History of the Scientific Exploration of Earth and Space Contracts

8/9/2019 History of the Scientific Exploration of Earth and Space Contracts

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NASA HISTORY DIVISIONOffice of External Relation

FROM

THE CHIEF

HISTORIAN

INTHIS ISSUE:

volume 25, number 1 February 2008

As mentioned in past newsletters, the year

008 will be a year o 50th anniversaries or

pace exploration. On 31 January 1958, ol-

owing in the wake o Sputnik I and Sputnik

I, the United States launched Explorer 1

n the Armys Jupiter-C (Juno) rocket. The

Navys Vanguard ollowed on 17 March. On

9 July, President Eisenhower signed legisla-

ion creating the National Aeronautics and

pace Administration (NASA), which became

perational on 1 October 1958. During this

nniversary year, I will write on each o these

vents or this newsletter, beginning in thisssue with Explorer 1.

One way to approach Explorer 1 is through

ne o the most iconic images o the Space

Age. That image is not the launch itsel rom

Cape Canaveral, spectacular as it was as a

ighttime event (10:48 p.m.) and as a new

kind o event that was thereore resh to

he American mind. Nor is it the image rom

Huntsville, home o the Redstone Arsenal,

ts Army Ballistic Missile Agency, and the

on Braun rocket team. Rather, it is the photo

napped a ew hours ater launch showingWilliam H. Pickering, James Van Allen, and

Wernher von Braun holding up a model o the

atellite at an early morning news conerence

n Washington, DC. The image captures the

riumph those men, and many others around

he United States, elt with the launch o the

rst American satellite less than our months

ter Sputnik I had delivered its shock o

he century. Let us contemplate or a ew

moments the context, the details, and the sig-

icance o that photo.

continued on page 3

HistoryoftHe scientific

explorationof eartHand space

contractsby Amelia Lancaster

The NASA History Division is very pleased to announce the selection o 12

new projects in the History o the Scientic Exploration o Earth and Space

(HSEES) program, unded jointly by the Science Mission Directorate (SMD)

and the History Division. SMD assembled an independent review panel toevaluate history proposals that were submitted in response to a broad-

ranging solicitation. These selected projects are mostly to produce books or

shorter monographs and are mostly three-year projects. The NASA History

Division, together with the Science Mission Directorate, will oversee these

projects. Synopses o the selected HSEES projects are below.

William Clancey, o Ames Research Center, has been awarded a contract

to research the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) scientists, ocusing on their

proessional and personal experience as part o a multiple-year, collabora-

tive mission with a virtual presence on Mars. The monograph is based on

personal observations o the MER Spirit and Opportunity science teams

at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in 2004 and data gathered by the

human-centered computing team led by the principal investigator.

Henry Dethlo has been contracted to research and write a history o sci-

entic ballooning. The work will briefy review balloon fight and will ocus

continued on next page

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

History of the Scientic Exploration of Earth and Space Contracts. . . . . . . 1

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

New NASA History Publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Other New Aerospace History Publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

New Online Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

NASA History Fellowships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

New Contracts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

NASA Historic Preservation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Other History News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Awards and Recognition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Call for Summer Interns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Kennedy Space Center Lab Works with Customers To DeliverNew Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Calls for Papers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Upcoming Meetings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Recent Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Image in Aerospace History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30


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NASA HISTORY DIVISION

2

on the past quarter century o NASA scientic ballooning, which has provided an

enhanced understanding o both Earth and planetary environments.

W. Henry Lambright will write a book on the history o NASAs robotic MarsExploration Program (MEP). Chronicling the history o the MEP program, the

book will discuss the Mariner, Viking, and Observer missions o the 20th century,

as well as the Mars advocacy coalition.

Chris Impey will write a book on the history and cultural impact o those NASA

space science missions that have powerully shaped popular imagination regarding

our place in the universe. Using a wide range o scholarly and popular inormation,

the author aims to reach a wide audience with inormation about the impacts and

achievements o astronomy and planetary science.

Shaida Johnston and Darrel Williams o Goddard Space Flight Center have been

contracted to research and write a book on the Landsat satellite missions. The proj-

ect will document the technical and operational history o the Landsat program and

its archive by describing the evolution o the program rom a remote sensing system

into a global observing system. The book not only will be used as a basic reerence

document, but also will provide insights and lessons or those entrusted with the

planning o uture archives and global observing systems.

Susan Neibur has been commissioned to write a book on the 10 missions undertaken

since the launch o the Discovery Program. Her work will study how quickly each

mission was able to respond to and resolve unoreseen challenges, along with how

management at NASA Headquarters responded to those challenges and whether

lessons learned have increased the probability o success o later missions. The book

intends to inorm and inspire general audiences and provide a solid analysis or

those involved in the administration, planning, and execution o uture missions.

James Acker has been awarded a contract to write a book on the history o NASAsleading role in ocean biological remote sensing, termed ocean color. Ocean color

is the ability o microscopic oceanic plants to appear as dierent colors because o

their chlorophyll concentrations. Visible through satellite imaging, it oers large-

scale views o ocean biological dynamics. This history will provide the scientic

community and public with insight into the exciting science behind iconic views o

the worlds oceans.

Roger Launius o the National Air and Space Museum has been commissioned to

write a book on the history o robotic planetary exploration. The purpose o this book

is to consider, over the 50-year history o the Space Age, what we have learned about

the other bodies o the solar system and the process whereby we have learned it. The

project seeks to capture, in one place, a set o broad studies o the history o robotic

solar system exploration and to open opportunities or greater involvement o socialscientists in a topic that has not attracted them heretoore.

Roger Launius also has been granted support to research and create an atlas o space

exploration. This work will depict the history o the Space Age through text, photo-

graphs, and specially executed cutaway and other types o illustrations, as well as many

maps. It will include stupendous images rom NASA and other sources. A critical col-

laborator in this project is Andrew Johnston, a geographer with considerable experience

in developing maps and other scientic visualizations or planetary exploration.

History o the Scientifc Exploration o Earth and Space Contracts (continued)

continued on page 5


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VOLUME 25, NUMBER 1 February 200

First, the context. Why are Explorer 1s three most important people in Washington,

DC? As you might have guessed, it has little to do with technical duties and every-

thing to do with publicity. Having seen the media circus surrounding the ailed

4-oot launch o the Navys Vanguard the previous month, von Braun, Pickering,

and Van Allen were sent to Washington, much to their dismay, or a planned press

conerence intended to divert some o the attention rom the launch site itsel. The

hours beore launch ound them in the Pentagon, where they kept track o events

via teletype at the Army communications center. Ater the successul launch, they

crossed the Potomac in a chaueured car on a cold, rainy Washington night and

arrived at the National Academy o Sciences building, site o the 1 a.m. press coner-

ence. It was now 1 February; the stage was set or the iconic photo.

Let us take a look in more detail at the photo itsel. The eye is drawn rst to the

three men, each the subject o a biography in 2007: Michael J. Neuelds Von Braun:

Dreamer o Space, Engineer o War (Alred A. Knop, 2007); Abigail Foerstners

James Van Allen: The First Eight Billion Miles (University o Iowa Press, 2007); and

Douglas J. Mudgways William H. Pickering: Americas Deep Space Pioneer (NASASP-2007-4113, 2007). As von Braun, Van Allen, and Pickering held the model o

Explorer 1 alot in the early morning hours o 1 February 1958, each had come to the

moment by diverse personal pathways.

Von Braun was born in 1912, and his path originated in Germany, where he devel-

oped the worlds rst large rocket, the V-2, in the context o Hitlers Nazi Germany.

The story o the transer o 120 Germans to the United States as part o Project

Paperclip, their time at Fort Bliss and White Sands testing V-2 rockets, and their

arrival and work at the Armys Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, devel-

oping a more powerul ballistic missile, is well known. Von Braun and his team

provided the Jupiter-C (Juno) rst stage that launched Explorer 1. As von Braun

had hoped all along, what was once a weapon was turned toward the exploration o

outer space.

