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This photo shows (left to ri
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| Description |
This photo shows (left to right) Dr. William H. Pickering, former JPL Director, Dr. Theodore von Karman, JPL co-founder and Dr. Frank J. Malina, co-founder, and first director of JPL. |
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Photo taken at JPL in Octobe
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10/1/68
| Date |
10/1/68 |
| Description |
Photo taken at JPL in October 1968 shows (left to right) Dr. Frank J. Malina, co-founder, and first director of JPL, Dr. Lee A. Dubridge, former Caltech President, and Dr. William H. Pickering, former JPL Director. The occasion was the dedication of a plaque commemorating the first rocket experiments by Dr. Malina and his Caltech associates. |
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Explorer 1 Architects
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Explorer 1 Architects |
| date |
01.01.1958 |
| description |
The three men responsible for the success of Explorer 1, America's first Earth satellite which was launched January 31, 1958. At left is Dr. William H. Pickering, former director of JPL, which built and operated the satellite. Dr. James A. van Allen, center, of the State University of Iowa, designed and built the instrument on Explorer that discovered the radiation belts which circle the Earth. At right is Dr. Wernher von Braun, leader of the Army's Redstone Arsenal team which built the first stage Redstone rocket that launched Explorer 1. |
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JFK Receives Mariner Model
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JFK Receives Mariner Model |
| description |
Dr. William H. Pickering, (center) director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, presents a model of a Mariner spacecraft to President John F.Kennedy, (right) in 1961. NASA Administrator James Webb is standing directly behind the model. *Image Credit*: NASA |
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LBJ's Mariner Photos
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LBJ's Mariner Photos |
| date |
01.01.1964 |
| description |
Dr. William H. Pickering (left), Directory of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, presents Mariner spacecraft photos to President Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1964. *Image Credit*: NASA |
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Mariner photos presented to
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| Title |
Mariner photos presented to President Johnson |
| Full Description |
Dr. William H. Pickering, (left) Director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory presents Mariner spacecraft photos to President Lyndon Baines Johnson. |
| Date |
01/01/1964 |
| NASA Center |
Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
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Theodore von Karman
| Title |
Theodore von Karman |
| Full Description |
Dr. Theodore von Karman, co-founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Pasadena, California was an aeronautical theoretician. His contributions in the fields of aerodynamics and aeronautical engineering are well documented and well known to every aerospace engineer. He was the first winner of the prestigious U.S. Medal of Science presented to him by President John F. Kennedy. As well as being co-founder of JPL, he also was principal founder of a major rocket propulsion firm (Aerojet-General Corp.), the top science advisor to the U.S. Air Force during its transition to jet propulsion aircraft and the top science advisor to NATO. He was, during much of this time, the fountainhead of aerodynamic thought as head of the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology (GALCIT) in Pasadena, California. In the May 1956 issue of the Journal of Aeronautical Sciences, it was said of him that "No other man has had so great an impact on the development of aeronautical science in this country. Hundreds of young men became his students and scientific collaborators and were inspired to greater effort." Dr. William H. Pickering, then director of JPL said in 1960 "We wouldn't have an aeronautical science as we know it today, if it weren't for Dr. Thoedore von Karman." Under his guidance, Caltech's 10 foot wind tunnel was designed, built and operated. Industry firms such as Douglas, Northrop, Hughes, Lockheed, North American, Vultee and Consolidated all tested new aeronautical designs and concepts in GALCIT's tunnel. Even Boeing's own high-speed wind tunnel was heavily influenced by suggestions from von Karman. The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) became so concerned about GALCIT's growing influence over West coast aviation, it erected the Ames Laboratory in Sunnyvale, California in part to deter an ever widening aeronautical gap that had formed between NACA and GALCIT. From 1936 to 1940, Caltech stood alone as the only university-based rocket research center. Von Karman gambled his prestige by supporting Frank Malina and H.S. Tsien's work on rocketry. Other institutions of higher learning dismissed such research as 'fantastical' and left such endeavors to visionaries like Robert Goddard. Foundational theoretical research by Von Karman gave rise to the first successful solid-fuel rocket engine firings. This led to federal funding for studies that lead to a form of aircraft rocket propulsion called Jet Assisted Take-Off or (JATO). Success in this endeavor led to von Karman establishing two more highly regarded institutions, both originally dedicated to rocketry: the Aerojet Engineering Company and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The last years of his life were spent in Paris, his favorite city. His interest in aeronautical research and contributions to it never waned. He organized in Paris the NATO Advisory Group for Aeronautical Research and Development (AGARD). Staffed by American and European scientists eager to, serve, its many committees investigated such disciplines as propulsion, aerodynamics and electronics. The legacy of his personable leadership and 'soft touch' approach to problem solving was only equalled by his genius. |
| Date |
01/01/1950 |
| NASA Center |
Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
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JPL Key Figures
| Title |
JPL Key Figures |
| Full Description |
Left to right: Dr. William H. Pickering, former JPL Director, Dr. Theodore von Karman, JPL co-founder and Dr. Frank J. Malina, co-founder, and first director of JPL. |
| Date |
01/01/1960 |
| NASA Center |
Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
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Kennedy Receives Mariner 2 M
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| Title |
Kennedy Receives Mariner 2 Model |
| Full Description |
Dr. William H. Pickering, (center) JPL Director, presenting Mariner spacecraft model to President John F. Kennedy, (right). NASA Administrator James Webb is standing directly behind the Mariner model. The Mariner 2 probe flew by Venus in 1962 after the failure of Mariner 1, sending back data on its atmosphere, mass, and weather patterns. It stopped transmitting in 1963 after delivering a wealth of scientific information. |
| Date |
01/01/1961 |
| NASA Center |
Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
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