This collection consists of reel to reel audio tapes relating to the United States space program. The material includes recordings of events, missions, press conferences, and other happenings from the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of a unique group of sound recordings collected by Michael Kapp, constituting an oral history of the U.S. space program from its theoretical beginnings through Apollo 13. Some recordings relating to foreign space programs are also included. The tape collection represents thousands of hours of recordings that were assembled over six years, including blockhouse recordings, launch sounds, telemetry, air-to-ground mission recordings, press conferences, and briefings. Space programs represented include Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and various satellite programs. Recordings include interviews and mission commentary of numerous astronauts, as well as media figures, U.S. Presidents, Congressional leaders, and scientists.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged in two series:
1. Audio
2. Transcripts
The audio is organized in boxes and identified by the identification number assigned by Kapp. The transcripts are arranged by mission.
Biographical / Historical:
Michael Kapp was the producer of the Bill Dana "Jose Jimenez in Orbit" record album in the 1960s and provider of many of the music tapes broadcast to the Gemini crews from mission control.
Provenance:
Michael Kapp, Gift, 1969, NASM.XXXX.0138
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
This collection consists of 34 items of manned space flight memorabilia, circa 1950s-1970s, including pencil and ink drawings by Caldwell Johnson from the Mercury, Apollo, and the Apollo-Soyuz programs. This collection also contains papers, reports, and brochures on these three projects, along with design studies for other spacecraft and related equipment.
Biographical / Historical:
Caldwell C. Johnson was a manned spacecraft designer for NASA and contributed majorly to the Mercury, Apollo, and Apollo-Soyuz projects. Johnson began his aeronautical engineering career in 1937, when at the age of eighteen he was hired by NACA as a model builder. By 1958, Johnson was the top engineering designer for the Pilotless Aircraft Research Division (PARD). He was at that point recruited for the Mercury program where his job was to put the first design of the Mercury capsule on paper. Johnson is a co-holder of the Mercury spacecraft patent and was the principal architect of the Apollo spacecraft. Johnson was also a member of the Space Task Group (STG), and was the Chief of Spacecraft Design at the Manned Spacecraft Center (now Johnson Spacecraft Center) during the early 1970s. His last project before his retirement from NASA in 1974, was the Apollo-Soyuz Project.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Caldwell C. Johnson, gift, 2000, 2000-0019, Public Domain?
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
This collection contains materials from Mahr's work on the following projects: EOS Landsat, Orbiter, LST Hubble, Navaho, Skylab, Apollo, and the Shuttle Robot Retrieval Arm. In addition, there are also promotional materials from Rockwell International's Space Division pertaining to various spacecraft.
Biographical / Historical:
Burnley Mahr's career as an aerospace designer began at the University of Minnesota, where he studied engineering in the 1950s. Following employment with Boeing, North American Aviation, and North American Rockwell, he worked for Rockwell International's Space & Information Systems in Downey, California. Throughout the span of his career, Mahr worked on the following projects: Navaho, Gemini, Apollo, Orbiter, LST Hubble, the Shuttle, satellite systems, and the Space Station (Skylab). His most important contribution was the design of the Shuttle Robot Retrieval Arm for the deployment and plucking of satellites in outer space.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Douglas Mahr, gift, 1996, 1996-0031, 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
1.92 Cubic feet ((1 records center box) (1 flatbox))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Correspondence
Photographs
Press releases
Motion pictures (visual works)
Scripts (documents)
Drawings
Manuals
Date:
[ca. 1960s-1970s]
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of the following materials collected by Joel Banow during his tenure with CBS News covering the United States manned space program: press releases; press kits, correspondence, memorandums, show rundowns, technical specifications, director notes, scripts, storyboards, photographs, drawings, guide books and manuals, transparencies, posters, a videotape, and 16 mm films. There are also three animation cells relating to the coverage of Apollo 11. The material was generated by NASA, CBS and the following NASA contractors -- Grumman, North American Rockwell, and RCA.