Pickering (born in 1910) was a New Zealander who was intrigued by radio commu-

nication at an early age, came as a student to the Caliornia Institute o Technology

(Caltech), and joined its aculty in 1936. Both as a graduate student and as a aculty

member, he worked with Nobelist Robert Millikan on the new eld o cosmic rays,

developing instrumentation or determining their directional characteristics using

an array o Geiger counters. He also developed lightweight instrument packages

or high-altitude balloons, good practice or what was to come. During World War

II, Pickering worked on rocket technology or the Army at Caltechs Jet Propulsion

Laboratory. He became its Director in 1954 and oversaw the development o its

early Corporal and Sergeant rockets. During this time, he met Wernher von Braun.

In addition to its role in the Sergeant rockets in the upper stages o the Explorer 1

launch vehicle, Pickerings group would provide the satellite itsel. Pickering wouldremain Director o JPL until 1976, the year beore von Brauns death.

Van Allen, born in 1914, was the all-American boy rom Iowa. His interest in science

was stimulated at Iowa Wesleyan College, where he helped prepare instruments or

the second Byrd Antarctic Expedition. He also did work on magnetism with an eye

toward geophysical applications. Ater graduate work at the University o Iowa,

as well as wartime work at the Carnegie Institution o Washingtons Department o

Terrestr ial Magnetism and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory,

From the Chie Historian (continued)



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in 1946 Van Allen became involved in using von Brauns captured V-2 rockets or

cosmic-ray research. In 1951, he returned to the University o Iowa as the chairman

o its physics department. In urtherance o his cosmic-ray research, he pioneered

balloon-launched rocket sondes, and the launch o Sputnik ound him on a research

ship in the Pacic carrying out his Rockoon program. Because o their previous

work, Van Allen and his group were well placed to develop a scientic payload or

Americas rst satellite, which was supposed to be the Navys Vanguard. But Van

Allen had hedged his bets by keeping in contact with Ernst Stuhlinger in von Brauns

Huntsville group and made sure the payload would also t on the Armys Jupiter-C

rocket. With the launch o Sputnik and the ailure o Vanguard, Van Allens experi-

ments indeed rst few on Americas rst satelliteExplorer 1.

Each o these three men thus represented a component o Explorer 1s success: the

rocket, the satellite, and the science payload. Each represented an institutional

underpinning crucial to the fedgling American space program: the Army, the Jet

Propulsion Laboratory, and scientic research as represented by the University o

Iowa. Each had ollowed his own path to converge in the singular moment depictedin the triumphal image.

In that image, ater the men, the eye is

drawn to the object they are holding, the

satellite itsel. On Pickerings end is the

scaled-down ourth-stage Sergeant rocket

that he had helped develop. On the right

side, over von Brauns head, is the instru-

mentation section o the satellite. It is made

o stainless steel only a raction o a milli-

meter thick. The stripes are not or decora-

tion. Rather, they are the passive thermal

control system, the alternating eight whitestripes allowing the instrument compart-

ment to maintain a temperature between

43 and 104F. Inside the instrument pack-

age are three types o experiments: Van

Allens cosmic-ray experiment (a Geiger

counter), two types o micrometeorite

detectors, and temperature sensors. Van

Allens experiment was used in conjunc-

tion with subsequent satellites to detect

and map what became known as the Van

Allen radiation belts. The micrometeorite

detectors were intended to characterize

the space environment or uture satel-

lites and to help gauge how they might be

endangered by high-velocity small particles

in the new, uncharted ocean o space. The

third experiment, the temperature sen-

sors, measured temperature around the

From the Chie Historian (continued)

Shown here are the three men responsible or the success o

Explorer 1, Americas rst Earth satellite, launched 31 January1958. At let is Dr. William H. Pickering, Director o JPL, whichbuilt and operated the satell ite. Dr. James A. Van Allen, center,o the University o Iowa, designed and built the instrument onExplorer that discovered the radiation belts that circle Earth. Atright is Dr. Wernher von Braun, leader o the Armys RedstoneArsenal team, which built the rst-stage Redstone rocket thatlaunched Explorer 1. (Image Number GPN-2000-000478)


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spacecrat. Also important were the wires extending o the satellite; they were used

in conjunction with the radio transmitters, which carried the rst transistors ever

into outer space, to send data to the newly ormed Mini-track stations below.

On the table in ront o this scene is a model o the launch vehicle, reminding us o the

intense rivalry between the Navys Vanguard and the Army Ballistic Missile Agency

rocket built in Huntsville. Its rst stage is a Juno rocket, a modied Jupiter-C rom the

Redstone Arsenal, with a V-2 pedigree going back to World War II. The second stage

is a ring o 11 modied Sergeant solid-propellant motors, with three more or the third

stage. These upper stages include the cylindrical spinning tub, started 10 minutes

beore launch and revolving at 750 revolutions per minute (rpm) during launch, to

help even out the thrust o the clustered motors and provide gyroscopic stability. The

ourth stage is that single scaled-back Sergeant rocket. The rst-stage engine delivered

83,000 pounds o thrust; each Sergeant rocket, 16,500 pounds. All o this to launch

a payload o 31.5 pounds, including the attached burned-out ourth stage, 120 o 1

percent o the initial mass. It was awesomely wonderul and awesomely inecient at

the same timea problem still with us today, even with much larger engines.

Many elements thus came together to compose this iconic imagethe setting, the

people, the technology, the politics, and the media itsel, present in the knowledge

that the event was bound to be o historic proportions. No one knew quite how his-

toric. All things have a beginning, and or the United States presence in space, this

was it, eight months beore NASA even became operational. Out o small beginnings

grew great things. One could hardly have known what this singular event would set

o during the next 50 years. For some visionaries, it has been a disappointment; or

others, an inspiration; or yet others, a diversion o resources better used on Earthly

problems. But like the railroad and the airplane, spacefight has impacted society

in ways that even the visionaries could not have oreseen and that we cannot ully

athom even today.

Steve Dick

David DeVorkin has been granted support or a project that is to examine how

arrangements between academic research institutions and government patrons have

stimulated pure research. As an example, DeVorkin studies the transormation o

the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the Harvard College Observatory

into the Harvard-Smithsonian Center or Astrophysics. In doing so, he shows how

deeply NASA infuenced what became a true transormation in scope and direction

or the combined Center or Astrophysics.

Neil Maher has been contracted to write Ground Control: An Environmental History

o NASA and the Space Race. The book will examine the changing relationship

between nature and American science and culture. It will bring attention to the

historic signicance o NASA science and the way in which the space race and

natures unexplored role within it shaped the politics and culture o postWorld War

II America.




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NEWSFROM HEADQUARTERSANDTHE CENTERS

Headquarters

Headquarters Historical Reference Collection

Jane Odom continues to evaluate and acquire new material or the Historical

Reerence Collection. She appraises material and directs the subsequent processing

o collections. Jane continues to answer reerence requests and acilitates the entry o

international visitors into the building. She and other members o the archival sta

are still working with the inormation technology (IT) sta on a modication to the

database that will allow thousands o Portable Document Format (PDF) les in the

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

Colin Fries and John Hargenrader have completed the scanning o the Administrators

speeches. They are now working their way through the Deputy Administrators speeches,

scanning and adding them to our database. A project John and Colin began a year ago

has nally come to ruitionthe processing o the National Advisory Committee or

Aeronautics (NACA) Collection, 191558. Those interested in using this collection willnd subject les, biographical les, photographs, patent les, reunion les, and oral

history interviews.

Colin, John, and Liz Suckow shared in act-checking a number o orthcoming

publicationsa new art book by Bert Ulrich, a dictionary o the Space Age by Paul

Dickson, and a revision o our monograph on U.S. human spacefight. Additionally,

all three share reerence duties such as answering inquiries sent to the public e-mail

account on the History Division Web site and assisting walk-in researchers. Everyone

rom the History Division attended sessions at the Remembering the Space Age: 50th

Anniversary Conerence held 2223 October 2007 in Washington.

Individually, Liz completed the processing o two lie sciences collections, one dated

19912002 and the other a collection o source materials, 195877, or an unpublishedbook on the topic by Mae Mills Link. In November, Liz began appraising several

dozen boxes o Viking Program History les recalled rom the Federal Records Center.

She is copying historically signicant items rom those boxes and adding them to the

Historical Reerence Collection. In addition, she began processing a collection o

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) les.

