National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration

continued on next page continued on page 3

FROM

THE CHIEF 

HISTORIAN

NASA HISTORY PROGRAM OFFICE

OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS

Volume 33, Number 1 First Quarter 2016

During the first working week of 

this year I was in San 

Diego. No, I wasn’t on 

vacation enjoying fine 

weather; in fact, there was a nasty El Niño 

storm that lasted for the four days I was in 

town. But the uncharacteristically wet weather 

didn’t put a damper on my enthusiasm for the 

trip. I was there for the meeting of the History 

Technical Committee of the American Institute 

for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) at 

the annual SciTech Forum and Exposition. 

The History Technical Committee had one of 

the most robust sets of sessions that we’ve seen 

in a long time—largely due to the superlative 

efforts of committee member Kevin Burns. 

Burns served as the history track chair for 

SciTech this year, and his months of coaxing, 

cajoling, and organizing paid off handsomely. 

Of particular note were two extraordinary sessions about Boeing. This year, 2016, is the 

centennial of the founding of Boeing, and the 

company was extremely well represented—

both on the speaker’s podium and in the (overflowing) audience. I had the honor of being 

a last-minute substitute on the closing panel 

LANGLEY RETIREE RECEIVES 

PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM

By Gail Langevin

On 24 November 2015, Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson received the nation’s highest civilian award—the Presidential Medal of Freedom—from 

President Barack Obama. The citation reads in part, “Katherine G. Johnson is a 

pioneer in American space history. A NASA mathematician, Johnson’s computations have influenced every major space program from Mercury through the 

Shuttle program.”

Katherine Coleman was born into 

a farming family in 1918 in White 

Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Her 

parents believed strongly in the value of 

a good education. When their children 

completed the eighth grade—the highest grade offered at the school in White 

Sulphur Springs for African Americans—

Johnson’s mother and the children moved 

across the state to Institute, West Virginia. 

In Institute were a high school and West 

Virginia State College, both of which 

accepted African American students. 

During the school year, Johnson, her 

mother, and her siblings lived in Institute, 

while her father remained in White Sulfur 

Springs, working on the farm to support 

the family.

IN THIS ISSUE:

1 From the Chief Historian

1 Langley Retiree Receives 

Presidential Medal of Freedom

5 News from Headquarters and the 

Centers

16 Other Aerospace History News

17 Recent Publications and Online 

Resources

23 Upcoming Events

24 Obituaries

27 Image in NASA History
2

NASA HISTORY PROGRAM OFFICE — News & Notes

discussion about Boeing’s history. Although having 

to fill in for the legendary Smithsonian curator Tom 

Crouch was intimidating, I did have the advantage 

of having some operational experience with Boeing 

products. (I flew the KC-135 during my Air Force 

career.) The panel turned out to be great fun, and I 

was especially delighted to see the enthusiasm with 

which Boeing management is embracing the company’s history during this centennial year.

Another organization celebrating its centennial this 

year is Aviation Week and Space Technology. We were 

thrilled to have Editor-in-Chief Joe Anselmo join the 

panel on aerospace archives. (This panel was arranged 

by my friend and colleague from Armstrong Flight 

Research Center, Cam Martin.) Joe’s talk on the 

archives at Aviation Week went far beyond your normal recitation about cubic feet of files, finding aids, 

and gigabits of data. He actually gave us a live preview 

of the new online archive of “every issue, every article, 

every ad” published by Aviation Week over the last 

century. The online archive became available to the 

public the next day, and it includes scanned, searchable PDFs of every magazine published by Aviation 

Week in the last century. While access to the written 

content is fascinating, the advertising and the covers of the magazine (especially the art deco–inspired 

cover art in the 1930s) drew the most oohs and ahhs 

from the crowd at the panel. The browsing interface 

(arranged by decade) was also a very popular feature. 

For 2016, access to the online archive is free thanks 

to sponsorship by Boeing. If you don’t already have 

a subscription to Aviation Week, you will have to set 

up a login, but after that, you are free to wander. See 

http://archive.aviationweek.com/. This is a tremendous 

research tool for those of us interested in aerospace 

history. It is also (I’ll warn you) an all-too-tempting 

way to spend your time browsing—you might want to 

set yourself a timer before you start. I had to.

There was a lot to do at SciTech in addition to 

attending panels. Two highlights stand out in particular. First, at the awards luncheon, NASA’s own 

Dr. Alex MacDonald was presented with the History 

Manuscript Award for his doctoral dissertation entitled “The Long Space Age: An Economic Perspective 

on the History of American Space Exploration.” (A 

book version of the dissertation is currently in work.) 

Second, despite having to battle flash flood waters 

the day before, the very energetic and hospitable 

folks at the San Diego Air and Space Museum hosted 

members of the History Technical Committee for a 

behind-the-scenes tour of the museum and archives. 

Special thanks to Katrina Pescador, Director of 

Library and Archives at the museum, for arranging 

the visit, and also for showing us the remarkable 

work that she and her team are doing with their 

image and film collection on Flickr and YouTube. 

You can check it out here: http://sandiegoairandspace.

org/research/project/digitizing-the-still-and-movingimage-collection. This is another one of those links 

that should come with a “Danger: This Is Incredibly 

Distracting” warning.

In addition to all of these online distractions, I hope 

you will enjoy this quarter’s issue of News and Notes. 

With this issue, we welcome Andres Almeida to our 

editorial team. I’m sure you’ll enjoy what he, Yvette 

Smith, and our printing and design team from 

Media Fusion have to offer you this quarter.

Until next time, Godspeed,

William P. Barry

Chief Historian

From the Chief Historian (continued)
3

Volume 33, Number 1 First Quarter 2016

Langley Retiree Receives Presidential Medal of Freedom (continued)

As a child, Johnson enjoyed learning and numbers. 

Her pursuit of these two activities eventually took her 

from segregated West Virginia to the White House 

via the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics 

(NACA) and NASA.

Johnson’s love of learning and her exceptional abilities 

enabled her to graduate from high school at the age 

of 15. After high school, she continued her education 

at West Virginia State College. Dr. William Claytor, 

a mathematics professor, took note of her ability in 

mathematics and encouraged her to major in the subject. She took all the math classes offered, and Dr. 

Claytor developed a course in analytical geometry 

for her. She graduated summa cum laude from West 

Virginia State College at the age of 18 with a bachelor 

of science degree in both mathematics and French.

After college, Johnson taught school until she met 

and married her husband, James Goble, and started 

a family. In 1940, Johnson was invited back to West 

Virginia State College for graduate study. When her 

husband became ill with cancer, she dropped out of 

graduate school and began teaching to support their 

three daughters. In 1952, while on a family trip to 

Newport News, Virginia, she learned that the NACA’s 

Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory was hiring 

women—including African American women—with 

mathematics degrees. The position offered was that of 

“computer”—a person who performed mathematical 

calculations.

Prior to the advent of electronic computers, computing was a profession. People known as computers 

worked through complex mathematical calculations 

for a variety of businesses and scientific efforts. At 

Langley, beginning in the mid-1930s, women with 

mathematics degrees were hired to perform the thousands of calculations that were needed to turn raw 

wind tunnel and research data into usable mathematical information. A computer’s salary was more than 

that of a teacher, but less than that of a usually male 

junior engineer. It was also thought at the time that 

women made excellent computers because they would 

be more accurate when performing repeated calculations. At Langley, women performed calculations 

using special mechanical calculators, usually manufactured by Friden, Inc.

In contrast to some other places of employment, 

women could work as computers at Langley even 

if they were married and had children. This aspect 

of working at Langley helped Johnson support her 

family as her husband’s health deteriorated and he 

succumbed to cancer in 1956.

When she applied for the computer position in 1952, 

she was told that all the positions were filled. However, 

During a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on 24 November 

2015, President Barack Obama presents former NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson with the 

Presidential Medal of Freedom as professional baseball player Willie Mays, right, looks on. (Photo 

credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)
4

NASA HISTORY PROGRAM OFFICE — News & Notes

when positions were available in 1953, she was hired. 

Although Langley was a federal laboratory, it followed 

the segregation laws of Virginia in its early years. 

Therefore, Johnson was assigned to a computing pool 

composed of African American women, known as 

the West Area Computers. 

Raw data were brought to 

the computer pool supervisor, who assigned the 

work to individual computers. Work was assigned 

the same way for the separate group of white computers. Some tunnels and 

research groups had their 

own pools of computers.

Johnson soon moved out of 

the West Area Computers 

and was assigned to the 

Flight Mechanics Branch 

in the Aero-Space Mechanics Division, supporting 

both aeronautics and spaceflight research. When 

the NACA became NASA, Johnson was reclassified 

as an aerospace technologist. In 1959, she married 

Lieutenant Colonel James Johnson, a Korean War 

veteran to whom her minister introduced her. After 

becoming Mrs. Johnson, she continued her remarkable career. She asked to join the branch meetings 

during which current research was discussed. These 

meetings were usually only attended by engineers, so 

at first her request was refused. She persisted and was 

eventually allowed to attend the meetings.

Her abilities were recognized by the group of engineers 

that she supported. So accurate was her work and 

so highly rated were her abilities that she was asked 

to calculate the trajectory for Alan Shepard’s 1961 

Mercury flight—the first flight for an American into 

space. John Glenn’s 1962 Mercury flight was the first 

orbital spaceflight for an American and the first to be 

calculated by an electronic computer. Glenn asked for 

Johnson to check the computer’s calculations, just to 

be sure. Her other notable calculations included those 

for the flight of Apollo 11 and navigational charts 

for astronauts.

