The collection consists of the transcripts for the Space Astronomy Oral History Project (SAOHP), which examined the early use of rockets and satellites to study the upper atmosphere and space for the period 1946 through the early 1960s. This project constitutes one of several oral history projects conducted within the Department of Space History, NASM. The principal investigator for the SAOHP was David H. DeVorkin, and the interview set contains 225 hours of interviews with 56 individuals. The central thread of this collection is how the availability of new technologies for research, first the rocket and later satellites, helped to create a new social matrix for research. The following were interviewed: Jules Aaron; Ball Brothers; William Baum, William Behring; Jay Bergstrahl; Richard Bleach; William Brunk; Arthur Code; Jerry Conner; Frank Drake; William Fastie; Lorence Fraser; Herbert Friedman; Phyllis Frier; Robert Frosch; George Gianoplis; Thomas Gold; Leo Goldberg; Martin Harwit; Ralph Havens; Albert Hibbs; Noel Hinners; Hans Hinteregger; Charles Johnson; Francis Johnson; Adolph Jursa; Henry Kondracki; Ernst Krause; Alfred Nier; Gerry Neugebauer; Werner Neupert; Ray Newburn; Gordon Newkirk; Edward Ney; Charles O'Dell; William Pickering; Richard Porter; James Purcell; William Rense;Walter Roberts; Nancy Roman; Milton Rosen; Dan Scheiderman; Ronald Schorn; Martin Schwarzschild; Richard Silberstein; John Simpson; Lyman Spitzer; Kaj Strand; Nelson Spencer; John Strong; Gerald Tape; Clyde Tombaugh; Richard Tousey; Mona Tycz; James Van Allen; Gerald Wasserburg; James Webb; James Westphal; Charles Whitsett; Fred Wilshusen; and George Withbroe.
Scope and Contents:
Audio cassettes and transcipts.
Arrangement:
The Space Astronomy Oral History Project interviews are arranged alphabetically by interviewee.
Historical Note:
This collection contains the interviews for the Space Astronomy Oral History Project. These interviews explore the early use of rockets and satellites over the period 1946 through the early 1960s to investigate the upper atmosphere and space. This project constitutes one of several oral history projects conducted within the National Air and Space Museum's (NASM) Department of Space History. The principal interviewer for this project was David H. DeVorkin and the interview set consists of 225 hours of interviews with 67 individuals. Please note that there are a few instances where audio cassette tapes of the
interview subjects exist but without written transcripts while there are also a few cases of existing transcripts of the interviews without any audio cassette tapes. The following were interviewed for this project: Jules Aaron; Frank Bateson; William Alvin Baum; William Behring; Jay Thor Bergstrahl; Richard Bleach; William E. Brunk; Arthur Dodd Code; Jerry Conner; Fred Dolder; Frank Donald Drake; William G. Fastie; Lorence Fraser; Phyllis Freier; Herbert Friedman; Robert Frosch; Reuben H. Gablehouse; R.A.Gaiser; George Gianopolis; Thomas Gold; Leo Goldberg; Martin Otto Harwit; Ralph Havens; Albert Roach Hibbs; Noel Hinners; Hans Erich Hinteregger; Charles Yothers Johnson; Francis S. Johnson; Adolph Simon Jursa; Jerome Kohl; Henry Kondracki; Ernst Henry Krause; R.C. Mercure; Alfred O. Neir; Gerry Neugebauer; Werner Neupert; Ray Leon Newburn; Gordon Allen Newkirk; Edward P. Ney; Charles Robert O'Dell; William Hayward Pickering; Richard W. Porter; James D. Purcell; William A. Rense; Walter Orr Roberts; Nancy Grace Roman; Milton W. Rosen; Dan Schneiderman; Ronald A. Schorn; Martin Schwarzschild; Richard Silberstein; John Simpson; Nelson W. Spencer; Lyman Spitzer, Jr.; Kaj Strand; John Strong; Gerald Tape; Clyde William Tombaugh; Richard Tousey; Mona Tycz; James Van Allen; Gerald Joseph Wasserburg; James Edwin Webb; James A. Westphal; Charles Edward Whitsett; Fred Wilshusen and George Withbroe.
Provenance:
Space History, NASM, Transfer, 1999, 1999-0034, Varies
Restrictions:
The audio cassette tapes of these interviews have yet to be remastered and, due to their fragility, are unavailable to researchers. Transcripts are available to researchers though, there are restrictions placed on a number of them. A NASM staff member will advice the patron which transcripts are available for copying or viewing and how to order copies of transcripts and/or CDs.
Boxes 14-19 contain transcripts for these cassette tapes.
Restrictions:
Most of these transcripts are available to researchers though, restrictions are placed on a small number of them. Transcripts with user restrictions are highlighted in bold type.
Collection Rights:
Permissions Requests
Collection Citation:
Space Astronomy Oral History Project, Acc. 1994-0034, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Recorded in: Washington (D.C.), United States, June 26, 1996.
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. Some duplication is allowed. Use of materials needs permission of the Smithsonian Institution.