Colin completed the reorganization o the History Division book series Web page and

added a section describing our fagship publications. He continues to nd and correct

errors on the History Web site. John is currently processing a collection o source les

Christine Beckman has been awarded a contract to explore how managers and

organizations successully manage innovation in the ace o uncertainty. The study

explores the ormal and inormal structures that give shape to emerging ideas, the

way in which technical and scientic uncertainty interact with nancial and political

uncertainty, and the way in which new structures emerge to deal with uncertainty

during projects o long duration. The study examines the Spitzer Space Telescope

program as well as the social and technical changes that arose during its inception.



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collected by Dill Hunley or his recently published book on propulsion technology

development or U.S. space-launch vehicles.

Welcome to Amelia Lancaster

The NASA History Division welcomed Amelia Lancaster as a new intern in January.

Amelia is rom Northern Caliornia and is a student at the University o Caliornia,

Davis. She is a junior majoring in political science and economics.

Ames Research Center (ARC)

To celebrate NASAs 50th anniversary, the NASA Ames Contractor Council pre-

pared its 2008 calendar to honor the 12 inductees in the Ames Hall o Fame. It sold

rapidly. Preparations are under way at Ames to select a new class o honorees.

April Gage remains busy with a tremendous variety o acquisitions. Throughout

2007, she acquired and inventoried 19 donations to the History Oce archives, which

included 61 cubic eet o records, books, and small- to medium-sized artiacts, as wellas 85 linear eet o ramed items and large artiacts. O these acquisitions, 18 were

accessioned and 10 were ully processed, totaling 34.5 cubic eet and 5.5 linear eet.

Items o note include artiacts rom the Pioneer Project era, such as a ull-scale model

o Pioneer 69 spacecrat and several original paintings depicting artists conceptions

o planetary encounters by various Pioneers. A wooden, ull-scale mockup o the inte-

rior components o the Galileo descent probe and a wind tunnel model o the probe

also stand out among spacecrat models acquired in 2007. Remarkably, a complete

Hycon HR-732 9-by-18-inch-rame reconnaissance camera or the U-2 aircrat, one

o several aerial cameras used in the airborne science program when it was based at

Ames, was rescued rom disposal or placement in the History Oce artiact collec-

tion. Additionally, a cache o documents on Ames-based Earth system science, mis-

sion analysis, and computer systems and research was donated by Robert Slye, a gited

and versatile scientist who has been continuously employed by the Center since 1958.

April also brought a renewed ocus on preservation to the Ames archive. She reviewed

actual storage conditions in the N207 high bay and drated a requirements plan antici-

pating a proposed relocation o the archive in 2008. She identied ways to implement

basic, broad preservation measures to improve the storage conditions across all the

collections. Further, she relocated, cleaned, rehoused, and perormed other preserva-

tion measures to 36 cubic eet o material, including artiacts, records, books, and

photographs rom multiple acquisitions dating rom 2004 to 2006; urthermore, she

either created or updated nding aids or the items.

Working with NASA Ames Historic Preservation Ocer Keith Venter, April completed

a major redesign o the Ames historic preservation Web site (http://historicproperties.arc.

nasa.gov). An encyclopedic compilation o documents relating to the history o Ames

acilities, it is proving an excellent resource or historical researchers.

The History Oce would like to extend a hearty thank-you to its emeritus archivist,

Leilani Marshall. Much to the oces good ortune, Leilani has generously donated

abundant amounts o her time to archives projects here. O note was her completion

o the conversion o the last several cubic eet o legacy material, including records,

scrapbooks, audiovisual media, and books, into the Archives Reerence Collection


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8

(AFS1070.8A), a large collection that she designed. Leilani has provided valuable

advice, appeared when needed, and magically helped make piles o work disappear.

Allison Sundaram, a senior at Santa Clara University, will join the History Oce asan intern or the spring semester. To urther her interest in museum studies, she will

catalog artwork in the archives and prepare some small exhibits. Ruth Dasso

Marlaire, on detail to the History Oce, has been researching and writing a biogra-

phy o space scientist James Pollack.

Jack Boyd has prepared a complete new presentation or NASAs 50th anniversary

rom the perspective o the NASA Ames Research Center and has been using it or his

many outreach eorts. He and Glenn Bugos are writing up a version o it or presenta-

tion at the American Institute o Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Space 2008

conerence.

Glenn Research Center (GRC)

The Plum Brook Reactors Decommissioning Projects Annual Community

Inormation Session was held on 17 October at Sandusky High School. The event

was very well attended by local citizens hoping to learn more about the reactor and

the progress o the decommissioning. Glenns History Ocers Kevin Coleman and

Anne Power, as well as archivist Bob Arrighi (RSIS), were on hand to answer ques-

tions about the reactors history. Additionally, the reactor documentary O Ashes

and Atoms was shown on Toledos local Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) station

in December.

Archivist Bob Arrighi and Records Specialist Deb Demaline (RSIS) are working

with Galen Wilson and Scott Forsythe o the National Archives and Records

Administration (NARA) in identiying original architectural drawings to be

transerred to the NARA Regional Archives in Chicago. It was decided to retain

all drawings rom the initial 194145 con-struction period; those documenting the

overall structure and major changes to each

building; and all original, signicant opera-

tional, and major modication drawings or

each major test acil ity.

Contract archivist Nora Blackman has

resigned her position in the GRC History

Program Archives eective 11 January

2008 and is now an archivist in the Special

Collections Department at Case Western

Reserve University Libraries in Cleveland,

Ohio. In her new role, Nora will continue towork with primary sources in the history o

science and technology. She will be missed!

In early all 2007, Scott Marabito, a Glenn

maintenance worker, discovered the origi-

nal groundbreaking tools used to mark the

beginning o construction o the Center in

1941. The special nickel-plated pick and

News rom Headquarters and the Centers (continued)

Recently discovered in an old storage building at GRC, the original pickand shovel used to break ground at the NACA Aircrat Engine ResearchLaboratory on 23 January 1941 in Cleveland Ohio, is now prominently ondisplay in the Dr. Edward R. Sharp Employee Services building.


9/32


shovel were also later used at the groundbreaking or Plum Brook Station in

Sandusky. The tools had previously been thought to be lost. On 23 January, the

67th anniversary o the groundbreaking, a ceremony was held to commemorate

the event and to unveil a new permanent display o the groundbreaking tools in the

Edward R. Sharp Employee Center.

Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)

Barbara Thompson has agreed to serve as the history point o contact at Goddard

Space Flight Center; she will be replacing Jane Riddle, who has retired. Barbara

graduated rom the University o Pennsylvania in Philadelphia with degrees in phys-

ics and mathematics. She worked as a research assistant doing theoretical modeling

o auroral activity and magnetic storms, and she completed her doctoral thesis on

auroral particle acceleration in 1996.

She began work at GSFC ater graduate school and served as a research scientist

on the recently launched Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). She workedprimarily on the Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Imaging Telescope (EIT) and the Large

Angle Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) instruments, serving as operations

and research scientist.

She has authored or coauthored over 150 scientic papers, primarily concerning

coronal mass ejections, the solar wind, and space weather. She currently serves as

an astrophysicist with the Solar Physics Branch at Goddard, working on the Solar

Dynamics Observatory and Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO)

missions, as well as the International Heliophysical Year (IHY).

Barbara is now setting up a History Committee at GSFC in preparation or their

50th-anniversary activities. The new History Committee is meeting on a monthly

basis to determine history needs and serve as a point o contact or historical eorts.

There are approximately 20 members, and GSFC is close to achieving a good bal-ance o participants through all o the Centers directorates. We have established

liaisons with the American Geophysical Union History Committee, the GSFC

Public Aairs Oce, and the Goddard Retirees and Alumni Association.

The members o the GSFC History Committee are already very active, particularly

since 2009 will be Goddards 50th anniversary. The History Committee is joining

eorts with the Public Aairs Oce to support the activities celebrating the anni-

versary. Other activities include the planning the 50th anniversaries o the Explorer

and Vanguard programs, arranging a Yuris Night celebration o the fight o Yuri

Gagarin, organizing historical speakers at GSFC, and supporting eorts such as

those o the GSFC library.

The History Committee is already busy with many requests rom individuals andprograms requiring inormation on GSFCs activities and successes. We hope that

the interest will continue and that this eort wil l be ruitul.

Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)

A ull-scale, newly restored Saturn V rocket at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center

(USSRC) in Huntsville is now housed in the new 68,200-square-oot Davidson

Center or Space Exploration.



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10

The restoration o the Saturn V and the opening o the Davidson Center represent

the rst stage in a USSRC plan to better showcase NASA and MSFC contributions

to historical, current, and uture space exploration.

The Davidson Center will also serve as a new ront door or the USSRC complex,

housing its visitor ticketing area and a 350-seat auditorium, along with the Saturn

V rocket.

The USSRC, NASAs rst visitor center, opened in 1970 and has served over 12

million visitors to date. As the Ocial Visitor Inormation Center or Marshall, the

USSRC educates the public and students who attend Space Camp about the work

being done at MSFC, particularly in the area o propulsion, where MSFC has made

signicant contributions to the Apollo and Shuttle programs and is again on the

oreront with the Ares rockets.

Dorothy Davidson, a Huntsville businesswoman who is a member o the Saturn V

Restoration Executive Committee, secured the naming opportunity or the build-

ing with her leadership git. Through this naming opportunity, Mrs. Davidson

is recognizing the contributions o her husband, Dr. Julian Davidson, and other

Alabama engineers who worked in the early days o missile and rocket development

in Huntsville, many o whom joined Dr. Wernher von Brauns team to create the

rocket that transported human beings to the Moon.

Stennis Space Center (SSC)

Rebecca Strecker, History Oce point o contact at SSC, will be moving to Kennedy

Space Center to take a new position in strategic communications. We wish her well.

Linda Theobold will be replacing her as the new History Oce point o contact

at SSC.

New NASA History Publications

New Books

Wind and Beyond: A Documentary Journey into the History o Aerodynamics in

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

James R. Hansen with Jeremy Kinney, D. Bryan Taylor, Molly Prickett, and

J. Lawrence Lee. Following up on volume 1s account o the invention o the

airplane and the creation o the original aeronautical research establishment in

the United States, volume 2 explores the airplane design revolution o the 1920s

and 1930s and the quest or improved airoils. To order this book, please contact

the NASA Center or AeroSpace Inormation, 7121 Standard Drive, Hanover,MD 21076, 301-621-0390, [email protected]; online order orm: https://www.sti.

nasa.gov/cgi-bin/ordersti.pl. The price code is EA7 (within the U.S., $35 plus $2

shipping and handl ing; outside the U.S., $70 plus $17 shipping and handling).

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

Douglas J. Mudgway. A thoroughly researched, insightul biography o William

Pickering, a pioneer o U.S. robotic spacelight and a signiicant actor in the

Explorer 1 project. To order this book, please contact the NASA Center or

AeroSpace Inormation, 7121 Standard Drive, Hanover, MD 21076, 301-621-

News rom Headquarters and the Centers (continued)


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0390, [email protected]; online order orm: https://www.sti.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/

ordersti.pl. The price code is EA5 (within the U.S., $25 plus $2 shipping and

handling; outside the U.S., $50 plus $17 shipping and handling).Facing the Heat Barrier: A History o Hypersonics (NASA SP-2007-4232), by T. A.

Heppenheimer. Hypersonics is a study relating to supersonics that has enabled

thermal protection during atmospheric reentry and advanced high-speed pro-

pulsion. Facing the Heat Barrier examines this science and its importance in

the elds o aeronautics and spacefight. To order this book, please contact the

NASA Center or AeroSpace Inormation, 7121 Standard Drive, Hanover, MD

21076, 301-621-0390, [email protected]; online order orm: https://www.sti.nasa.

gov/cgi-bin/ordersti.pl. The price code is EA4 (within the U.S., $20 plus $2 ship-

ping and handling; outside the U.S., $40 plus $17 shipping and handling).

U.S. Human Spaceight: A Record o Achievement, 19612006 (NASA SP-2007-

4541), compiled by Judith A. Rumerman and updated by Chris Gamble and

Gabriel Okolski. Interested readers may obtain a ree copy o this monograph bysending a sel-addressed, stamped 9-by-12-inch envelope ($2.84 domestic rst-class

postage or 13 ounces) to the NASA Inormation Center, NASA Headquarters,

Washington, DC 20546, or by coming in person to the NASA History Division

in room CO72 o NASA Headquarters. We expect to post a PDF version o this

monograph soon.

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

and Roger D. Launius. The rst in a new subseries or societal impact studies,

this large volume contains the edited papers rom a conerence that was held

in September 2006. The essays cover a wide range o topics including ideology,

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

and economic impacts. To order this book, please contact the NASA Center or

AeroSpace Inormation, 7121 Standard Drive, Hanover, MD 21076, 301-621-0390,[email protected]; online order orm: https://www.sti.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/ordersti.pl.

The price code is EA5 (within the U.S., $25 plus $2 shipping and handling; outside

the U.S., $50 plus $17 shipping and handling).

Other New Aerospace History

Publications

Compiled by Chris Gamble

The History o German Space Policy: Ideas, Inuences, and Interdependence , 1923

2002, by Niklas Reinke, translated by Barry Smerin and Barbara Wilson (Paris:

Beauchesne Editeur, January 2008). Niklas Reinkes book describes, or the rst

time, the concepts, the infuencing actors, and the interdependencies that had an

impact on Germanys postwar program in space. The book provides an in-depth

look into the dierent phases o space activities in Germany over the years (and, to a

large extent, also those elsewhere in Europe), at the personalities involved, and at the

numerous projects carried out within the national program or as bilateral programs

with the U.S. and France.



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The Skylark Rocket: British Space Science and the European Space Research

Organisation, 19571972, by Matthew Godwin (Paris: Beauchesne Editeur, January

2008).By the time the last Skylark rocket was launched in 2005, nearly 450 launches

had been carried out rom sites in Europe, Australia, and South America in the

nearly 50-year lietime o the program. The Skylark is a largely unsung hero o the

U.K. space programin act, its use went ar beyond the U.K.; it also was used

by NASA, the European Space Research Organisation (ESRO), and German and

Swedish space organizations. The book charts the rst 15 years o the development

o the Skylark program, rom its genesis to its extensive use by ESRO.

To the End o the Solar System: The Story o the Nuclear Rocket, 2nd edition, by

James A. Dewar (Apogee Books Space Series/Collectors Guide Publishing, Inc.,

January 2008). Jargon-ree and ideal or scientists and laypersons alike, this study is

a comprehensive history and analysis o nuclear rocket propulsion systems. Detail-

ing a two-decade periodspanning the 1950s through part o the 1970sby prol-

ing the U.S. governments Rover and Nuclear Engine or Rocket Vehicle Application

(NERVA) programs, the book provides a complete history o the development onuclear propulsion capabilities or space exploration. Eyeing uture possibilities,

this reerence identies the technological requirements necessary to perorm the

deep space missions now being planned by NASA and presents a discussion on the

political and social issues surrounding nuclear rocket development.

The Space Economy at a Glance 2007, published by the Organisation or Economic

Co-operation and Development (OECD) (Paris: OECD Publishing, 2007). The

space industry itsel is relatively small compared to other manuacturing sectors,

but its technological dynamism and strategic signicance mean that it plays an ever

more critical role in modern society. This book provides a compilation o statistics

on the space sector and its contributions to economic activity.

50 Years o Space: A Global Perspective, edited by P. V. Manoranjan Rao (UniversitiesPress, 2007). To commemorate the 50th anniversary o the launch o Sputnik I, 50

Years o Space gathers, in a single volume, brie histories o all o the major space

agencies o the world written by top space program ocials. The essays illustrate

the means by which each space agency has explored outer space, showcased its

technological advancements, and solved social problems. They also depict advances

in international cooperation with predictions or the uture.

History o Rocketry and Astronautics, Volume 28, edited by Frank H. Winter,

American Astronomical Society History Series (IAA History Symposia, volume

19, 2007). This volume contains the proceedings o the Thirty-Third History

Symposium o International Academy o Astronautics in Amsterdam, The

Netherlands, 1999.