Unusually for the time, Johnson appears as coauthor 

for a number of technical notes and papers published in the NASA technical report system. She 

is the second author on 

NASA TN D-233, “The 

Determination of Azimuth 

Angle at Burnout for Placing 

a Satellite over a Selected 

Earth Position,” published 

in 1960.

In the 1970s, Langley was 

reorganized, and Johnson 

worked in the Flight 

Mechanics Branch of the 

Flight Dynamics and 

Control Division. In 1982, 

Katherine Johnson is shown at her desk around the time that she calculated the trajectory for Alan 

Shepard’s flight and checked the calculations for John Glenn’s flight. The globelike object on her desk 

is a celestial training device to aid in celestial navigation. (Photo credit: NASA)

SO ACCURATE WAS HER 

WORK AND SO HIGHLY 

RATED WERE HER ABILITIES 

THAT SHE WAS ASKED TO 

CALCULATE THE TRAJECTORY 

FOR ALAN SHEPARD’S 1961 

MERCURY FLIGHT—THE FIRST 

FLIGHT FOR AN AMERICAN 

INTO SPACE.
5

Volume 33, Number 1 First Quarter 2016

she moved to the Spacecraft Controls Branch in the 

Flight Dynamics and Control Division. In 1986, 

Johnson retired from NASA after a 33-year career.

During her retirement, Johnson supported activities 

and events to encourage young people to pursue 

science, technology, engineering, and mathematics 

in school and as a career. She appeared with former 

astronaut and Associate Administrator for Education 

Leland Melvin at NASA events to reach out to the 

next generation of explorers.

Johnson received several group awards and recognitions during her NACA and NASA career. Recognition 

of her outstanding accomplishments continues.

In May 2015, NASA Langley broke ground for a 

new 40,000-square-foot Computational Research 

Facility. In January 2016, this facility was named after 

Katherine Johnson.

The Charleston [West Virginia] Gazette-Mail named 

Katherine Johnson its West Virginian of Year on 26 

December 2015.

Johnson, her daughters, and her grandchildren traveled to the White House for the ceremony, in which 

President Barack Obama presented the medal to 

Johnson personally—a well-deserved honor for an 

extraordinary person.

NEWS FROM HEADQUARTERS AND THE CENTERS

NASA HEADQUARTERS

Washington, DC

History Program Office

By Bill Barry

This year will be a busy one for the NASA History Program Office. In addition to adjusting to the 

new communication processes established by the 

NASA Communications Coordinating Council 

(which I discussed in this article last quarter), this 

spring we are implementing a new online system to 

manage the history publications process. Steve Garber 

has led the charge in working with a commercial vendor to customize their off-the-shelf project-management software for our purposes. The changeover is 

likely to be a bumpy path as we work out the details. 

However, the ultimate result will bring us into the 

21st century in terms of how we plan and manage our 

publication work.

Nonetheless, you should expect to see a continuing 

flow of new publications from the History Program 

this spring. The long-delayed Historical Studies in the 

Societal Impact of Spaceflight, edited by Steve Dick, 

should be available as this newsletter arrives in your 

hands (or on your screen). Later this spring, we will 

release volume 2 of Walking to Olympus: An EVA 

Chronology, 1997–2011, by Julie Ta and Robert Treviño. 

This is a continuation of the summary of spacewalks 

begun in volume 1 in 1997. Also in the near-term 

pipeline is Making the Invisible Visible: A History of 

the Spitzer Infrared Telescope Facility, 1971–2003, by 

Renee Rottner and Christine Beckman. We’ve got 

a great lineup of works to follow later this year. So, 

despite the turbulence in our processes that I expect 

as we transition to our new publication-management 

software, there will be no shortage of great new NASA 

history publications for you to read this year.

We are also currently working hard on the annual 

NASA History Program Review, coming up from 10 

to 11 May. This year, I’m delighted that this annual 

meeting of all of those involved in NASA history and 

archival matters will be held at Goddard Space Flight 

Center in Maryland. Our colleagues at Goddard 

initiated their archival program last fall. Our Chief 

Archivist, Jane Odom, did an outstanding job helping 
6

NASA HISTORY PROGRAM OFFICE — News & Notes

Holly McIntyre-Dewitt get the archival effort off to 

a running start while Jane was on detail to Goddard. 

The willingness of McIntyre-Dewitt (and her bosses) 

to host the rest of the Agency’s historians and archivists is a testament to the great progress she has made 

already. Our own Nadine Andreassen will be working 

closely with our neighbors at Goddard to pull all of 

the logistical details of the meeting together this spring.

Our intern this semester is Anthony Buonomo, a 

senior at Georgetown University. Like Betsy Reimer 

last fall, Buonomo is our sole intern this semester, but 

he is still making a huge impact on our social media 

effort, as well as other things. Interestingly, Buonomo 

is a math major with a minor in Chinese. This may 

not be the typical background for our interns, but his 

unusual skill set comes with excellent writing skills. 

Writing skills are always the great discriminator in our 

intern selections, and this focus has served us well. So 

if you are an aspiring NASA history intern—sharpen 

those writing skills.

Historical Reference Collection (HRC)

By Jane H. Odom

In the Headquarters Archives, the staff continues to stay 

busy with reference requests and with the processing 

(arrangement and description) of collections. During 

the past several months, we hosted Headquarters 

staff as well as two National Air and Space Museum 

(NASM) fellows (one from Colombia, the other from 

the United Kingdom) and researchers from NASM, 

Princeton University, Syracuse University, Georgetown 

University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

(MIT), American University, the University of 

Wisconsin at Milwaukee, the Planetary Society, Mains 

Associates, History Associates, Foresight Science and 

Technology, and Jacobs University (in Germany).

Now available to researchers is a 2-cubic-foot collection 

of Headquarters Office of Education Files, 2003–13, 

that contains reports from NASA Education Institute 

professional development workshops and focus groups, 

announcements of opportunities, papers, agendas, and 

correspondence. Also documented in this collection 

are collaborative efforts with the Challenger Center; 

Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), in developing 

Southeastern rocketry; the Education Review Team; 

the Columbia Memorial Space Learning Center; the 

Sally Ride Imaginary Lines Science Festivals; and the 

Jamestown, Virginia, 400th anniversary team.

A preservation initiative is in full swing—a project 

to re-folder and re-box deteriorating materials in 

the HRC. Recently completed sections in the reference collection include the files of former NASA 

Administrator T. Keith Glennan and the Robert 

Sherrod Apollo History Collection.

Jane Odom is continuing to work closely with Langley 

Research Center (LaRC) officials in preparation for 

their upcoming building (and archive) renovation and 

future history/archive staffing plans. In December, 

Odom completed her Goddard Space Flight Center 

(GSFC) detail of nearly four months, during which 

she mentored the new archivist, Holly McIntyreDewitt, by transferring institutional knowledge. 

Additionally, she and the GSFC archivist met with a 

variety of Center officials to build support for the new 

program and introduce themselves.

If you are interested in visiting the Headquarters 

History Office to conduct research, please contact 

us at 202-358-0384 or at http://history.nasa.gov/

contact.html to schedule an appointment. To search 

our electronic documents collection, please see https://

historydms.hq.nasa.gov/.
7

Volume 33, Number 1 First Quarter 2016

AMES RESEARCH CENTER (ARC)

Moffett Field, California

By Glenn Bugos and Jack Boyd

Glenn Bugos delivered a talk on “NASA Virtual 

Institutes as an Emerging Organizational Form” at the 

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics 

(AIAA) Space 2015 conference on 1 September 2015 

in Pasadena. The paper, coauthored with Jack Boyd, 

was published by the AIAA as paper 2015-4407. Work 

continues on a longer version, exploring how several 

institutes at NASA have evolved to take their current 

shape. Since 1998, three NASA virtual institutes have 

operated at Ames: the NASA Astrobiology Institute 

(NAI), the Solar System Exploration Research Virtual 

Institute (SSERVI), and the NASA Aeronautics 

Research Institute (NARI). Each has proven effective in developing new communities of science and 

engineering and in generating and validating knowledge useful in planning NASA missions. To explore 

how the form of the virtual institutes can be scaled 

and transferred to other parts of NASA, we are also 

defining the general traits of a virtual institute. These 

include a NASA orientation, geographically and 

institutionally dispersed teams, multidisciplinary and 

methodologically open-minded research, cutting-edge 

collaboration technology and human factors, a focus 

on the next generation of researchers, and competition leading to cooperation among the teams.

At the request of Bruce Pittman of the NASA Space 

Portal, Bugos gave a presentation on how the NACA 

supported entrepreneurial aviation and space for a 

panel titled “NACA & NASA: Learning for the Past, 

Creating the Future” at the NewSpace 2015 conference in San Jose.

The U.S. Army and NASA celebrated the 50th anniversary of their joint research agreement for fundamental research on rotorcraft aerodynamics. The 

first Army-NASA colocated laboratory was located at 

NASA Ames in 1965, and five years later, colocated 

laboratories appeared at the Lewis (now Glenn) and 

Langley Research Centers. On 6 November 2015 at 

NASA Headquarters, Jaiwon Shin, NASA Associate 

Administrator for the Aeronautics Research Mission 

Directorate, exchanged mementos and remarks with 

Mary Miller, U.S. Army Deputy Assistant Secretary 

for Research and Technology. This collaboration has 

driven most advances over the past five decades in 

rotorcraft engineering, and representatives from the 

major helicopter manufacturers spoke about those 

accomplishments. Barry Lakinsmith, director of the 

Aeroflightdynamics Directorate of the Army’s Aviation 

and Missile Research, Development and Engineering 

Center, located at Ames, organized the event, and it 

was followed by a local celebration of Directorate staff 

at Ames on 9 December. By an odd luck of timing, 

we found and migrated videotape of speeches given 

on the occasion of the 20th anniversary celebration 

of the Army-NASA laboratory, recorded by Richard 

Kurkowski, to digital format, which served as a great 

resource for these 50th anniversary events. Ames and 

Army engineers, led by John Davis, prepared various 

historical materials for the events, and they are continuing their work to produce a historical monograph.