Collection Rights:
Copyright and other restrictions may apply. Generally, materials created during a Festival are covered by a release signed by each participant permitting their use for personal and educational purposes; materials created as part of the fieldwork leading to a Festival may be more restricted. We permit and encourage such personal and educational use of those materials provided digitally here, without special permissions. Use of any materials for publication, commercial use, or distribution requires a license from the Archives. Licensing fees may apply in addition to any processing fees.
Recorded in: Washington (D.C.), United States, June 26, 1996.
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. Some duplication is allowed. Use of materials needs permission of the Smithsonian Institution.
Collection Rights:
Copyright and other restrictions may apply. Generally, materials created during a Festival are covered by a release signed by each participant permitting their use for personal and educational purposes; materials created as part of the fieldwork leading to a Festival may be more restricted. We permit and encourage such personal and educational use of those materials provided digitally here, without special permissions. Use of any materials for publication, commercial use, or distribution requires a license from the Archives. Licensing fees may apply in addition to any processing fees.
1.54 Cubic feet ((1 legal document box) (1 records center box))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Correspondence
Notes
Reports
Financial records
Photographs
Date:
1963-1970
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of material documenting the development of the Stratoscope II. Included are the following types of material: photographs, financial reports, annual reports, test notes, minutes from internal meetings, correspondence, test plans, flight procedures and tests, record books, slides, and flight schedules.
Biographical / Historical:
The Stratoscope II was a giant .09 meter infrared telescope that was originally designed in the early 1960s for direct imaging but was first applied to infrared spectroscopy of planets and galaxies. The Stratoscope II was a balloon-borne telescope; the balloon was unmanned and the working of the telescope was radio-controlled from the ground while the telescope's pointing and focus were monitored by television.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
John Dearden/Johns Hopkins University, gfit, 1993, 1993-0069, unknown
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
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.
Collection Citation:
Race to the Stratosphere Photograph Collection, Acc. 1997-0034, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Collection Citation:
Race to the Stratosphere Photograph Collection, Acc. 1997-0034, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
This collection consists of the photographs used in Race to the Stratosphere: Manned Scientific Ballooning in America and collected by David DeVorkin for research. It also includes a few engineering drawings of balloon gondolas.
Scope and Contents:
David DeVorkin, a Space History Curator at the National Air and Space Museum, completed Race to the Stratosphere: Manned Scientific Ballooning in America in 1989. The book traces the history of manned scientific ballooning from the 1930's to the 1960's, beginning with the flights of Auguste Piccard, and proceeding through the manned flights by the Army Air Corps, up to the Apollo Space Missions.
This collection consists of the photographs used in the book and collected by David DeVorkin for research. The collection is organized by chapter. There are also a few engineering drawings of the gondola of balloons.
There are three series in this collection. Series 1 consists of the photographs actually used in the book, arranged by chapter. Series 2 consists of photographs collected for research by David DeVorkin, but not used in the book. They are arranged by chapter. Series 3 consists of two subseries: Miscellaneous and Duplicate Photographs, and Science Service Photographs.
There is one appendix to this collection. It is a list of all the Smithsonian Institution negative numbers from all the images that David DeVorkin used that came from the National Air and Space Museum's collections.
Arrangement:
There are three series in this collection. Series 1 consists of the photographs actually used in the book; it is arranged by chapter. Series 2 consists of photographs collected for research by David DeVorkin, but not used in the book; it is arranged by chapter. Series 3 consists of two subseries: Miscellaneous and Duplicate Photographs and Science Service Photographs.
There is one appendix to this collection. It is a list of all Smithsonian Institution negative numbers from all images that David DeVorkin used that came from the National Air and Space Museum's collections.
Biographical/Historical note:
David DeVorkin, a curator of Space History at the National Air and Space Museum, completed Race to the Stratosphere: Manned Scientific Ballooning in America in 1989. The book traces the history of manned scientific ballooning, beginning with the flights of Auguste Piccard, and proceeding through the manned flights by the Army Air Corps, up to the Apollo Space Missions.
Provenance:
David DeVorkin, Transfer, 1997
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
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.
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.
Collection Citation:
Race to the Stratosphere Photograph Collection, Acc. 1997-0034, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Collection Citation:
Race to the Stratosphere Photograph Collection, Acc. 1997-0034, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Collection Citation:
Race to the Stratosphere Photograph Collection, Acc. 1997-0034, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Collection Citation:
Race to the Stratosphere Photograph Collection, Acc. 1997-0034, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Collection Citation:
Race to the Stratosphere Photograph Collection, Acc. 1997-0034, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Collection Citation:
Race to the Stratosphere Photograph Collection, Acc. 1997-0034, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Collection Citation:
Race to the Stratosphere Photograph Collection, Acc. 1997-0034, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Collection Citation:
Race to the Stratosphere Photograph Collection, Acc. 1997-0034, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Collection Citation:
Race to the Stratosphere Photograph Collection, Acc. 1997-0034, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Collection Citation:
Race to the Stratosphere Photograph Collection, Acc. 1997-0034, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