History o Rocketry and Astronautics, Volume 27,edited by Kerrie Dougherty andDonald C. Elder, American Astronomical Society History Series (IAA History

Symposia, volume 18, 2007). This volume contains the proceedings o the Thirty-

Second History Symposium o International Academy o Astronautics in Melbourne,

Australia, 1998.

State o the Universe 2008: Images, Discoveries, and Events, by Martin Ratclie

(Praxis, December 2007). This annual provides a yearly astronomy review suit-

Other New Aerospace History Publications (continued)


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able or the popular science level, covering all major astronomical news on topics

beyond the solar system and placing them in the context o the longer term goals

o astronomers and astrophysicists around the world. It also includes Web links or

all major news stories, providing a bridge between the public news stories and the

actual research Web sites. The set o appendices at the end o the book includes a

list o launches o major astronomical observatories/satellites during the past year,

a list o planned uture astronomical satellites, and basic data on all astronomical

observatories currently in operation, with Web links or the reader who wishes to

nd out more.

How Apollo Flew to the Moon, by W. David Woods (Praxis, December 2007). Out

o the technological battleeld o World War II came a team o gited German

engineers and designers who developed the vengeance weapon, the V-2, which

evolved into the powerul Saturn V rocket that would take men to the Moon. David

Woods tells this exciting story, starting rom Americas postwar astronautical

research acilities that used the V-2 or the development o the robust, resilient, and

reliable Saturn V launcher. He describes the initial launches through piloted orbitalspacefights, comprehensively detailing each step in this massive technical accom-

plishment, including computer conguration, the role o ground control, trajectory

planning, orbiting the Moon, the separation o the lander, walking and working on

the Moon, retrieving the lunar astronauts, and returning to Earth.

The Far Side o the Moon: A Photographic Guide, by Charles J. Byrne (Springer,

December 2007). The ar side o the Moon, also called the dark side o the Moon,

was unknown to humanity until the Luna and Lunar Orbiter pictures were returned

to Earth. Until now, the arside Lunar Orbiter photos have been available only with

strong reconstruction lines, but they appear here or the rst time as complete pho-

tographs, unmarred by imaging and processing artiacts. The book also explains in

detail how the ar side was deeply covered by ejecta rom the Near Side Megabasin

and modied by later impacts.

Robots in Space: Technology, Evolution, and Interplanetary Travel, by Roger D.

Launius and Howard E. McCurdy, New Series in NASA History (Baltimore: Johns

Hopkins University Press, December 2007). Given the near-incomprehensible

enormity o the universe, it appears almost inevitable that humankind will one

day nd a planet that appears to be much like Earth. This discovery will no doubt

reignite the lure o interplanetary travel. Will we be up to the task? And, given our

limited resources, biological constraints, and the general hostility o space, what

shape should we expect such expeditions to take? In Robots in Space, Roger Launius

and Howard McCurdy tackle these seemingly anciul questions with rigorous

scholarship and disciplined imagination, jumping comortably among the worlds o

rocketry, engineering, public policy, and science antasy to expound upon the pos-

sibilities and improbabilities involved in trekking across the Milky Way and beyond.They survey the literature (ctional as well as academic studies); outline the progress

o space programs in the United States and other nations; and assess the current

state o aairs to oer a conclusion startling only to those who have not spent time

with Asimov, Heinlein, and Clarke: to traverse the cosmos, humans must embrace

advanced robotic technologies.



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Apollo Moon Missions: The Unsung Heroes, by Billy Watkins (author) and Fred

Haise (oreword) (Bison Books, December 2007). In 1961, President John F. Kennedy

challenged the United States to land an astronaut on the Moon and return him saely

to Earth beore the end o the decade. It seemed like an impossible mission and one

that the Sovietswho had launched the rst satellite and put the rst man into

Earth orbitwould surely achieve beore the Americans. However, the ingenuity,

passion, and sacrice o thousands o ordinary people rom all walks o lie enabled

the space program to meet this extraordinary goal. This is the story o 14 o those

men and women who worked behind the scenes, without anare or recognition, to

make the Apollo missions successul.

James Van Allen: The First Eight Billion Miles, by Abigail Foerstner (Iowa City:

University o Iowa Press, 15 November 2007). Astrophysicist and space pioneer

James Van Allen (19142006), or whom the Van Allen radiation belts were named,

was among the principal scientic investigators or 24 space missions, including

Explorer 1 in 1958, the rst successul U.S. satellite; Mariner 2s 1962 fyby o Venus,

the rst successul mission to another planet; and the 1970s Pioneer 10 and Pioneer11 missions, which surveyed Jupiter and Saturn. Although he retired as a University o

Iowa proessor o physics and astronomy in 1985, he remained an active researcher,

using his campus oce to monitor data rom Pioneer 10on course to reach the

edge o the solar system when its signal was lost in 2003until a short time beore

his death at the age o 91. Now Abigail Foerstner blends space science drama,

military agendas, Cold War politics, and the events o Van Allens lengthy career to

create the rst biography o this highly infuential physicist.

We Came in Peace or All Mankind: The Untold Story o the Apollo 11 Silicon Disc, by

Tahir Rahman (Leathers Publishing, November 2007). Next to the rst boot prints

let by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin is a package containing a silicon disc with

messages rom 73 world leaders. This vividly illustrated and inspiring book reveals

the story o those messages as well as the historic lunar plaque and U.S. fag thatwere let on the Moon.

Our Changing Planet: The View rom Space, edited by Michael D. King, Claire L.

Parkinson, Kim C. Partington, and Robin G. Williams (Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press, November 2007). Since their launch in the 1960s, satellites have

been used to observe Earth on local, regional, and global scales. These observa-

tions have given us unique insights into the oten detrimental eects that human

activity is having on the planet. Led by a team o editors rom the NASA Goddard

Space Flight Center, the worlds top remote sensing scientists showcase spectacular

satellite imagery combined with an accessibly written text that explains the science

behind these images. This is a stunningly attractive and inormative volume or

anyone interested in environmental issues and the magnicence o our Earth. It also

provides inspiration or students, teachers, environmentalists, and scientists.

The Lunar Exploration Scrapbook, by Robert Godwin (Burlington, Ontario: Apogee

Books/Collectors Guide Publishing, Inc., November 2007). From single-seat landers

to rocket backpacks and lunar bulldozers, this study takes readers into the imagina-

tion o the worlds top aerospace engineers by presenting NASAs lunar spacecrat

research. A unique blend o history and imagination, this resource not only covers

the actual exploration o the Moon conducted during the Apollo program o the

1960s and 1970s, but also includes a presentation o dozens o spacecrat that were

Other New Aerospace History Publications (continued)


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15

never built. Vivid, colorul renderings o the conceptual cratmany o which are

not available anywhere elseare also included, providing a visual progression o

NASAs technological advancements.

Apollo Training, by Robert Godwin (Burlington, Ontario: Apogee Books/Collectors

Guide Publishing, Inc., November 2007). This 168-page book was originally com-

piled or astronauts and NASA internal sta in 1968. It includes 166 pages o

diagrams o Apollo systems, trajectories, and basic procedural inormation. This

extremely rare black-and-white collectible with a ull-color cover is now available in

its entirety or the rst time since 1968.

New Online Resources

NASA History Web Sites

Thor Hogans Mars Wars: The Rise and Fall o the Space Exploration Initiative

(NASA SP-2007-4410) is now available at http://history.nasa.gov/sp4410.pdonline.

The book is about the Space Exploration Initiative, an ambitious project that sought

to return humans to the Moon as well as complete a mission to Mars. It was unsuc-

cessul due to budgetary and, the author argues, decision-making constraints.

Other New Electronic Resources

Retro Space Images provides high-resolution versions o historic NASA imagery in

an easy-to-use ormat. To obtain a CD or DVD-R containing pictures, visit their

Web site at http://retrospaceimages.com. Questions or comments about Retro Space

Images titles or material can be addressed to J. L. Pickering at [email protected].

The Web site http://www.TodayinSpaceHistory.com publishes important and inter-esting inormation about space history, especially space exploration, in relation to

the date on which the event occurred.

The Society or the History o Technology (SHOT) has moved its online database

or the History o Science, Technology and Medicine to http://frstsearch.oclc.

org/. The database contains citations or journal articles, conerence proceedings,

books, book reviews, and dissertations in the history o science, technology, medi-

cine, and allied historical elds.