Encouraged by NASA Headquarters to better track 

our historic assets, Ames is formalizing its artifacts and 

loan program. Led by Kelly James and Eric Kristich in 

our logistics division, the many people at Ames who 

care for historic items are joining to define divisions of 

labor and best practices. First up is work on historic 

aircraft on loan to museums.

SINCE 1998, THREE NASA VIRTUAL 

INSTITUTES HAVE OPERATED AT AMES.... 

EACH HAS PROVEN EFFECTIVE IN 

DEVELOPING NEW COMMUNITIES OF 

SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING AND IN 

GENERATING AND VALIDATING KNOWLEDGE 

USEFUL IN PLANNING NASA MISSIONS.
8

NASA HISTORY PROGRAM OFFICE — News & Notes

Keith Venter, the Ames Historic Preservation Officer, 

was awarded a NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal 

“for outstanding, innovative approaches to operations 

management supporting NASA’s commitment to preserving our Nation’s historic treasures,” specifically 

for implementing a historic properties procedure to 

enable the leasing of Moffett Field to other entities.

We wish a happy retirement to Daniel T. Pappas, 

librarian at Ames since 1974. For almost three decades, 

prior to the establishment of the NASA Ames History 

Office in 2003, Pappas served as the history point 

of contact for our Center. In addition to serving as 

a superb technical librarian for Center staff, Pappas 

maintained a reference archive for the Center in the 

vault of our main library that served as the nucleus 

for our current historical reference collection. He welcomed many historians working on topics relevant to 

Ames and was always a great help in tracking down 

obscure historical documentation.

We lost two longtime Ames employees who had 

always been a big help to our History Office. Vernon 

J. Rossow joined the NACA at Ames in 1949, following graduation from the University of Michigan and 

service in the U.S. Navy. He was awarded a National 

Research Council Fellowship to study at the Swiss 

Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, and he finished his doctorate in aerodynamics upon his return 

to Ames. A research interest in the prediction and 

On 19 August, throughout the country, Americans enthralled with air flight celebrated National Aviation Day. NASA celebrated this year by encouraging people to take 

photographs of themselves spreading their wings (fingers upright like a winglet) at airports around the country and to remember that NASA is with you when you fly. We 

celebrate that day because it is the birthday of Orville Wright, the first person to fly an aircraft. Wright happens to share that birthday with NASA Administrator Charlie 

Bolden and with Jack Boyd. Wright was a member of the NACA Main Committee when Boyd joined Ames in 1947. This 19 August was Boyd’s 90th birthday, and 

helping him celebrate were hundreds of Ames staff, many of his distinguished friends, and most of our hungriest interns. The Ames Exchange hosted a special happy 

hour for the grand reopening of the SpaceBar café in our conference center. Pictured here are Susan Long, administrative assistant in the Ames headquarters (standing, 

left), Jack Boyd, and Ames Center Director Eugene Tu (right). Seated is Jack’s granddaughter from Finland, Leena Oijala. (Photo credit: NASA Ames/Dominic Hart)
9

Volume 33, Number 1 First Quarter 2016

measurement of vortices on wings eventually led to a 

major contribution to aircraft safety with the publication of “Lift-Generated Vortex Wakes of Subsonic 

Transport Aircraft” (Progress in Aeronautical Sciences, 

1999), as well as a second career as an expert on the 

formation of tornados and waterspouts. He retired 

in 2005 but continued to serve as an Ames Associate 

until last year, patiently answering questions about the 

history of aeronautics research at Ames. Among the 

extensive family mourning his loss is his son-in-law, 

Terry Holst, who worked for more than three decades 

at Ames in computational fluid dynamics.

Stanley F. Schmidt started at Ames in 1946, working in the full-scale flight division. He then earned 

his doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford 

University and became an expert on instrumentation, 

flight simulation, and analog computing. In 1959, he 

made one of the major breakthroughs in the history of 

Ames and of modern aerospace. Called the KalmanSchmidt Filter, or the Extended Kalman Filter, it was 

the first practical application of the Kalman filter and 

quickly proved crucial to midcourse navigation and 

guidance in the Apollo missions. He left Ames in 1961 

to explore further applications of his methods, which 

today are embedded in all modern navigation systems, 

though he always stayed close to Ames. Among the 

family mourning his loss is his son Gregory, who has 

worked at Ames for three decades and now serves 

as deputy director of the Solar System Exploration 

Research Virtual Institute.

Reference Collection

By April Gage and Danielle Lopez

In addition to providing reference information services and working on long-term audiovisual digitization and collections-processing projects, archivists 

April Gage and Danielle Lopez were busy last quarter 

with end-of-year activities such as processing materials 

in the backlog accumulated in storage areas, deaccessioning, decluttering, deep cleaning, and preparing 

for El Niño. The archivists preserved, described, and 

added approximately 6 cubic feet of Ames-related 

documents, artwork, and objects from seven different 

acquisitions to the Archives Reference and Artifacts 

collections. They separated or deaccessioned nearly 7 

cubic feet of material, mainly comprising publications 

and surplus photographs, and transferred them to 

appropriate information repositories and directorates 

at Ames. In anticipation of expected heavy precipitation accompanying El Niño conditions, archives 

collection storage areas were shored up. The building’s 

roof was resurfaced, new latches were attached to all 

the windows to reduce the potential for water intrusion, and artifact cases were elevated several inches 

off the floor in anticipation of possible flooding. 

The archivists also came to the assistance of another 

archive at Ames that experienced water intrusion 

in two records storage rooms during heavy rains. In 

response to the collection emergency, Lopez and Gage 

rolled up their sleeves and led an effort to dry, stabilize, 

and move over 100 cubic feet of historical material.

A recent acquisition of particular note is a charming 

oversized scrapbook created by the NACA Electrical 

Section at Ames. Seeming more like a family album 

than a workplace record, these pages provide an intimate view into the character of the NACA Electrical 

Section of yesteryear, showing the employees’ humor, 

camaraderie, and pride in their work. The bulk of the 

content, which spans from 1941 to 1950, includes 

portraits of personnel and captures their social activities and work. The first section, entitled “The Folks,” 

contains several pages of snapshots of the individual 

IN ANTICIPATION OF EXPECTED 

HEAVY PRECIPITATION 

ACCOMPANYING EL NIÑO 

CONDITIONS, ARCHIVES 

COLLECTION STORAGE AREAS 

WERE SHORED UP. 
10

NASA HISTORY PROGRAM OFFICE — News & Notes

men and women who worked in the section, along 

with the date they were hired. Next, “The Social Whirl” 

features the section workers and their families enjoying 

festive holiday and retirement parties, annual picnics, 

barbecues, dinners, and other activities such as fishing 

trips and beach outings. Here you can see workers and 

their families relaxing and clearly enjoying themselves. 

“At Work” presents snapshots of work scenes in offices 

and shops, with humorous commentary, as well as 

newspaper clippings showcasing accomplishments. 

“Odds and Ends” contains photographs of the section’s 

softball team at play and more newspaper clippings. 

“The End” features the posterior of someone working 

on an electrical panel—pun intended, of course. Final 

pages appended after “The End” mainly feature the 

section workers at scattered social events from 1958 to 

1974, after the NACA transitioned to NASA. Thanks 

are due to retired section member Douglas Denham, 

who safeguarded the scrapbook over the years and 

passed it along to Senior Advisor to History Jack Boyd 

just before he retired.

Employees enjoy perusing the scrapbook at a spring barbecue in 1948. 

(Photo credit: NACA)

A group photo of Electrical Section workers and their families at a picnic in the 

spring of 1946. (Photo credit: NACA)

This gentleman appears to be switching on a test apparatus with dramatic 

aplomb. The caption in the scrapbook reads, “DANGEROUS Work.” (Photo 

credit: NACA)
11

Volume 33, Number 1 First Quarter 2016

GLENN RESEARCH CENTER (GRC)

Cleveland, Ohio

By Anne Mills

The 75th anniversary of the groundbreaking of the 

NACA’s Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory—what 

we know today as NASA Glenn Research Center—

occurred on 23 January. Rooted in its original goal, 

“to improve the state of aircraft engines,” the Center 

has grown and evolved, developing a portfolio of 

research areas that touch all of NASA’s major missions. 

During the yearlong celebration, the history office at 

Glenn will have plenty of opportunities to enlighten 

employees and the public on our rich heritage and 

how it connects to our current work.

Perhaps the most anticipated part of the celebration 

will be the release of the updated history of the Center, 

Bringing the Future Within Reach: 75 Years of NASA 

Glenn Research Center, by Center archivist Bob Arrighi. 

Three years in the making, this book of more than 

300 pages is an update and expansion of Engines and 

Innovations, which Virginia Dawson wrote for the 

50th anniversary. In addition to covering the accomplishments of the last 75 years, the book highlights the 

Center’s vast image collection in telling the story. A 

book of this magnitude was an ambitious undertaking, 

and we offer Bob Arrighi big congratulations on this 

accomplishment!

The first official event of the anniversary festivities was a 

groundbreaking re-creation on 25 January. Employees, 

local elected officials, and the media were invited to 

kick off the celebration with some historic reflections, 

congratulatory messages from Administrator Bolden 

and John Glenn, a re-creation of our iconic groundbreaking photo, and, of course, birthday cake.

