to the NASA History Division were Hans Mark, Deputy 

Administrator of NASA from 1981 to 1984, and historian Walter McDougall from 

the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Mark is working on his memoirs. Professor 

McDougall won the Pulitzer Prize in History for 1986 and was preparing for his 

participation in events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Space Age. 

Steve Dick with Dr. Hans Mark. 

Steve with Professor Walter McDougall. 

Administrator Michael Griffin, shown with JSC oral historian 

Rebecca Wright, admiring his personal copy of A Child’s First 

Book of Stars by Sy Barlowe. The book, published in 1953, set 

him on his course to astronautics. 

Rebecca Wright, Administrator Griffin, and Sandra Johnson. 

Rebecca and Sandra interviewed the Administrator for the NASA 

at 50 Oral History Project, sponsored by the NASA History Division. 

4


NASA HISTORY DIVISION NASA History Division
VOLUME 24, NUMBER 4 November 2007 

The NASA History Division, under the Office of External Relations, NASA 

Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546, publishes News and Notes quarterly. 

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Leave the subject line blank. In the text portion, simply type “subscribe history” 

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been added to the list for the newsletter and for receiving other announcements. For 

more information about our listserv, please see http://history.nasa.gov/listserv.html on 

the Web. We also post the latest issue of this newsletter at http://history.nasa.gov/nltrc. 

html on the Web. 

Do you have more questions about NASA history in general? Please check out 

our NASA History Division Home Page at http://history.nasa.gov on the Web. For 

information about doing research in the NASA History Division, please e-mail us at 

histinfo@hq.nasa.gov or call 202-358-0384. 

We also welcome comments about the content and format of this newsletter. Please 

send comments to Steve Garber, newsletter editor, at stephen.j.garber@nasa.gov. 

NASA Headquarters History Division Staff Contact Information: 

Steven J. Dick, Chief Historian steven.j.dick@nasa.gov 

202-358-0383 

Nadine Andreassen, Program Support Specialist nadine.j.andreassen@nasa.gov 

202-358-0087 

Colin Fries, Archivist cfries@mail.hq.nasa.gov 

202-358-0388 

Stephen Garber, Historian stephen.j.garber@nasa.gov 

202-358-0385 

John Hargenrader, Archivist jhargenr@mail.hq.nasa.gov 

202-358-0387 

Jane Odom, Chief Archivist jane.h.odom@nasa.gov 

202-358-0386 

Elizabeth Suckow, Archivist elizabeth.suckow-1@nasa.gov 

202-358-0375 

Created and produced by the following: 

Steve Garber, NASA Headquarters History Division 

Lisa Jirousek, Editor, NASA Headquarters Communications Support Service Center 

Steve Bradley, Designer, NASA Headquarters Communications Support Service Center 

Dave Dixon, Printing Specialist, NASA Headquarters Communications Support Service Center 

Trenita Williams, Mail Coordinator, NASA Headquarters Mail Room 

Carl Paul, Distribution, NASA Headquarters Communications Support Service Center 





NASA HISTORY DIVISION 

National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration 

NASA HISTORY DIVISION 

Office of External Relations 

Washington, DC 20546 

http://www.nasa.gov

http://history.nasa.gov