The Society or History in the Federal Government is pleased to announce the

establishment o H-FedHist, which promotes the study and discussion o the his-

tory o the United States Federal Government by scholars, teachers, researchers,

and other interested parties. It also supports the exchange o ideas and inormation

between scholars on related H-Net networks. To join H-FedHist, please send a

message rom the account where you wish to receive mail to [email protected]

(with no signatures or styled text, word wrap o or long lines) and only this text:

sub H-FedHist , , . Example: sub H-FedHist

Leslie Jones, Pacic State U. Alternatively, you may go to http://www.h-net.org/lists/

subscribe.cgito perorm the same unction as noted above. Follow the instruc-

tions you receive by return mail. I you have questions or experience diculties in

attempting to subscribe, please send a message to [email protected].


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NASA History Fellowships

The NASA History Division is pleased to announce two new fellowships in thehistory of space science and technology. The History Division continues to spon-

sor the American Historical Association Fellowship in Aerospace History. Please

see http://www.historians.org/prizes/NASA.htm for more details. The deadline for

applications is 1 March 2008.

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 his-

tory 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 his-

tory 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 eld, or students who have completed all require-

ments except the dissertation for a Ph.D. in the history of science or a related eld.

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 appli-

cations is 3 March 2008.

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

administered by the Society or the History o Technology (SHOT). This

$17,000 ellowship will und one predoctoral or postdoctoral Fellow, or up

to one academic year, to undertake a research project related to the history

o space technology. This ellowship may support advanced research related

to any or all aspects o space history and should lead to publications on

such topics as the history o space technology broadly considered, including

cultural and intellectual history; institutional history; economic history;

the history o law and public policy; and the history o science, engineering,

and management. The ellowships stipend will be paid quarterly; unds may

not be used to support tuition or ees. Applicants must possess a doctorate

degree in the history o technology or in a closely related eld, or be enrolled

as a student in a doctoral degree program and have completed all require-

ments except the dissertation or a Ph.D. in the history o technology or a

related eld. Eligibility is not limited to U.S. citizens or residents. Applica-

tion orms and urther inormation will be available soon rom http://www.

historyotechnology.org/ online; meanwhile, questions may go to SHOTsecretary Amy Bix at [email protected]. The deadline or applications is 1

March 2008.


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New Contracts

NASA Aeronautics Research Mission DirectorateNASAs Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) is developing a series o

case studies to help oster the transer o lessons learned rom real-world aerospace

programs to the uture aerospace workorce. ARMD is looking or manuscripts suit-

able or a higher education audience on topics related to aeronautics research and

technology development. Manuscripts should be about 50,000 words and should be

accompanied by any relevant supporting materials such as photos, tables, or other

graphics. There is an ongoing selection process with varying amounts awarded to

those selected. Please contact Lynn Bondurant with Paragon Tec at 216-361-5555,

ext. 213, or [email protected] or more inormation or to submit proposals

NASA Historic PreservationBy Tina Norwood

While NASAs 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 brie review o the real property

assets that NASA owns and operates across

the country. O the many assets that are listed

or eligible or listing on the National Register

o Historic Places (NRHP), 20 are National

Historic Landmarks (NHLs).

The National Park Service (NPS) managesthe NRHP. The NRHP contains approxi-

mately 2,500 NHLs: the buildings, districts,

structures, and objects that are signifcant to

Americas history nationally. This series pro-

vides an overview o NASAs 20 NHLs. This

issue eatures NASAs Dynamic Test Stand,

one o our NHLs at Marshall Space Flight

Center (MSFC) in Alabama.

NASA Dynamic Test Stand

Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama

By Ralph H. Allen

Marshall Space Flight Center

Historic Preservation Ocer (HPO)

Strap an engine or vehicle into most o

NASAs test stands and you get smoke, re,

and thunder. Yet at one major test stand, you

get silence. Marshall Space Flight Centers

Dynamic Test Stand is designed to determine


The let side o the sol id rocket booster (SRB) is stacked in theDynamic Test Stand at Marshall Space Flight Center. The SRBwas attached to the external tank (ET) and, later, to the orbiteror the Mated Vertical Ground Vibration Test (MVGVT), whichresumed in October 1978. The purpose o the MVGVT was toveriy that the Space Shuttle would perorm as predicted dur-ing launch.



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18

how various stages and congurations o launch vehicles bend and vibrate in fight.

These tests require hundreds o accelerometers to measure vibration induced by

dynamic shakers at various locations on the test article.

The 424-oot-tall test stand (counting the upper derrick crane) is currently being

modied or testing o the new Ares I, and the rst time that the Ares I will be ully

assembled and mated with all major components will be at this stand or tests in

2011. A ew years later, the Ares V will also see time in this stand beore it is certied

or fight.

Previously known as the Saturn V Dynamic Test Stand, the stand was constructed

rom 1963 to 1965 to test the ully assembled Saturn V rocket. It is one o NASAs

20 National Historic Landmark structures nominated under the 1984 Man-in-Space

Theme Study. Modications such as those required to change the stand rom the

Space Shuttle testing conguration to a new Ares I conguration must ollow the

steps required by Section 106 o the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) o

1966. The implementing regu-lations o this ederal statute

require ederal agencies to

consult with the State Historic

Preservation Ocer (SHPO).

That means that NASA must

take into account the historic

nature o the structure when

making changes, allow the

Alabama SHPO to comment

on the planned work, and

take those comments into

consideration.

Because the Dynamic Test

Stand is a unique historic

structure and major interior

changes will be required to

recongure the platorms that

permit access to the vehicle

being tested, a team rom the

Historic American Engineering

Record (HAER) was brought

in to survey, document, and

interpret the stand and its his-

tory. This documentation was

the mitigation action proposedin Marshalls Section 106 sub-

mittal to the Alabama SHPO.

HAER and its sister organiza-

tion, the Historic American

Building Survey (HABS), are

programs o the National Park

NASA Historic Preservation (continued)

Orbiter Enterprise being lited by crane into the Structura l Dynamic TestFacility in 1978. (Image Number NASA MSFC-7890776)


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1

Service that have been recording Americas signicant historic structures since the

1930s. Their documentation is considered the highest level o recordation available

or historic and industrial structures, and the drawings, photos, and history that

they produce are placed in the Library o Congress and are made available online at

http://memory.loc.gov.

NASAs program and acility managers recognize that HABS and HAER provide

permanent recordation o NASAs unique buildings and structures beore major

modications are made. The MSFC Historic Preservation Ocer was able to initi-

ate Section 106 consultation even beore Constellation Program managers had exact

denitions o the alterations to the Dynamic Test Stand that would be needed to

support Ares. In accordance with the programmatic agreement governing NASAs

20 NHLs, the Secretary o the Interior, National Park Service, was also consulted in

the Section 106 process.

The HAER team assembled to document the Dynamic Test Stand at Marshall

Space Flight Center in 2007. Architectural historians worked on-site through thesummer to measure, analyze, interpret, and draw the stand. Their drawings, history,

and photos will give NASA and the country a permanent record o the stand and

dene its signicant place in the testing and development o the Saturn V and Space

Shuttle vehicles. This proactive approach to recording the Dynamic Test Stand was

critical to completing the Section 106 process with the Alabama SHPO to support

the proposed alterations.