Additional events for the year include a retrospective 

art and photography exhibit on display at the main 

concourse of the Cleveland Hopkins International 

Airport. The exhibit is scheduled to open this spring 

and run through the time of the Republican National 

Convention—an exciting opportunity for us to be 

showcased during some heavy traffic at the airport. 

Open houses at both Lewis Field in Cleveland and 

Plum Brook Station in Sandusky are planned for 

early summer. Fall will bring a retiree reunion and 

the induction of our second class of honorees to the 

NASA Glenn Hall of Fame.

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER (JSC)

Houston, Texas

By Rebecca Wright

Users of the JSC History Portal will find a comprehensive Web page with links to all of the released 

oral history transcripts. Prior to this new portal, there 

were two ways to access the transcripts: a user could 

search for a name within separate project pages accessible through drop-down lists or search on a single 

page listing all of the participants separated by project. 

Either way, the interview transcripts were separated by 

This image from 23 January 1941 shows the groundbreaking for the NACA’s Aircraft Engine Research 

Laboratory—known today as the Glenn Research Center. (Photo credit: NACA)
12

NASA HISTORY PROGRAM OFFICE — News & Notes

oral history project name. Now, the new page, http://

www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/oral_histories/participants_full.

htm, provides a hyperlinked alphabetical list of all oral 

history participants with released transcripts, a brief 

description for each, and the associated oral history 

project name (with a link to that project page). Sandra 

Johnson, the JSC History Production Coordinator, 

redesigned the oral history project information to 

create an easy-to-access finding aid for users. She also 

maintained the existing accessibility venues for continuity. Along with this enhancement, users will find 

20 transcripts from the International Space Station 

Program Oral History Project, conducted this past 

summer. Interviews were conducted with significant 

contributors to the ISS Program, including former 

program manager Mike Suffredini, several ISS astronauts, scientists, doctors, and engineers. Visit the ISS 

site at http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/oral_histories/iss.

htm. Other significant transcripts posted to the JSC 

History Portal include those from former Johnson 

Space Center Director Jefferson Howell, former 

NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe, and legendary 

spaceflight pioneer General Thomas Stafford.

JSC historian Jennifer Ross-Nazzal provided 

research support and documentation to the Systems 

Engineering Office, Kennedy Space Center, for a 

NASA Engineering and Safety Center study entitled 

“Recurring Themes from Human Spaceflight Mishaps 

During Flight Tests and Early Operations.” The 

study will include an analysis of the various causes 

and factors contributing to the Apollo 1, Soyuz 1, 

Skylab 1, Ares-1X, and other serious mishaps. She 

also provided a presentation on the history of the 

Center for an Agency-wide meeting of the NASA 

Counterintelligence/Counterterrorism Division of 

the Office of Protective Services.

During the past 50 years, Saint Paul the Apostle 

Catholic Church, located across from JSC, has been 

the spiritual home of 35 astronauts. While on their 

journeys above Earth, many brought specific items 

with them that were later presented as gifts to the 

congregation in appreciation for their support while 

the astronauts were on orbit. Now others have the 

opportunity to learn of this history when visiting a 

room created to visually share some of the stories and 

images that have uniquely connected this church to 

those who have traveled among the stars. And, while 

in the facility, they will enjoy viewing images from the 

Hubble Space Telescope, artfully cast as the church’s 

stained-glass windows.

The Delta Room project started as parishioners began 

thinking about how best to preserve and protect the 

American flag that was carried into space by STS-6 

Pilot Karol J. “Bo” Bobko. After its return, the flag 

subsequently stood in the sanctuary during every 

Shuttle mission—a span of 28 years and 129 missions. 

As volunteers found various items stored throughout 

the facility, a collection began to form and additional 

information gathered to certify the gifts as “flown 

items.” Helping to establish the historical relevance 

were Rebecca Wright and Rebecca Hackler Taylor of 

the JSC History Office. Taylor, who earned a master of 

science degree in museum studies from the University 

of Glasgow, also volunteered to work with the church 

to design and arrange the display; in addition, she 

created a protocol to correctly preserve the items.

NASA astronauts gathered recently for a dedication of the Delta Room, which 

houses the space memorabilia collection at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic 

Church, located in Nassau Bay across from Johnson Space Center. The items 

in the collection are gifts from some of the 35 astronauts who have been 

members of the congregation, including Apollo pioneers Bill Anders and Gene 

Cernan. Present for the event were (left to right) Carl Walz, Karol J. “Bo” Bobko, 

Greg Johnson, Pierre Thuot, Mark Vande Hei, Mike Good, Nicole Stott, Nancy 

Currie, Mike Fincke, and (not pictured) Mike Massimino. Also pictured is the 

Reverend Wencil Pavlovsky (front), pastor of St. Paul the Apostle Catholic 

Church. (Photo courtesy of Rick Banke)
13

Volume 33, Number 1 First Quarter 2016

Along with the American flag flown on STS-6, the 

Delta Room features unique pieces, messages, and 

images from many pioneers of spaceflight who were 

also founding members of Saint Paul. They include 

Bill Anders, who took the iconic photograph of Earth 

from space on 24 December 1968, while aboard Apollo 

8, NASA’s first mission around the Moon. Others are 

Apollo astronauts Jim McDivitt, Gene Cernan, Dick 

Gordon, Jack Swigert, and Stuart Roosa; and Skylab 2 

crewmember Joe Kerwin. Of the 11 Apollo missions, 

Saint Paul’s had a parishioner on 7 flights, and on 2 

of them a commander—McDivitt on Apollo 9 and 

Cernan on Apollo 17. Cernan was the last person on 

the Moon.

St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church was established 

in June 1964, soon after hundreds of people began 

moving to be near the new Manned Spacecraft Center 

(now JSC). For the past half-century, the connection 

between the parish and the American space program 

has thrived. At one time, an estimated 50 percent of 

the congregation had direct ties to NASA or the related 

companies that support human spaceflight missions.

In August 2009, the parish moved into a new sanctuary that blended Catholic tradition with the parish’s 

roots within the space industry. The facility combines 

art and architecture, with several stained-glass windows portraying images taken by the Hubble Space 

Telescope. These windows were created using a special 

process so that they accurately depict pictures of nebulas as the natural light pours through the panes.

Today, St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church continues 

its connection with the space center—many parishioners are responsible for the day-to-day operations of 

the International Space Station, which has supported 

a continual human presence on an orbiting laboratory 

for more than 15 years. Others follow in the heritage 

of developing the programs for tomorrow’s generations or support the programs currently under way. 

In keeping with tradition, there are also those who 

choose to travel beyond our planet and live among 

the stars.

MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER 

(MSFC)

Huntsville, Alabama

By Brian Odom

The past few months have been incredibly busy in 

the Marshall History Office, with archival processing, 

historical research, outreach, and reference activity. 

Much of the focus has been on the digitization of 

archival collections, including more than 600 speeches 

of former Marshall Center Director Dr. Wernher 

von Braun. A special thanks to NASA Headquarters 

archivists Jane Odom and Colin Fries for providing 

more than 275 speeches to be added to the collection. 

Many other speeches were acquired during a trip to 

the National Archives in Atlanta, Georgia. The goal of 

this digitization project is to make these speeches and 

other documentary evidence available to the public on 

the Marshall History Web site.

The call for papers has also gone out for the NASA 

in the “Long” Civil Rights Movement Symposium. 

The event will be held 16–17 March 2017 at the 

University of Alabama Huntsville (UAH) and invites 

scholars and graduate students from across academic 

disciplines to submit research on NASA’s role in this 

transformative period in American history. The goal of 

the symposium is to stimulate new research focusing 

on NASA’s impact upon and experience during the 

civil rights movement, particularly that which relates 

DURING THE PAST 50 YEARS, 

SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE 

CATHOLIC CHURCH, LOCATED 

ACROSS FROM JSC, HAS BEEN 

THE SPIRITUAL HOME OF 35 

ASTRONAUTS. 
14

NASA HISTORY PROGRAM OFFICE — News & Notes

to issues of race, class, and 

gender. Anyone interested 

in submitting a proposal can 

find more information on 

the MSFC history Web site at 

https://www.nasa.gov/centers/

marshall/history/call-forpapers-nasa-in-the-long-civilrights-movement-symposiumuniversity-of-alabama.html.

An oral history project has also been developed 

at Marshall centering on the theme of NASA and 

the civil rights movement. Interviewees so far have 

included former Alabama Governor Albert P. Brewer, 

former Kennedy Space Center Deputy Director 

James L. Jennings, and retired Marshall Computation 

Laboratory mathematician Billie Robertson. These 

interviews will be transcribed and added to the MSFC 

history Web site that will accompany the March 2017 

symposium.

At the annual meeting of the Society of Alabama 

Archivists (SALA), Brian gave a presentation entitled 

“Between Wallace and Webb: Archiving NASA in the 

Civil Rights Era.” This presentation highlighted activities at Marshall during the early 1960s related to the 

Equal Employment Opportunity and student cooperative programs as well as the relationship between Dr. 

Wernher von Braun and Historically Black Colleges 

and Universities across the South, including institutions in Alabama such as Alabama A&M University, 

Oakwood University, and Miles College.

Congratulations to Marshall Historian Mike Wright, 

who retired in January. Wright has occupied the position of Marshall Historian for 30 years, a period during 

which he almost singlehandedly rebuilt the office and 

reference collection from the ground up. His experience and expertise have been invaluable in mentoring 

new employees, preserving the Marshall historical 

record, building a strong reputation for the program, 

and demonstrating what it means to be a public historian. Wright’s work was recognized this past year 

when he was awarded the 2015 Annual History Award 

by NASA Chief Historian 

Dr. William Barry. He has 

been an exceptional mentor, 

sharing freely his years of 

knowledge. His leadership, 

subject matter expertise, and, 

most notably, wry sense of 

humor will certainly be 

missed around the office. 

