Photographs of Naval Corpsman Arthur B. "Art" Guntner and his career working with the Johnsville Centrifuge at the Aviation Medical Acceleration Laboratory of the Navy Air Development Center Warminster. Capable of generating 40Gs, the Centrifuge was used throughout the early American space program for many different scientific simulations and experiments purposes including as a part of the training of every Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo astronaut.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of 42 digital images of photographs on a CD and a few other materials relating to Arthur B. "Art" Guntner's time as an Aerospace Medicine Technician at the Naval Air Development Center in Johnsville, Pennsylvania. Black and white photographs show Guntner as well as other U.S. Navy personnel at work with particular emphasis on the centrifuge. Several astronauts appear in photographs including Alan B. Shepard, Jr., John Herschel Glenn, Jr., and Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom. Some images, likely scans of scrapbook pages, contain Project Mercury postage stamps and news clippings about Guntner.
Also included in this collection are promotional materials for the Johnsville Centrifuge and Science Museum from 2011.
Arrangement:
Arranged by material type.
Biographical / Historical:
Born and raised in the mining town of Morgantown, West Virginia, Arthur B. "Art" Guntner joined the Navy in 1958 and graduated from Aerospace Medicine School in 1960. Immediately after graduation, he began as an Aerospace Medicine Technician assigned to the Aviation Medical Acceleration Laboratory at the Johnsville Naval Air Development Center.
U.S. Navy's Johnsville Naval Air Development Center (NADC) in Warminster, Pennsylvania was home to 30 different laboratories in the 1950s and 1960s. In the Aviation Medical Acceleration Laboratory, the largest human centrifuge was constructed from 1947 to 1949 and operated in researching the limits of human tolerance for "G" forces. By late 1959, training and research focused on preparing the first Americans for space flight.
Given their full schedules, the Mercury astronauts weren't present for early runs or "flights" on the centrifuge. Younger staff members, therefore, served as the test subjects for the initial simulations. While working at Johnsville, Guntner flew over 350 flights in the centrifuge, tested the design of G-suits, and participated in many other classified experiments. He was personally involved in the briefing and training of the Mercury astronauts.
Provenance:
Art Guntner, Gift, 2011, NASM.2011.0037
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.
Webb, James E. (James Edwin), 1906-1992 Search this
Extent:
0.05 Cubic feet (1 folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Newspaper clippings
Press releases
Papers, technical
Photographs
Menus
Date:
bulk 1951-2004
Summary:
This collection consists of material relating to Captain Jean Kathleen Trainum McKay (1924-2016) and her work as the dietitian for the Mercury Project including news clippings, press releases, writings by McKay, photographs, and a detailed pre-flight feeding plan.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of approximately 0.05 cubic feet of material relating to Jean McKay and her work as the dietitian for the Mercury Project including news clippings, press releases, writings by McKay, photographs, and a detailed pre-flight feeding plan. The feeding plan consists of nutritional information, menus, and recipes, and is signed on the front by astronauts Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom, Alan B. Shepard, Jr., John Herschel Glenn, Jr., Malcolm Scott Carpenter, Leroy Gordon Cooper, Jr., Walter Marty "Wally" Schirra, Jr., and Donald Kent "Deke" Slayton. The writings by McKay consist of papers on nutrition and feeding astronauts as well as the notes for a talk to a docent meeting at the San Diego Air and Space Museum recounting McKay's experiences with the Mercury Project. Press releases are from the office of Congressman Phillip Hart Weaver (R-Nebraska) and one from the Whirlpool Corporation on their Space Kitchen which includes two 8 by 10 inch black and white photographs. Also included is also a 4 by 6 inch color photograph of McKay with Shepard and Schirra taken in August 1995.
Biographical / Historical:
Captain Jean Kathleen Trainum McKay (1924-2016) was serving as the staff dietitian in the Office of the Air Force Surgeon General when she was selected to serve as the dietitian for the Mercury Project and was sent to Cape Canaveral in April 1961. Although research and development for the pre-flight dietary guidelines had been done previously at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, McKay was responsible for planning specific menus from the basic guide, purchasing the food and supervising preparation and serving, and conducting nutritional analysis and reporting to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Prior to this assignment, McKay was a member of a unified team of women serving in various branches of the military put together to work with the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS) to recruit more women to serve in the Armed Forces.
Provenance:
Laurel Barile, Gift, 2017, NASM.2017.0028.