The ollowing is an excerpt rom the HAER package, which is currently being nal-

ized by historian Sara E. Wermiel:

The Saturn V Dynamic Test Stand represents an important element in the

program o research and development that created the enormous Saturn

V/Apollo space vehicle that in July 1969 allowed humans to make the

rst landing on the Moon (Apollo 11). The stand also is signicant as anengineering landmark, because it used a novel means to create ree fight

conditions or the 363-oot tall, 6.2 million-pound Saturn V/Apollo. The

acility was built to determine how various stages and congurations o

this multi-stage launch vehicle would bend and vibrate in fight. Engineers

needed this inormation in order to design the vehicles light control

system and conrm the overall integrity o the structure. Dynamic tests

had been used in the development o missiles and aircrat, but creating

test acilities and testing procedures became increasingly challenging

as the size and complexity o space vehicles grew. In 196061, Marshall

Space Flight Center sta and contractors built the rst tall (204-oot)

steel-skeleton dynamic test stand; this was used or dynamic testing o

the Saturn I launch vehicle and its payload. In that case, the vehicle was

suspended, using cables attached to springs, and shaken to simulate its

dynamic characteristics in fight. For the taller and heavier Saturn V, a new

stand and dierent kind o support system were needed. Marshall Center

engineers invented special hydraulic supports that went under the rame o

the vehicle. Each o the our supports consisted o an ingenious, virtually

rictionless bearing on a vertically foating piston in a cylinder. Oil orced

into the base o the piston pushed up a foat, which in turn increased pres-

sure on nitrogen gas in the piston, orcing the bearing, and thus the Saturn,



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20

to rise a ew inches. In its ree-ree test condition, the vehicle could move

in all directions when it was vibrated by shakers. Tests were conducted on a

model vehicle, the SA-500D, built especially or dynamic testing. Both the

test vehicle and the Saturn V Dynamic Test Stand are National Historic

Landmarks (nominated in 1986). The results o dynamic tests at this stand

helped engineers make the Saturn V a successul launch vehicle. The stand

was modied in the mid-1970s so it could be used or vibration testing o

the Space Shuttle vehicle.

For Centers with signicant structures, consideration should be given to having

HAER documentation done or those that are o national importance. By working

directly with the National Park Service, HAER Oce, MSFC now has permanent

HAER recordation o all our o their NHLs.

Kennedy Space Center Names New HistoricPreservation OcerBy Tina Norwood

In October 2007, Barbara Naylor was designated as the Historic Preservation

Ocer (HPO) or Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida. She replaces Mario

Busacca, who joined NASA in 1984 and served as KSCs rst HPO. Barbara has

been a NASA employee at KSC since 1973 and has supported Cultural Resources

Management (CRM) issues or the past three years in the Environmental Program

Branch. Barbara has been involved in the recent KSC and Agency-wide Space

Shuttle Program Historic Property Surveys and the removal o the Shuttle Cargo

Integration Test Equipment Stands and the Apollo Test Mount Clean Room in the

Operations and Checkout Building/High Bay, as well as the demolition activities

at Launch Complex 34/Engineering Support Building. She will oversee the CRMrequirements involving the removal o the Launch Control Center Sun louvers and

windows and the proposed demolition o the Mission Control Center. She has worked

in several organizations throughout her career, including the Space Shuttle Program

Oce, the Space Station Project Control Oce, the Resources Management Oce,

the Executive Sta to the Center Director, the Design Engineering Directorate,

and the Biomedical Oce. Barbara has been working in the Special Projects and

Planning group within the Environmental Program Branch since 1994.

The NASA historic preservation community welcomes Barbara to NASAs team

o 13 HPOs. She states, I look orward to working more closely with Barbara and

appreciate the tremendous job Mario Busacca has done in managing Kennedys

historic resources. HPOs oversee CRM compliance activities in support o NASAs

mission. More inormation on NASAs CRM program can be ound at http://www.hq.nasa.gov/ofce/oim/oia/emd/crm.html.

For more inormation, please contact Ralph Allen, MSFC HPO, at Ralph.H.Allen@

nasa.gov or Tina Borghild Norwood, NASA Federal Preservation Ocer, at

[email protected].

NASA Historic Preservation (continued)


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Other History News

News rom the National Air and Space MuseumMichael Neueld (Space History Division) has been promoting his new biography,

Von Braun: Dreamer o Space, Engineer o War (New York: Alred A. Knop, 2007),

including giving public talks and radio appearances. The book was reviewed by,

among other publications, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston

Globe, the Washington Post, the New Yorker,and the New York Review o Books. He

also gave a paper in November at the workshop Who Is Making Science? Scientists

as Makers o Science Policy at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain,

entitled Wernher von Braun, Science, Technology and Deense Policy in Germany

and the United States, 19321977. Allan Needell o Space History also presented a

paper on Lloyd V. Berkner at this conerence.

Roger Launius (Space History) participated as a eatured speaker in the Council

on Foreign Relations event The Legacy o Sputnik on 15 October 2007. The event

took place at the Councils New York acilities and involved, in addition to Launius,

Garrick Utley, ormerly oABC News and currently president o the Neil D.

Levin Graduate Institute o International Relations and Commerce, and Matthew

Brzezinski, ormer Moscow correspondent o the Wall Street Journaland author o

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

Additionally, Roger Launius has published Viewpoint: A Signicant Moment or

the Space Age, Space Policy 23 (August 2007): 141143. Abstract: Anniversaries

oer not only opportunities to celebrate and commemorate a signicant event, but

also to refect on larger meanings and consider the place o the events and their

actors in the larger abric o modern society. On 4 October 2007, the world will

commemorate the 50th anniversary o the launch o Sputnik I, the rst spacecrat

placed in orbit. What has this 50-year history brought us? This essay refects on thisevent and its meaning. It suggests that humanity may appropriately conclude that

this Earth is not a cage and that humanity may venture beyond it. It also invokes the

possibilities both o living more ully on this small and precious world we call home

and o leaving it behind or other planets beyond.

Roger Launius has also been named a Fellow o the American Association or the

Advancement o Science (AAAS). This rank is awarded in recognition o an indi-

viduals eorts toward advancing science applications that are deemed scientically

or socially distinguished. The AAAS said that this elevation was or distinguished

scholarship and leadership in the eld o space history, and or demonstrating the

relevance o history to public policy. He will be ormally inducted as an AAAS

Fellow on Saturday, 16 February, at the Fellows Forum during the 2008 AAAS

Annual Meeting in Boston.

At the American Historical Association (AHA) convention in Washington, DC, in

January, David H. DeVorkin (Space History) received the 2008 Herbert Feis Award



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recognizing distinguished contributions to public history during the previous 10

years. This award, created with an initial endowment rom the Rockeeller

Foundat ion and oered by the AHA, is named in memory o Herbert Feis (1893

1972), public servant and historian o recent American oreign policy. Previous

scholars recognized by this award have included Victoria A. Hardin,Rachel P.

Maines, Pete Daniel, Robert Hughes, and Larry E. Tise.

Also in January, at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) conerence in San

Antonio, the Historical Astronomy Division o the AAS awarded David DeVorkin the

sixth LeRoy E. Doggett Prize or Historical Astronomy. This prize was given or his

seminal work in i lluminating the origins and development o modern astrophysics and

the origins o the space sciences during the twentieth century. His citation reads: Dr.

DeVorkins many research papers, books, and monographs have provided a detailed,

scholarly and yet interesting history o twentieth century space science and astrophys-

ics and the roles o the military, religion, government, the world wars and the power

brokers in the development o these elds. His 2000 biography o Henry Norris

Russell was critically acclaimed and resulted in two major exhibitions as well asseveral smaller ones. Based upon a wide variety o well documented sources, includ-

ing archival correspondence and oral histories, this landmark biography illuminated

much o the history o astrophysics in the rst hal o the 20th century. His popular

historical articles have engaged the public, and through his curatorial role at the

Smithsonian Institutions National Air and Space Museum he has made astronomy

come alive or millions o interested museum visitors.

Martin Collins (Space History) is succeeding John Krige as the editor oHistory

and Technology, an international journal that aims at integrating technology into

the broader eld o historical inquiry. Research on aviation and spacefight ts

squarely into the journals portolio. For more on the journal, including submission

guidelines, see http://www.tand.co.uk/journals/titles/07341512.asp.

Richard Hallion (Aeronautics Division) has been elected to the grade o Fellow o

the American Institute o Aeronautics and Astronautics, one o 30 Fellows and 3

Honorary Fellows elected or 2008. AIAA Fellows are selected or notable and

valuable contributions to the arts, science, or technology o aeronautics or astro-

nautics. Dr. Hallion currently serves as the 200708 Alred Verville Fellow at the

National Air and Space Museum, where he is studying the role o NACA Technical

Representative John Jay Ide in air intelligence and the transer o technical inorma-

tion between Europe and America.

News rom the American Astronautical Societys (AAS)History Committee

The AAS History Committee (HistComm) has many tasks and publications or2008. They include the ollowing:

Work with Univelt to publish three volumes in the AAS History Series, plus an

index o IAA History Series papers, 19672000, which was prepared by the IAA

History Study Group.