Congratulations, Mike!

STENNIS SPACE CENTER (SSC)

Stennis Space Center, Mississippi

By Daphne Alford

Two consecutive years brought notable anniversaries 

in the history of the John C. Stennis Space Center. In 

2015, we highlighted 50 years at NASA’s Mississippi 

Test Facility (MTF), in which 1965 was termed “The 

Year To Get Ready.” Now, in 2016, we will reflect on 

two anniversaries: 50 years since 1966 was deemed the 

“Moment of Truth” at MTF and 55 years since NASA 

announced that it would establish a national rocket 

engine test site in Hancock County, Mississippi, in 

October 1961.

Construction of the $260 million rocket testing facility hit its peak during 1965. MTF began operations on 

17 October 1965, when the first rocket ever to arrive 

at MTF completed its 17-day journey from California 

to Hancock County, Mississippi. Designated S-II-T, 

the rocket was an all-systems test version of the S-II 

second stage of the Saturn V space exploration vehicle. 

The million-pound-thrust, liquid-hydrogen-fueled 

booster was used in MTF’s first mission of developmental testing.

That same year, the employee population at MTF 

peaked at 6,000 persons, with at least half associated 

with the construction of facilities and installation of 

complex instrumentation. Toward the end of 1965, 

as MTF’s “permanent” operating family began to knit 

together, there were 3,000 persons working for NASA 

MIKE HAS BEEN AN 

EXCEPTIONAL MENTOR, 

SHARING FREELY HIS 

YEARS OF KNOWLEDGE.
15

Volume 33, Number 1 First Quarter 2016

at MTF, which had overall management responsibility for the site. General Electric Company was the 

prime support contractor. Testing stages of the Saturn 

V were conducted by North American Aviation, Inc., 

for the S-II rocket, and by the Boeing Company for 

the S-1C booster.

It was announced on 6 May 1965 that Jackson M. 

Balch, Marshall Space Flight Center’s Assistant Deputy 

(Technical) Director, would serve in dual capacities as 

MTF manager and head of the newly formed site 

activation task force. Balch arrived and began his new 

assignment the following day.

At the close of 1965, MTF had almost completed 

its transition from a cypress swamp and piney-wood 

forest to a modern city. By the end of the year, most 

of its permanent buildings were completed and occupied by the team that would operate the site. The first 

S-II test stand was nearly completed, with only a few 

minor elements remaining before testing. The unique 

7.5-mile humanmade canal system was finished and 

had already begun serving as a waterway for rocket, 

propellant, and material transportation.

Fifty years ago, developmental testing of the S-II and 

testing of the first S-II flight stages were major accomplishments as part of the Saturn V space exploration 

vehicle. At the beginning of 1966, major construction 

projects—the S-II Vertical Checkout and Storage 

Building, the huge Components Service Facility, a 

second S-II test stand, and the 407-foot-tall S-1C dual 

test tower—were under way, to be completed during 

this year. The highly complex propellant systems and 

instrumentation, which conducted static firings and 

gathered valuable data from the boosters, were being 

readied and checked out for the 1966 firings.

The historic first static firing of the Saturn V’s second-stage prototype, S-II-T, occurred 50 years ago 

on 23 April 1966. The S-II-T performed well on its 

first run; the A-2 Test Stand and supporting facilities 

demonstrated their readiness. Mississippi officially 

entered the Space Age.

Workers at the Mississippi Test Facility hoist the S-II onto the A-2 Test Stand in 1965. (Photo credit: 

NASA)

The first static firing of the Saturn V’s second stage, S-II-T, took place on 23 April 1966 at the 

then–Mississippi Test Facility and had a test duration of 18 seconds. (Photo credit: NASA)
16

NASA HISTORY PROGRAM OFFICE — News & Notes

OTHER AEROSPACE HISTORY NEWS

ANNOUNCING THE 2016–17 ARTHUR 

MOLELLA DISTINGUISHED FELLOWSHIP

The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation is pleased to announce the creation of the Arthur Molella Distinguished Fellowship 

at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of 

American History (NMAH). The fellowship will go 

to an experienced author or senior scholar from the 

history of technology; science and technology studies; 

business history; museum studies; science, technology, 

engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) education; or an allied field. The Molella Distinguished 

Fellow may use the funds as a sabbatical supplement, 

for several short-duration visits, for a single residency 

focused on research and writing, or for a series of 

lectures leading to a major publication. The applications may cover a broad spectrum of research topics in 

the history of technology, invention, and innovation. 

However, strong preference in the selection of the 

Arthur Molella Distinguished Fellow 

will be given to projects whose topics align with one (or more) of the 

Lemelson Center’s strategic research 

and programmatic areas, including 

1) the role of place in invention 

and innovation, 2) the making and 

training of inventors and innovators, 3) innovation in sports, 4) the 

role of risk and failure in invention 

and innovation, or 5) projects that 

illuminate inventors from diverse 

backgrounds or any inventions and 

technologies associated with groups 

(e.g., women, minorities, disabled 

people, or LGBT individuals) that 

are traditionally underrepresented in 

the historical record.

The stipend is $35,000, and fellows may begin their residencies 

on or after 1 June 2016 through 

31 May 2017.

To apply, visit http://invention.

si.edu/arthur-molella-distinguishedfellowship. Applications are due 

31 March 2016. For more information, please contact the fellowship coordinator, Eric S. Hintz, at 

hintze@si.edu or 202-633-3734.

Pilot Jerrie Cobb poses next to a mock-up of the Mercury capsule. Cobb and 12 other women participated 

in a training program developed by William Lovelace, the man who originally helped to develop the medical 

tests for NASA’s Mercury Program in the early 1960s. The training was conducted at Lovelace’s facilities 

and was never a NASA program. Learn more: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/history/features/flats.html (Photo 

credit: NASA)
17

Volume 33, Number 1 First Quarter 2016

RECENT PUBLICATIONS AND ONLINE RESOURCES

COMMERCIALLY PUBLISHED WORKS

By Chris Gamble

NASA Hubble Space Telescope—1990 Onwards 

(Including All Upgrades), by David Baker (Haynes 

Publishing, July 2015). The Hubble Space Telescope 

(HST), which celebrated 25 years of successful operation in April 2015, is an international venture primarily between the United States and Europe. This 

manual, illustrated with a wealth of technical illustrations and stunning imagery taken from Hubble itself, 

takes an in-depth look at the origins of the HST; its 

design, development, manufacture and assembly; how 

it operates; and what it has accomplished, as well as 

the unique “human-tended” design philosophy for 

launch and servicing using the Space Shuttle.1

America’s Leap into Space: My Time at JPL and the First 

Explorer Satellites, by Henry L. Richter (FriesenPress, 

August 2015). After the shock of watching Russia’s 

Sputnik become the world’s first artificial satellite, 

America’s infant space program hurried to launch 

one of its own. In just 90 days, Dr. Henry Richter 

and his colleagues at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory 

(JPL) developed and launched the nation’s response. 

Through innovation, teamwork, and tenacity, these 

pioneering scientists and engineers began America’s 

exploration of space, which continues to determine 

our place in the cosmos. Richter’s memories and 

extensive research shed a light on the earliest days of 

the Space Age. It is a fascinating story that is equal 

parts memoir and insider history of one of the world’s 

most dynamic and revolutionary periods.

The Mystery of the Seven Spheres: How Homo Sapiens 

Will Conquer Space, by Giovanni F. Bignami (Springer, 

June 2015). Bignami takes the reader on a journey 

1 The final Space Shuttle servicing mission to Hubble occurred 

in May 2009. The Shuttle Program ended in July 2011 with 

STS-135—the final flight of Shuttle Atlantis.

through the “seven spheres,” from our own planet 

to neighboring stars. He offers a gripping account 

of the evolution of Homo sapiens to the stage where 

our species is developing capabilities, in the form of 

new energy propulsion systems, that will enable us 

to conquer space. The reader will learn how we first 

expanded our activities to reach beyond our planet 

to the Moon and how nuclear energy, nuclear fusion, 

and matter-antimatter annihilation will enable us to 

extend our exploration. After Mars and Jupiter, we 

shall finally reach the nearest stars, which we now 

know are surrounded by numerous planets, some of 

which may be habitable.

The Twenty-First Century Commercial Space Imperative, 

by Anthony Young (Springer, June 2015). As this 

book indicates, commercial space business opportunities are beginning to take off, and the field is ripe for 

early entry by science, technology, engineering, and 

mathematics (STEM) students. An impressive expansion across existing markets and developing new ones 

awaits, with multiple private companies competing in 

the payload launch-services sector. NASA now relies 

on commercial partners to supply cargo and crew 

spacecraft and services to and from the International 

Space Station. The sizes of satellites are diminishing 

and their capabilities expanding, while the cost of 

reaching orbit is decreasing. Suborbital space tourism 

holds the potential of new industries and jobs.

New Frontiers in Space Propulsion, edited by Takaaki 

Musha (Nova Science Publishers, Inc., December 

2015). Reaching the outer rim of the solar system in 

a relatively short period of time is impossible utilizing 

existing rocket technology. Crewed interplanetary and 

interstellar travel is dependent upon developing new 

propulsion physics. In this book, the science behind 

ideal methods of space propulsion (such as warp drive 

and gravity control) are examined to show connections between facts, anomalies, and visions. Scientists 

currently use accepted physical paradigms to speculate 
18

NASA HISTORY PROGRAM OFFICE — News & Notes

and hypothesize forms of physics that will aid in 

future developments. In this case, that development is 

advanced methods of space propulsion.