Biographical / Historical:
Joel Banow is a retired television director. During his sixteen years with CBS News, he worked on all the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab space shots. As the director, he was responsible for creating a great many of the special effects and simulations needed to tell the story. In 1969, Banow received a Directors Guild of America (DGA) award for his coverage of Apollo 11.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Joel Banow, gift, 1999, 2000-0027, Public Domain and CBS
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
Topic:
Television broadcasting -- Special effects Search this
United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Search this
Extent:
3.36 Cubic feet ((2 Records center boxes) (2 flatboxes))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Drawings
Logs (records)
Reports
Date:
1966-1977
Scope and Contents:
This collection documents the development of space suits and accessories for post-Mercury manned missions. The material includes acceptance data packages and test papers for the suits, life support systems, and survival rucksack which chart the testing and development of these systems.
Arrangement:
Arrangement: The papers are arranged chronologically by program, beginning with the Gemini mission in Folder One of Box One (S-1C-1). The papers continue chronologically until concluding with the Skylab and Shuttle missions in Folder 28 of Box Two. Box Three contains binders from the Blue David Clark Co., Inc. These binders include operational logs from NASA and the field, malfunction reports, maintenance logs and serialization control records. Blue prints of the systems tested are also included. Box Four includes two computer printouts. Printout number one contains the summary of hardware located at the Smithsonian as of 3-27-1973. Number two contains the summary of hardware located at the Smithsonian as of 9-10-1973.
Biographical / Historical:
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was inaugurated on 1 October 1958 with the intent of conducting a manned space program. NASA took over the rocketry and propulsion work previously performed by the United States Air Force, Navy, and National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Unmanned launches began during the International Geophysical Year (1957-58) under Air Force auspices and have continued to the present with a wide variety of payloads, including space science, weather, communications, and earth observation satellites. The manned program progressed through Projects Mercury (1959-63; launches 1961-63), Gemini (1962-67; launches 1965-66), Apollo (1960-72; launches 1968-72), and Skylab (1969-74; launches 1973-74). After a hiatus following the Skylab program, the manned program focused on the Space Shuttle, a reusable spacecraft. The manned program was supported by a number of unmanned exploration vehicles in the Ranger, Lunar Orbiter, and Surveyor series throughout the 1960s, as well as research into a number of related areas.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
NASA, Transfer, 1988, 1988-0114, 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
Lunar Rover 1971-1972 (Apollo 15-17, LRV1-3 & 1G Trainer) : owners' workshop manual : an insight into the technology, history, development and role of NASA's unique Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle Christopher Riley, David Woods and Philip Dolling ; foreword by David R. Scott, commander of the Apollo 15 mission
Restricted for 15 years, until Jan-01-2034. Records may contain personally identifiable information (PII) that is permanently restricted; Transferring office; 8/19/2022 memorandum, Johnstone to File; Contact reference staff for details
The Apollo Flight Guidance Computer Software Collection [Hamilton] consists of reports, memoranda, and related material documenting the Apollo flight guidance software developed by Margaret Hamilton's team at the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory (CSDL) in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The collection also includes Hamilton's 1986 handwritten notes on selected documents.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of reports, memoranda, and related material documenting the Apollo flight guidance software developed by Margaret Hamilton's team at the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory (CSDL) in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Documents include a printout from an Apollo guidance computer software simulation; software program change routing slips; reports from Apollo Guidance, Navigation, and Control (formerly Apollo Guidance and Navigation); a preliminary flight plan for Apollo 7; memoranda for the submission of MIT/IL Software Development Plan, critiquing each new official version of the flight system; guidance system documents using assorted programs, including Sundisk, Skylark, and Luminary; and an oversized Charles Stark Draper Laboratory brochure. When she donated the collection in 1986, Hamilton composed handwritten notes on the history of selected documents, which are included with each document and identified in the finding aid as "[Note from Margaret Hamilton]."
Arrangement:
The materials are arranged chronologically.
Biographical Note:
Margaret H. Hamilton (b. 1936) was the Director of Software Engineering Division at Charles Stark Draper Laboratory (CSDL), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and was responsible for the onboard flight software for NASA's Apollo and Skylab missions. She became known as the "Rope Mother," an apt description for her role and referred to the unusual way that computer programs were stored on the Apollo guidance computers.
Hamilton received a BA in Mathematics from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, and postponed her Ph.D. work when she was offered the opportunity to work on the Apollo project. She has published over 130 papers and reports on her areas of expertise in system design and software development. In 1986, she became the founder and CEO of Hamilton Technologies, Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts. On November 22, 2016, President Barack Obama awarded Hamilton the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her contribution that led to Apollo 11's successful landing.