Other History News (continued)


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Complete editorial work on ABC-CLIO encyclopedia eort.Select the recipient o the 2007 Emme Award or Astronautical Literature.Assess the HistComm charter and implement recommendations o the Doyle

Working Group.

Produce three editions oExplorer.Provide Space Times with our book reviews.Add two new members to the HistComm (nominations welcomed).Support activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary o NASA.Initiate compilation o college space history courses and programs available

nationally, eventually to include sample syllabi and other inormation.

Expand the AAS awards program to include an annual award or the best pub-lished article on astronautics or spacefight history.

Support the eorts oSpace Times by encouraging members to provide articles toSpace Times or publication.

The AAS History Committee publishes its Explorer newsletter quarterly. To receive

Explorer via e-mail, send a message to [email protected]. You will receive

conrmation that your e-mail address has been added to the AAS History Committees

e-mail list or the newsletter.

Awards and Recognition

The History Division is pleased to announce that Douglas Mudgway, authoro William H. Pickering: Americas Deep Space Pioneer,has been awarded the

American Institute o Aeronautics and Astronautics 2008 History Manuscript

Award. The book is a biography o William Pickering, an instrumental gure in

the Explorer 1 Program and a pioneer in the eld o space exploration. As Director

o the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pickerings decision to aliate with the newly

ormed NASA brought about NASAs ambitious program or the exploration o the

solar system. With his guidance, missions to explore Venus, Mars, and the Moon

came to actualization. Explorer 1, Americas rst satellite, became another iconic

mission under his direction. The books publication date is signicant because it

coincides with the 50th anniversary o the Explorer 1 program. The book is now

available or public sale.


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Call for Summer Interns

The NASA History Division sponsors internships or undergraduate and gradu-ate students year-round. We are currently looking or interns or summer 2008.

The deadline or applications is 14 March 2008. Our internships are quite sub-

stantive and are opportunities or students to learn and contribute signicantly.

This summer, we unortunately will be unable to pay interns directly. How-

ever, we encourage students to apply or stipends or other unding through

the national network o state space grant consortia (http://calspace.ucsd.edu/

spacegrant/contacts/directors/dir_directors.html), their home educational institu-

tions, or other corporate or nonprot sources. Students will need to exercise

initiative to nd out about the dierent application criteria, procedures, and

deadlines rom these various organizations. In any event, interested students

should ollow the NASA History Divisions application procedures and dead-

lines, as outlined on http://history.nasa.gov/interncall.htm .

Kennedy Space Center Lab Workswith Customers To Deliver NewTechnologies

By Svetlana Shkolyar, Student Intern

Although the main mission o Kennedy Space Centers Applied Physics Laboratory

(APL) may be to deliver gadgets to support launch operations, it is the verdict o the

end users o these technologies that dictate which ones make it into the eld.

For example, the Water Extraction Tool (WET), a vacuum system or drying multipleorbiter tiles, is a case where hardware is needed or contingencies, said Dr. Robert

Youngquist, physicist at the APL. The tool was designed to remove water rom orbiter

tiles ater a 2001 mission, when the orbiter was subjected to rain ater its landing.

WET was developed as a ve-times-aster method than that used or Atlantis, drying

by heating. WET works by sucking water out through the waterproong holes in

each tile.

The Thermal Protection System team liked the tool, but when lab personnel deliv-

ered it, they kindly asked us to keep our hardware, said Youngquist, because

Shuttles are rarely rained upon. Four years later, Discovery landed in Caliornia

and was also rained upon. A request or the tool was sent to the lab, and within two

weeks, WET was being used in the eld.

The Gaseous Oxygen Vent Alignment Tool, which is positioned on the External Tank

spike, came to be used also because the end user, engineer Jorge Rivera, accepted it

or use in the eld despite managements concern that it needed additional capabili-

ties. Jorge recognized that it would meet the need as it was and accepted it or use.

Other APL technologies that would not have made it into the eld without the end

users active involvement include the Reaction Control System (RCS) nozzle inspec-


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tion tools or checking the RCS chambers or deects, as well as the Surace Light

Optimizing Tool (SLOT) or inspecting the orbiter windows or hazardous deects

by light refection using a prism.

According to Youngquist, The best case is when the end user wants to work with

you and develops a vested interest. Just like NASA Orbiter Maneuvering System

engineer John Peters, who took a hands-on interest in the RCS project, lead win-

dow inspector Robin Floyd took a similar interest in developing the SLOT. Floyd

conceived the idea or SLOT independently but had no means o abricating a eld

version o it; he and the APL jointly produced the tool when a meeting o the minds

occurred, said Youngquist.

The SLOT will soon be adapted or use by the International Space Station (ISS) and

the Constellation project. The tools allow work to be completed in much less time

than that required by previous methods. Three RCS tools are used today at our sites,

including the White Sands Test Facility, which reurbishes thrusters.

Technology is a unction o how ardent the customer is on getting the product; it

is need and personality driven, said Youngquist. This may be the secret to how

innovation impacts the Shuttle Program here at KSC.

Technician Steve Parks o Arctic Slope Regional Corporation(ASRC) is testing the vacuum through the system or the WETtool. This Plexiglas sheet has holes drilled into it to simulatethe waterproong holes on the Shuttle tiles.

Quality assurance inspector James Allen Atwell is using the RCS uel holeinspection device to look into a nozzle in bay 2 o the Orbiter Processing Facility.


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Calls for Papers

2008 Annual Conerence o the Society or the Historyo Technology

The Society or the History o Technology will hold its annual meeting in Lisbon,

Portugal, 1114 October, to continue the celebration o the 50th anniversary o the

ounding o the Society. This years theme will be SHOT@50: Looking Beyond.

The Program Committee seeks papers or session proposals or the 2008 meeting that

concern the history o technology as it may or ought to be practiced in the uture.

The Committee also appreciates papers or panels reaching out beyond SHOTs cur-

rent disciplinary boundaries, as well as papers o high quality on any aspect o the

history o technology, broadly dened.

The Committee welcomes proposals or individual papers or sessions, as well as

works in progress rom researchers. Proposals or individual papers must include aone-page abstract (maximum 600 words) and a one-page curriculum vitae, including

current postal and e-mail addresses. Proposals or complete sessions must include

a description o the session that explains how individual papers contribute to an

overall theme; the names and paper titles o the presenters; a one-page summary o

each papers topic, argument(s), and evidence used or each presenter; and a one-

page curriculum vitae or the commentator, chair, and each presenter. The deadline

or submission is 14 March 2008.

Quest: The History o Spaceight Quarterly

David Arnold, editor oQuest: The History o Spaceight Quarterly, is seeking

articles or 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 ter-ric issue coming together or the 50th anniversary o the Space Age but is looking

or additional items relative both to the anniversary and to other non-anniversary-

related topics or upcoming issues. I you have possible articles or publication or

know o people who might have articles or publication, please contact Dr. Arnold

at [email protected].

International Test and Evaluation Association Journal

The Journal o the International Test and Evaluation Association (ITEA) is looking

or history articles. Each quarter, there is a column entitled Historical Perspectives

involving short historical sketches o up to 1,200 words, with three or our photo-

graphs to accompany them. Longer historical pieces have also been published in the

main part o the journal about subjects o special interest to the association.

The subject matter or these columns has been intentionally broad. The editors

are appealing to a wide range o test and evaluation (T&E) practitionersnot so

much proessional historiansso 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 fight testing during World War I, another on truck airing tests

designed to increase uel economy during the energy crisis o the 1970s, and a third


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on the human actorsnot just the machineryinvolved in the near-atal crash o a

pilot o one o the NASA liting bodies. All have endnotes and, although short, oer

good scholarship to pique urther reading and resh perspectives.

All periods o history are open, and T&E is dened liberally: in the modern sense

o complex, computerized experiments, but also the much less complex T&E as

understood in earlier periods. For example, articles can be about specic aircrat (or

subsystem) tests, infuential individuals in the eld o testing, technological turning

points, or unique supporting subjects (or instance, the T&E o airline ood!). It can

also be a rst-person acc

Documents

History of the Scientific Exploration of Earth and Space Contracts