Microgravity and Vision Impairments in Astronauts, by 

Erik Seedhouse (Springer, October 2015). Recent 

missions on board the International Space Station 

have revealed previously unreported physiological 

consequences of long-duration spaceflight, particularly in eyesight. In this book, Seedhouse reviews the 

existing theories on what causes this degeneration and 

how long it lasts.

European Space Policy: European Integration and the 

Final Frontier, edited by Thomas Hörber and Paul 

Stephenson (Routledge, October 2015). This book 

explores advances in European space policy and their 

significance for European integration. Using a “framing” methodology, it addresses central questions in 

European studies in order to form an interdisciplinary 

bridge between current research in space policy and 

contemporary European political studies. It assesses 

the interests of European Union (EU) institutions in 

space and how these institutions perceive space policy. 

Furthermore, it demonstrates that space is a crosscutting policy domain affecting a diverse range of EU 

policy fields—such as security, transport, and migration—and underpinning the 21st-century European 

and global economies.

The Drake Equation: Estimating the Prevalence of 

Extraterrestrial Life Through the Ages, edited by Douglas 

A. Vakoch and Matthew F. Dowd (Cambridge 

University Press, August 2015). In this book, leading 

scientists and historians explore the Drake Equation, 

which guides modern astrobiology’s search for life 

beyond Earth. First used in 1961 as the organizing 

framework for a conference in Green Bank, West 

Virginia, it uses seven factors to estimate the number 

of extraterrestrial civilizations in our galaxy. Using 

the equation primarily as a heuristic device, this text 

examines the astronomical, biological, and cultural 

factors that determine the abundance or rarity of life 

beyond Earth and provides a thematic history of the 

search for extraterrestrial life.

Moons of the Solar System: From Giant Ganymede 

to Dainty Dactyl, by James A. Hall III (Springer, 

September 2015). This book captures the complex 

world of planetary moons, which are more diverse 

than Earth’s sole satellite, and new missions continue 

to find more of these planetary satellites. Why do 

Mercury and Venus have no moons? Earth’s Moon, of 

course, is covered in the book. Then we move outward 

to the moons of Mars, and on to many of the more 

notable asteroid moons, and finally to a list of less 

notable ones. All the major moons of the gas-giant 

planets are covered in great detail, while the lesser-known satellites of these worlds are also touched on. 

Readers will learn of the remarkable trans-Neptunian 

Objects—Pluto, Eris, Sedna, and Quaoar—including 

many of those that have been given scant attention in 

other literature.

Commercial Space Exploration: Ethics, Policy and 

Governance, edited by Jai Galliott (Ashgate Publishing 

Co., new edition, September 2015). With the possibility of commercial space travel on the horizon, 

there are a number of significant practical and moral 

challenges. This volume provides the first comprehensive and unifying analysis concerning the rise of 

private space exploration, with a view toward developing policy that may influence real-world decision 

making. The plethora of questions demanding serious 

attention—privatization and commercialization, the 

impact on the environment, risk assessment, responsibility, and governance—are directly addressed.

Earth and Mars: A Reflection, by Stephen E. Strom and 

Bradford A. Smith (University of Arizona Press, 2nd 

edition, October 2015). Earth and Mars is a fusion of 

art and science, a blend of images and essays celebrating the successful creation of our life-sustaining planet 

and the beauty and mystery of Mars. Through images 

of terrestrial landscapes and photographs selected from 

recent NASA and European Space Agency missions to 
19

Volume 33, Number 1 First Quarter 2016

Mars, Earth and Mars reveals the profound beauty 

resulting from the action of volcanism, wind, and 

water. The accompanying text provides a context for 

appreciating the role of these elemental forces in shaping the surfaces of each planet, as well as the divergent 

evolutionary paths that led to an Earth that is teeming 

with life and a Mars that is seemingly lifeless.

Sally Ride: A Photobiography of America’s Pioneering 

Woman in Space, by Tam O’Shaughnessy (Roaring 

Brook Press, October 2015). This book is an intimate journey from Sally Ride’s formative years 

to her final moments. This vivid photobiography, 

written by Sally’s life, writing, and business partner, 

Tam O’Shaughnessy, offers an intimate and revealing glimpse into the life and mind of the famously 

private, book-loving, tennis-playing physicist who 

made history.

The Impact of Discovering Life Beyond Earth, edited 

by Steven J. Dick (Cambridge University Press, 

December 2015). In this volume, distinguished philosophers, theologians, anthropologists, historians, 

and scientists discuss the big questions about how the 

discovery of extraterrestrial life, whether intelligent 

or microbial, would impact society. Their remarkable 

and often surprising findings challenge our foundational concepts of what the discovery of alien life may 

hold for humankind.

Frontiers for the American Century: Outer Space, 

Antarctica, and Cold War Nationalism, by James Spiller 

(Palgrave Macmillan, October 2015). This book compares the U.S. space and Antarctic programs during 

the Cold War. It examines the reciprocal influence of 

federal science and technology and of American internationalism, and it details how powerful interests and 

public opinion leaders used culturally salient terms, 

particularly the nationalist motif of the frontier, to 

promote these strategic initiatives. By accounting for 

the varying fate of this frontier motif in the final years 

of the Cold War, this study explains why proponents 

of the U.S. Antarctic Program came to focus on global 

environmental stewardship while advocates of spaceflight once again urged America to pioneer the space 

frontier.

Enhancing Hubble’s Vision: Service Missions That 

Expanded Our View of the Universe, by David J. Shayler 

and David M. Harland (Springer-Praxis, November 

2015). This book tells the story of the four missions to 

maintain Hubble’s successful operation. Between 1997 

and 2009, astronauts repaired, serviced, and upgraded 

the telescope’s instruments. The book draws on firsthand interviews with those closely involved in the missions. The spacewalking skills and experiences gained 

from maintaining and upgrading Hubble had direct 

application to the construction of the International 

Space Station and help with its maintenance.

Coloring the Universe: An Insider’s Look at Making 

Spectacular Images of Space, by Travis Rector, Kimberly 

Arcand, and Megan Watzke (University of Alaska 

Press, November 2015). This book describes how 

giant telescopes work, what scientists learn with them, 

and how they are used to make color images. It also 

discusses how otherwise invisible rays, such as radio 

waves, infrared light, x rays, and gamma rays, are 

turned into recognizable colors. The book is filled 

with fantastic images taken in faraway pockets of the 

universe. Informative and beautiful, the book gives 

space fans of all levels an insider’s look at how scientists bring deep space into brilliant focus.

Human Spaceflight: From Mars to the Stars, by Louis 

Friedman (University of Arizona Press, 2nd edition, 

November 2015). Of all the possible destinations in 

space, Mars is the most likely for humans to reach. 

According to the author, it may be the only destination outside the Moon to ever see human footprints. 

But far from diminishing our future in space, the book 

lays out a provocative future for human space travel. 

The author believes that human space exploration will 

continue well into the future but that space travel by 

humans will stop at Mars. Instead, nanotechnology, 

space sails, robotics, biomolecular engineering, and 
20

NASA HISTORY PROGRAM OFFICE — News & Notes

artificial intelligence will provide the vehicles of the 

future for an exciting evolution not just of space travel 

but of humankind. The author writes that once we 

accept Mars as the only viable destination for humans, 

our space program on planet Earth can become more 

exciting and more relevant.

A Guide to Hubble Space Telescope Objects: Their 

Selection, Location, and Significance, by James Chen 

and Adam Chen (Springer, July 2015). This book is 

a guide to connecting the view above with the history 

of recent scientific discoveries from the Hubble Space 

Telescope. Each selected photo is shown with a sky 

map and a photograph or drawing to illustrate where 

to find it and how it should appear from a backyard 

telescope. Here is the casual observer’s chance to locate 

deep space objects visually and appreciate the historic 

Hubble photos in comparison to what is visible from 

a backyard telescope. Additionally, the reader is given 

a historical perspective on the work of Edwin Hubble 

to ponder while locating and viewing the deep space 

objects whose discovery changed astronomy forever.

Aurora 7—The Mercury Spaceflight of M. Scott Carpenter, 

by Colin Burgess (Springer-Praxis, September 2015). 

Following up on Colin Burgess’s other books on the 

Mercury crewed missions, this continues the history 

of NASA’s nascent spaceflight program. Each Mercury 

flight forms a key part of the organization’s early years. 

The story of Aurora 7 is retold using in-depth research 

that fully contextualizes the project and reveals new 

aspects of the early days of space exploration. After 

successfully launching suborbital Mercury missions 

as well as the first orbital spaceflight in Friendship 7, 

NASA continued with Aurora 7, flown by Malcolm 

Scott Carpenter, which landed 260 miles from the 

recovery vessel, the USS Intrepid, after a series of technical issues. This would be Carpenter’s only spaceflight.

Interkosmos—The Eastern Bloc’s Early Space Program, by 

Colin Burgess and Bert Vis (Springer-Praxis, November 

2015). Interkosmos, which was formed in 1967, was a 

highly publicized Russian space program that rapidly 

became a significant propaganda tool for the Soviet 

Union. Billed as an international “research-cosmonaut” 

imperative, it was also a high-profile means of displaying solidarity with the nine participating Eastern Bloc 

countries. Those countries contributed pilots who 

were trained in Moscow for weeklong “guest” missions 

on orbiting Salyut stations.