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
United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration Search this
Smithsonian Institution Office of Public Affairs Search this
Physical description:
120mm;
Type:
Black-and-white negatives
Date:
1971
March 2, 1971
Local number:
SIA Acc. 11-008 [OPA-1717]
Restrictions & Rights:
No access restrictions Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration Search this
Smithsonian Institution Office of Public Affairs Search this
Physical description:
120mm;
Type:
Black-and-white negatives
Date:
1971
March 2, 1971
Local number:
SIA Acc. 11-008 [OPA-1718]
Restrictions & Rights:
No access restrictions Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
Shepard, Alan B. (Alan Bartlett), 1923-1998 Search this
Extent:
0.01 Cubic feet (1 folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographic prints
Manuscripts
Date:
1960s and undated
Summary:
Project Mercury was the United States' first human spaceflight program. Delmas D. "Del" Burchfield (1926-2016) was an engineer at McDonnell Aircraft Corporation who in 1959 was put in charge of the Outside Production Quality Program monitoring all vendors and subcontractors working on Project Mercury. This collection consists of a signed 11 by 8.5 inch black and white photograph of the seven Project Mercury astronauts, two smaller black and white photographs of Delmas D. "Del" Burchfield taken in the 1960s, and several pages from a handwritten memoir by Burchfield in which he describes his experiences working on Project Mercury and with the astronauts.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of an 11 by 8.5 inch black and white photograph of the seven Project Mercury astronauts, Alan B. Shepard, Jr.; Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom; John Herschel Glenn, Jr.; Malcolm Scott Carpenter; Walter Marty "Wally" Schirra, Jr.; Donald Kent "Deke" Slayton; and Leroy Gordon Cooper, Jr., each of whom has signed the photograph. The collection also includes two smaller black and white photographs of Delmas D. "Del" Burchfield taken in the 1960s as well as several pages from a handwritten memoir by Burchfield in which he describes his experiences working on Project Mercury and with the astronauts.
Note: Images of pages 1 and 6 of the handwritten memoir excerpt have been redacted to remove personal information. The redacted portions do not pertain to Burchfield's work on Project Mercury.
Arrangement:
Collection is in original order.
Biographical / Historical:
Soon after the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), that agency selected Project Mercury as the United States' first human spaceflight program. From 1958 to 1963 Project Mercury included numerous uncrewed missions and six crewed flights in which the Mercury astronauts Alan B. Shepard, Jr.; Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom; John Herschel Glenn, Jr.; Malcolm Scott Carpenter; Walter Marty "Wally" Schirra, Jr.; Donald Kent "Deke" Slayton; and Leroy Gordon Cooper, Jr. accomplished many objectives including putting the first American in space and the first American into orbit.
Delmas D. "Del" Burchfield (1926-2016) was an engineer at McDonnell Aircraft Corporation who in 1959 was put in charge of the Outside Production Quality Program monitoring all vendors and subcontractors working on Project Mercury. In this position, Burchfield worked closely with the Mercury astronauts, particularly John Glenn.
Provenance:
David Burchfield, Gift, 2022, NASM.2022.0015.
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.
Shepard, Alan B. (Alan Bartlett), 1923-1998 Search this
Extent:
0.05 Cubic feet (1 folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Correspondence
Date:
1961
Summary:
This collection consists of twenty-one U.S. Navy photographs compiled for the press kit prepared for the Mercury-Redstone 3 (MR-3) mission as well as a teletype news article about the recovery.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of twenty-one U. S. Navy photographs compiled for the press kit prepared for the Mercury-Redstone 3 (MR-3) mission. The photographs show the recovery mission as well as Alan B. Shepard, Jr. during debriefing. There is also a photograph showing the press corps that was selected to be aboard the USS Lake Champlain (CV-39), which is signed on the reverse by many of the reporters. The photographs are all black and white and measure 8 by 10 inches each. The collection also contains a teletype news story filed by the United Press International (UPI) aboard the ship, and a color post card showing the recovery of Freedom 7 by helicopter.
Arrangement:
This collection is in original order.
Biographical / Historical:
On May 5, 1961, Alan B. Shepard, Jr. became the first American in space in the Mercury MR-3 capsule. He named it Freedom 7, the number signifying the seven Mercury astronauts; NASA called the mission Mercury-Redstone 3 (MR-3). Lofted by a Redstone rocket, Shepard and his capsule attained a maximum speed of 5180 mph and rose to an altitude of 116 miles. The sub-orbital flight lasted 15 minutes and 22 seconds. Freedom 7 parachuted into the sea 302 miles from the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and was retrieved by helicopter, along with Shepard, and both were taken aboard the recovery ship, the USS Lake Champlain (CV-39). Lieutenant (junior grade) Robert J. Jaczko, Sr. was the Public Information Officer for the ship at the time of Shepard's historic flight and was responsible for the press corps aboard for the event.
Provenance:
Robert J. Jaczko, Sr., Gift, 2018, NASM.2018.0024
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
Moon shot : the inside story of America's race to the moon / by Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton ; with Jay Barbree and Howard Benedict ; introduction by Neil Armstrong
Author:
Shepard, Alan B (Alan Bartlett) 1923-1998- Search this
