This collection consists of approximately 0.69 cubic feet of material relating to General Electric's involvement in the U.S. Space Program gathered by General Electric employee Paul A. Lathrop. Materials include newsletters from the company's Missile and Space Vehicle Department as well as other General Electric newsletters; technical reports and publications (including some by Lathrop); news clippings; photographs; and newsletters from the Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers. There are 51 photographs in the collection which are a mix of color and black and white. The vast majority of the prints are 8 by 10 inches, although some are slightly smaller. Paul A. Lathrop appears in some of the photographs, and Wernher von Braun appears in one. There are also three photos from an event held at the Smithsonian in 1959 (along with the invitation for the event) which includes images of Smithsonian Institution Secretary Leonard Carmichael. The collection also contains twelve reels of 16mm film. Topics covered in this collection include photographic equipment; Landsat 1 (Erts-A, Erts-1); Nimbus B (18 May 68); Atlas ICBM (SM-65, HGM-16); Thor IRBM (SM-75, PGM-17); Data Sphere (Capsule); and the RVX-2 Reentry Vehicle.
Biographical / Historical:
Paul A. Lathrop was Manager, Electronic Equipment Engineering in the Missile and Space Vehicle Department at General Electric Co.
Provenance:
Bryan Lathrop, Gift, 2016
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