Go, Flight!: The Unsung Heroes of Mission Control, 

1965–1992, by Rick Houston (University of Nebraska 

Press, December 2015). At first glance, it looks like 

just another auditorium in just another government 

building. But among the talented men (and later 

women) who worked in Mission Control, the room 

located on the third floor of Building 30—at what is 

now Johnson Space Center—would become known 

by many as “The Cathedral.” These members of the 

space program were the brightest of their generations, 

making split-second decisions that determined the 

success or failure of a mission. The flight controllers, 

each supported by a staff of specialists, were the most 

visible part of the operation, running the missions, 

talking to the heavens, troubleshooting issues on 

board, and, ultimately, attempting to bring everyone 

safely back home. None of NASA’s storied accomplishments would have been possible without these 

people. Interviews with dozens of individuals who 

worked in the historic third-floor Mission Control 

room bring the compelling stories to life.

The Other Space Race: Eisenhower and the Quest for 

Aerospace Security, by Nicholas Michael Sambaluk 

(Naval Institute Press, December 2015). This book 

is a unique look at the early U.S. space program and 

how it both shaped and was shaped by politics during 

the Cold War. Eisenhower’s space policy was purely 

practical, creating a strong deterrent against the use 

of nuclear arms against the United States. With the 

Soviet launch of Sputnik in 1957, the political climate 

changed, and space travel became part of the United 

States’ national discourse. Sambaluk explores what 

followed, including the scuttling of the “Dyna-Soar” 

program and the transition from Eisenhower’s space 

policy to that of John F. Kennedy.
21

Volume 33, Number 1 First Quarter 2016

A Passion for Space, by Marianne J. Dyson (SpringerPraxis, December 2015). The author recounts a time 

when women were making inroads into spaceflight 

control, a male-dominated profession. The story 

begins with Apollo 11 and follows the challenges of 

pursuing a science career as a woman in the 1970s and 

1980s. Dyson relates the first five Space Shuttle flights 

from the personal perspective of an insider.

Lunar and Planetary Cartography in Russia, by Vladislav 

Shevchenko and Zhanna Rodionova (Springer, 

November 2015). This book is the first to document in 

depth the history of lunar and planetary cartography 

in Russia. Lunar and Planetary Cartography in Russia

provides detailed information on the compilation of 

a diverse range of maps and will be of interest to all 

lunar and planetary cartographers.

SpaceX’s Dragon: America’s Next Generation Spacecraft, 

by Erik Seedhouse (Springer-Praxis, December 2015). 

This book describes Dragon V2, a futuristic vehicle 

that not only provides a means for NASA to transport 

its astronauts to the orbiting outpost but also advances 

SpaceX’s core objective of reusability. A direct descendant of Dragon, Dragon V2 can be retrieved, refurbished, and relaunched. It is a spacecraft with the 

potential to completely revolutionize the economics of 

an industry in which equipment costing hundreds of 

millions of dollars is routinely discarded after a single 

use. This book describes the extraordinary feats of 

engineering and human achievement that have placed 

this revolutionary spacecraft at the forefront of the 

launch industry and positioned it as the precursor for 

ultimately transporting humans to Mars.

A Design for a Reusable Water-Based Spacecraft Known 

as the Spacecoach, by Brian McConnell and Alexander 

Tolley (Springer, September 2015). Based on components already in existence, this manual details a 

reference design for an interplanetary spacecraft that is 

simple, durable, fully reusable, and composed mostly 

of water. Using such an accessible material leads to a 

spacecraft architecture that is radically simpler, safer, 

and cheaper than conventional capsule-based designs. 

If developed, the potential affordability of the design 

will substantially open all of the inner solar system to 

human exploration.

Cosmonauts: Birth of a Space Age, edited by Douglas 

Millard (Scala Arts Publishers, Inc., October 2015). 

This book accompanies a landmark exhibition at the 

Science Museum in London. The exhibition is a major 

collaboration with Russia’s State Museum Exhibition 

Centre ROSIZO; Moscow Memorial Museum of 

Cosmonautics; and Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos. 

It offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see objects 

that have never before left Russia, including rocket 

engines that launched the Space Age; actual craft 

that carried humans into space; and the spacesuits, 

equipment, and personal items of the few who flew, 

alongside powerful artworks that articulated Russia’s 

longing for space.

Infinity Beckoned—Adventuring Through the Inner Solar 

System, 1969–1989, by Jay Gallentine (University of 

Nebraska Press, January 2016). The book illuminates 

a critical period of space history when humans dared 

an expansive leap into the inner solar system. With 

an irreverent and engaging style, the author conveys 

the trials and triumphs of the people on the ground 

who conceived and engineered the missions that put 

robotic spacecraft on the heavenly bodies nearest 

our own. Based on numerous interviews, Gallentine 

delivers a rich variety of stories involving the men 

and women, American and Russian, responsible for 

such groundbreaking endeavors as the Mars Viking 

missions of the 1970s and the Soviet Venera flights to 

Venus in the 1980s.

Mars via the Moon—The Next Giant Leap, by Erik 

Seedhouse (Springer-Praxis, November 2015). This 

book makes a strong case for returning to the Moon 

as the next logical and vital step in space exploration. 

Momentum is building for a return to the Moon. The 

United States’ partners on the International Space 

Station are in favor of returning to the lunar surface, 

as are India and China. The goal may be Mars, but 

the political, funding, technological, and medical 
22

NASA HISTORY PROGRAM OFFICE — News & Notes

infeasibility of such an objective means the next logical step is a return to the Moon.

The Moon’s Largest Craters and Basins: Images and 

Topographic Maps from LRO, GRAIL, and Kaguya, by 

Charles J. Byrne (Springer, November 2015). This 

book combines the latest comprehensive imagery, 

topography, and gravity data from all three recent 

Moon missions: Kaguya, the Lunar Reconnaissance 

Orbiter (LRO), and the Gravity Recovery and Interior 

Laboratory (GRAIL). These major polar-orbit surveys are presented here in compact form for the 

convenience of amateur and practical astronomers 

concerned with the Moon.

From Fishing Hamlet to Red Planet: India’s Space 

Journey, by the Indian Space Research Organization 

(ISRO) (HarperCollins India, January 2016). On 

21 November 1963, the first rocket took off from 

Thumba, a fishing hamlet near Thiruvananthapuram, 

announcing the birth of India’s space program. The 

rocket, the payload, the radar, the computer, and the 

helicopter—all that was required for the launch—

came from outside the country. Fifty years later, on 

5 November 2013, when ISRO launched its Mars 

Orbiter Mission (MOM) from the Satish Dhawan 

Space Centre, Sriharikota, all of the components had 

been indigenously manufactured. This book tracks 

the agency’s journey through articles, interviews, and 

reminiscences.

The 2001 File: Harry Lange and the Design of the 

Landmark Science Fiction Film, by Christopher 

Frayling (Reel Art Press, December 2015). This book 

is a previously unseen look behind the scenes at the 

making of 2001: A Space Odyssey, that most legendary 

of science fiction classics. It is an in-depth examination of the complete, largely unpublished archive of 

art director Harry Lange’s designs, concepts, roughs, 

and photographs—both those rejected and those 

chosen. The book is about the process as well as the 

finished product. It examines how Lange’s experience 

with NASA fed into the innovations of the film. It 

reveals how the design team was obsessed with things 

that actually might work. The book illustrates several 

innovations that were science fiction in the 1960s but 

have since become science fact, including a “newspad” 

designed by IBM, which bears an uncanny resemblance to today’s iPad. The remarkable designs for 

2001 created a credible vision of the future.

Flight: The Evolution of Aviation, by Stephen Woolford 

and Carl Warner (Andre Deutsch, reissue edition, 

August 2015). From the early aircraft of pioneers 

such as the Wright brothers, Alcock and Brown, and 

Louis Blériot to the complex technology of military 

jets, the book conveys the experiences of those early 

pioneers and the skill and imagination of those who 

have sought to continually push the limits of what can 

be achieved.

Racing the Moon’s Shadow with Concorde 001, by 

Pierre Léna (Springer, December 2015). On the summer morning of 30 June 1973, the Sun rose on the 

Canary Islands as an eclipse began. Astronomers on 

the ground enjoyed 7 short minutes of total eclipse to 

study the solar corona—too short for Pierre Léna and 

the seven scientists who boarded the Concorde 001 

prototype, an extraordinary plane that would become 

the first commercial supersonic aircraft. With André 

Turcat as chief pilot and a crew of five, the aircraft 

remained in the lunar shadow for 74 minutes, a record 

time of scientific observations that allowed for exceptional measurements and has not yet been beaten. 

Science, technology, aviation, and history combine 

in the story of a unique human adventure aboard a 

legendary aircraft.

Valentina Tereshkova, the First Lady of Space: In Her 

Own Words, by Valentina Tereshkova (spacebusiness.

com, October 2015). Valentina Tereshkova was the 

first woman to travel into space, spending almost 

three days piloting Vostok 6 in 1963. Orbiting Earth 

48 times, she logged more flight time than the combined times of all American astronauts who had flown 

before that date. She became an inspiration to millions of women and was designated a “Hero of the 

Soviet Union.”
23

Volume 33, Number 1 First Quarter 2016

UPCOMING EVENTS

The annual American Astronautical Society Robert 

H. Goddard Memorial Symposium will be held 1–10 

March 2016 in Greenbelt, Maryland. Visit http://

www.astronautical.org/goddard for details.

The joint meeting of the National Council on Public 

History and the Society for History in the Federal 

Government will be held 16–19 March 2016 in 

Baltimore, Maryland. Visit http://www.ncph.org/

conference/2016-annual-meeting for details.

The International Astronautical Federation’s Spring 

Meetings will be held 22–24 March 2016 in Paris, 

France. Visit http://www.iafastro.org/events/iaf-springmeetings/spring-meetings-2016 for details.