This collection consists of the transcripts for the Glennen-Webb-Seamans Project (GWS), which examines various aspects of NASA management practices during the Apollo program. This project constitutes one of several oral history projects conducted within the Department of Space History, NASM. The principal investigator for the GWS was Martin Collins and the interview set contains 193 hours of interviews with 22 individuals. The central thread of this collection was the problem of configuring new political relations among the space sciences and sponsors. The following individuals were interviewed: J. Leland Atwood; Delmer Bradshaw; James Burnett; Paul Demitriades; Edward Doll; Peter Downey; Brian Duff; James Elms; James Fletcher; Robert Gilruth; T. Keith Glennan; Donald Jacobs; Ruben Mettler; Mark Miller; George Mueller; Samuel Phillips; Simon Ramo; Robert Seamans; Willis Shapley; Abe Silverstein; David Soergel; Harrison Storms; James Webb; Thorton Wilson; and Herbert York.
Scope and Contents:
The Glennan-Webb-Seamans Project Interviews consist of 193 hours of interviews with 26 individuals. 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 advise the patron which transcripts are available for copying or viewing and how to order copies of transcripts and/or CDs.
Arrangement:
The Glennan-Webb-Seamans (GWS) Project Interviews are arranged alphabetically by interviewee. Boxes
1-11 (Series 1) contain the interviews on audio cassette tapes. These tapes have yet to be remastered and, due to their fragility, are not available to researchers.
Boxes 12-16 (Series 2) contain the transcripts for these cassette tapes. 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.
Biographical / Historical:
This collection contains the interviews of the Glennan-Webb-Seamans Project (GWS). These interviews
analyze a variety of facets revolving around NASA management and its handling of contractors during the
Apollo program. The individuals listed as part of this collection's name refer to the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration's (NASA) first two administrators and the agency's deputy administrator during
much of the 1960s. The principal (though, by no means the only) interviewer for this project was Martin
Collins and the interview set consists of 193 hours of interviews with 26 individuals. These interview
subjects represent some of the most influential decision-makers at NASA, the aerospace industry and
academia. The following were interviewed for this project: J. Leland Atwood; Delmer Bradshaw; James
Burnett; Paul Demitriades; Edward Doll; Peter Downey; Brian Duff; James Elms; James Fletcher; Robert
Gilruth; T. Keith Glennan; Donald Jacobs; Ruben Mettler; Mark Miller; John Moore; George Mueller;
Samuel Phillips; Simon Ramo; Robert Seamans; Willis Shapley; Abe Silverstein; David Soergel; Harrison
Storms; James Webb; Thornton Wilson and Herbert York. Among the myriad of topics discussed in these
interviews is the Apollo 1 [204] fire that killed astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee on
January 27, 1967, during a test at the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida. The GWS
Project constitutes one of a number of oral history efforts endeavors conducted by the National Air and
Space Museum's (NASM) Department of Space History.
General note:
This collection consists of the interview transcripts, not the tapes.
Provenance:
Department of Space History, Transfer, 1999, 1999-0036, Varies
Restrictions:
Various restrictions apply.
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.
This collection consists of fifty-three films made by North American Rockwell during Storms' association with the corporation. This collection also consists of a folder of biographical information on Storms and 213 slides, which include the following topics: Apollo projects; Soviet spacecraft at an unknown Soviet museum; and images of the Bell 47G helicopter.
Biographical / Historical:
Harrison A. Storms, Jr., (1915-1992) helped design Apollo spacecraft and many other aerospace vehicles. A former executive of Rockwell International and its predecessor company, North American Aviation, Storms made contributions to over 40 aircraft and space vehicles. Storms received his bachelor and masters degrees in mechanical engineering from Northwestern University, and an aeronautical engineering degree from the California Institute of Technology. Storms was then employed as an aeronautical researcher at North American Aviation in 1941 and during World War II contributed to the advancement of jet propulsion technology. After World War II, Storms served as Chief Engineer of the X-15 program, and also helped design the F-51 Mustang, F-86 Sabre Jet, F-100 Super Sabre and the XB-70. Storms went on to become the President of North American's Space and Information Systems Division which won contracts for both the Saturn second stage launch vehicle and the Apollo command and service modules for the successful lunar landing program. Storms was the recipient of many honors and awards and a member of several professional organizations, including the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Phyllis Storms, gift, 1999, 1999-0021, North American Rockwell?
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
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
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
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
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
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