The annual meeting of the Organization of American 

Historians will be held 7–10 April 2016 in Providence, 

Rhode Island. Visit http://www.oah.org/meetingsevents/2016 for details.

National History Day will be held 12–16 June 2016

in College Park, Maryland. Volunteer judging will 

take place 13 June. Visit http://www.nhd.org/contestaffiliates/annual-theme for details.

The annual American Institute of Aeronautics and 

Astronautics Aviation and Aeronautics Forum and 

Exposition (AIAA Aviation) will be held 13–17 June 

2016 in Washington, DC. Visit http://www.aiaaaviation.org for details.

The annual meeting of the Society for the History 

of Technology will be held 22–26 June 2016 in 

Singapore. Visit http://www.shot2016.org for details.

The annual meeting of the Society for Historians of 

American Foreign Relations will be held 23–25 June 

2016 in San Diego, California. Visit https://www.shafr.

org/conferences/annual/2016-annual-meeting for details.

The annual Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) 

AirVenture air show will be held 25–31 July in 

Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Visit http://www.eaa.org/en/

airventure for details.

The annual meeting of the Society for American 

Archivists will be held 31 July–6 August in Atlanta. 

Visit http://www2.archivists.org for more information.

The AIAA Space 2016 Forum will be held 12–15 

September in Long Beach, California. Visit http://

www.aiaa-space.org/?_ga=1.125201610.1342047455.

1453994154 for details.

Edgar Mitchell moves across the lunar surface as he looks over a traverse map during exploration 

of Fra Mauro. Lunar dust can be seen clinging to the boots and legs of the space suit. (Photo credit: 

NASA/Alan Shepard)
24

NASA HISTORY PROGRAM OFFICE — News & Notes

OBITUARIES

APOLLO 14 ASTRONAUT EDGAR 

MITCHELL DIES AT AGE 85

Edgar D. Mitchell, Apollo 14 astronaut and the sixth person to walk on the Moon, passed away on 

4 February, on the eve of the 45th anniversary of the 

Apollo 14 lunar landing. After piloting Lunar Module 

Antares to a soft landing in the Moon’s Fra Mauro 

highlands, he and Alan Shepard spent 33 hours on the 

lunar surface and collected 94 pounds of lunar rock 

and soil—the largest sample to that date.

Mitchell was born 17 September 1930 in Hereford, 

Texas, but considered Artesia, New Mexico, his 

hometown. He graduated with a bachelor of science 

degree in industrial management from Carnegie Mellon 

University in 1952, a bachelor 

of science degree in aeronautics from the United States 

Naval Postgraduate School in 

1961, and a doctorate in aeronautics and astronautics from 

the Massachusetts Institute of 

Technology in 1964. In 1966, 

NASA selected Mitchell as 

an astronaut, and he served 

as a supporting crewmember 

for Apollo 9 and as backup 

Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 

10. His work in the Lunar 

Module simulator at Johnson 

Space Center during Apollo 13 

helped develop procedures that 

would safely bring home the 

crew of the crippled spacecraft.

Mitchell retired from NASA 

and the Navy to found the 

Institute of Noetic Sciences 

in 1973, an organization 

that sponsors research on 

the nature of consciousness. He also cofounded the 

Association of Space Explorers, an educational organization formed in 1984 for all who share the experience 

of space travel.

In a 1997 interview with NASA’s oral history program, 

Mitchell reflected on his mission to the Moon, his first 

and only spaceflight:

To me, that (spaceflight) was the culmination 

of my being, and what can I learn from this? 

What is it we are learning? That’s important, 

because I think what we’re trying to do is discover ourselves and our place in the cosmos, 

and we don’t know. We’re still looking for that.

Apollo 14 Lunar Module pilot Edgar Mitchell is shown here in his official portrait. (Photo credit: NASA)
25

Volume 33, Number 1 First Quarter 2016

For four decades, Ken Iliff worked on revolutionary aircraft and spacecraft, 

including the X-29 forward swept-wing aircraft behind him. (Photo credit: NASA)

Ken Iliff, center, was part of Armstrong Flight Research Center’s lifting-body aircraft study group with 

Alphonso Stewart, left, and Dale Reed, right. (Photo credit: NASA)

REMEMBERING HYPERSONIC 

RESEARCH PIONEER KEN ILIFF

Hypersonic researcher Kenneth W. Iliff died on 4 

January 2016, at the age of 75. A recipient of the 1976 

Exceptional Scientific Achievement Award, NASA’s 

scientific honor, Iliff is remembered as a pioneer in 

formulating and perfecting modern methods of aircraft parameter identification and estimation.

Iliff began his NASA career in 1962 at the Flight 

Research Center (now Armstrong Flight Research 

Center), studying the handling qualities of the X-15 

hypersonic research aircraft. For over 30 years, Iliff 

worked on nearly every type of aircraft at Armstrong, 

including the XB-70 and HL-10 lifting-body aircraft. 

He also studied computer simulations of Space Shuttle 

reentry and landing and was a significant contributor 

to an aerodynamic data book for the Space Shuttle—a 

compilation of aerodynamic data from wind tunnels 

used in predicting the Shuttle’s flight characteristics. 

In 1994, Iliff became Armstrong’s chief scientist and 

held that position until he retired in 2002. By then, he 

had authored over 100 papers.

Iliff ’s methodology on flight estimation is used by 

virtually all flight-test organizations worldwide. He 

was the recipient of numerous awards and honors, 

including the 1989 Society of Flight Test Engineers 

Kelly Johnson Award for his contributions to the field 

of flight testing and flight research. In addition, he 

was a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics 

and Astronautics (AIAA) and was inducted into the 

National Hall of Fame for Persons with Disabilities.
26

NASA HISTORY PROGRAM OFFICE — News & Notes

REMEMBERING FORMER EXPENDABLE 

LAUNCH VEHICLE DIRECTOR 

JOHN J. NEILON

John J. Neilon, former expendable rocket launch 

director at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, died 17 

January 2016 in Cocoa Beach, Florida. He was 88. 

Born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, Neilon served in 

the U.S. Army during World War II and earned a 

bachelor’s degree in mathematics from St. Anselm’s 

College in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Neilon began his career supporting the space program in 1957, as head of the Data Processing Section 

of the Vanguard launch team at the Naval Research 

Laboratory in Washington, DC. Two years later, he 

transferred to Cape Canaveral, Florida, to work as a 

radar and processing specialist for Project Vanguard, 

one of the nation’s first Earth-orbiting satellite programs. Following his time with Vanguard, Neilon 

took on the role of official interface with the Eastern 

Test Range. During launches and major tests, Neilon 

was stationed inside the blockhouse at Launch 

Complex 17, where he provided real-time coordination with range officers regarding weather and launch 

permissions.

After his time with Vanguard, Neilon joined Goddard 

Space Flight Center’s launch team at Cape Canaveral as 

part of the group that launched many of the fledgling 

space program’s highly successful satellites, including 

Echo, Telstar, and Tiros. As deputy launch director for 

the 1962 launch of Telstar 1, he was surprised that it 

went well on the first attempt. “We were pretty excited 

when it worked,” Neilon noted. “Today you expect 

things to work. Back then, we ‘hoped’ it would work.”

In 1970, Neilon was named director for Unmanned 

Launch Operations, a program with a portfolio of 

over 60 missions involving Delta, Atlas-Centaur, and 

Titan-Centaur launch vehicles. Under Neilon’s direction, some of NASA’s most notable planetary missions 

were launched, including Pioneers 10 and 11, which 

continue to zip out of the solar system after encounters with Jupiter and Saturn, and the two Viking Mars 

landers. He also served as the Director of Payload 

Operations for the Space Shuttle Program from 1976 

until his retirement in 1986.

Neilon was the recipient of several significant awards, 

including NASA’s Distinguished Service Medal in 

1976. He also received the Outstanding Leadership 

Medal in 1975, the Exceptional Service Medal in 

1971, and the Navy’s Outstanding Performance Award 

in 1959. As director of NASA’s Unmanned Launch Operations, John J. Neilon served as launch director for the 

Mariner 9 mission, which gathered images that cover the Mars globe he is holding in this 1995 photograph. (Photo credit: NASA)
27

Volume 33, Number 1 First Quarter 2016

William Barry bill.barry@nasa.gov

Chief Historian 202-358-0383

Nadine Andreassen nadine.j.andreassen@nasa.gov

Program Support Specialist 202-358-0087

Colin Fries cfries@mail.hq.nasa.gov

Archivist 202-358-0388

Stephen Garber stephen.j.garber@nasa.gov

Historian 202-358-0385

Jane Odom jane.h.odom@nasa.gov

Chief Archivist 202-358-0386

Yvette Smith yvette.smith-1@nasa.gov

Editor 202-358-5196

Elizabeth Suckow elizabeth.suckow-1@nasa.gov

Archivist 202-358-0375

Anthony Buonomo anthony.r.buonomo@nasa.gov

Intern 202-358-0680

NASA HEADQUARTERS HISTORY PROGRAM OFFICE 

STAFF CONTACT INFORMATION:

IMAGE IN NASA HISTORY

Langley researcher Elton W. Miller looks at the Sperry M-1 Messenger, the first full-scale airplane to be tested at Langley’s Propeller Research 

Tunnel. The Messenger’s diminutive size and use of 

inexpensive materials made it ideal for maintaining 

communications between U.S. Army battlefield units. 

The Lawrence Sperry Aircraft Company produced 

approximately 50 Messengers for the Army, and the 

National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics used 

the one photographed here for pioneering aerodynamic research programs from 1923 to 1929. (Photo 

credit: NACA)
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CREATED AND PRODUCED BY:

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