National Association of Rocketry (U.S.) Search this
Stine, G. Harry (George Harry), 1928-1997 Search this
Extent:
20.8 Cubic feet (15 records center boxes, 1 flat box, 4 map folders, 13 film containers)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Brochures
Newsletters
Clippings
Correspondence
Photographs
Date:
Circa 1950s-1970s
Summary:
G. Harry Stine (1928--1997) was a renowned rocket expert and a pioneer in the development of the aerospace hobby of model rocketry. This collection consists of G. Harry Stine's collection of archival material relating mainly to his involvement in rocket associations, including the National Association for Rocketry (NAR), and his association with model rocket manufacturers.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of G. Harry Stine's collection of archival material relating mainly to his involvement in rocket associations, including the National Association for Rocketry (NAR), and his association with model rocket manufacturers. The following mediums are included: photographs from model rocket meets, correspondence, magazine and newspaper articles, newsletters, galley proofs, committee minutes, model rocket drawings, model rocket manufacturers' brochures, and film.
Arrangement:
Collection is unprocessed.
Biographical / Historical:
G. Harry Stine (1928--1997) was a renowned rocket expert and a pioneer in the development of the aerospace hobby of model rocketry. Stine graduated from the University of Colorado, and first worked as an civilian scientist at White Sands Proving Ground as chief of the Controls and Instruments Section of the Propulsion Branch. In 1955, Stine went to work for the US Naval Ordnance Missile Test Facility at White Sands as head of the Range Operations Division and Navy Flight Safety Engineer. Stine later worked as an engineer for Stanley Aviation Corporation and the Huyck Corporation. Stine was the founder of Model Missiles, Inc., which was the first company to produce and market model rockets. He has also served as a freelance consultant for different organizations, including the National Air and Space Museum. Stine was a prolific author of both articles and books on science, astronautics and model rocketry, and he also wrote science fiction under the pseudonym, Lee Correy. In 1957, Stine founded the National Association for Rocketry (NAR), and he was an active member. He was also a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the British Interplanetary Society, and the Explorer's Club.
Provenance:
G. Harry Stine, Gift, circa 1973, NASM.XXXX.0573
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 six feet of material documenting Porter's many scientific contributions. The following types of material are included: photographs, lecture notes, correspondence, trip notes, newspaper clippings, symposium programs, papers, and periodicals, circa 1930s-1980s.
Scope and Content:
The Richard Porter Collection reflects Porter's career as an electrical engineer, rocketry expert, and a corporate manager and consultant. Almost the entirety of this collection consists of materials related to his professional work. This includes correspondence, memoranda, meeting minutes, reports, notes, speeches, photographs, brochures, pamphlets, programs, magazines, newsletters, papers, articles, newspaper clippings, miscellaneous materials (directories, mailing lists, transcript, etc.), as well as a scrapbook. It is worth singling out a few of the aforementioned materials for their particular historical significance pertaining to the development of rocketry and space exploration. Some of the correspondence, memoranda and notes reveal the inner workings of Operation Paperclip: the U.S. plan to seek out, debrief, recruit and evacuate German rocket scientists from war-torn Germany to America. Additionally, other examples of correspondence and notes give candid appraisals of some key figures in the aerospace field, as well as to illustrate exchanges between Porter and such scientific luminaries as Carl Sagan, Wernher von Braun, Simon Ramo, Holger Toftoy, Fred Durant III, Edith Goddard and Clyde Tombaugh.
The Porter Collection is arranged both chronologically and alphabetically. Correspondence, memoranda, meeting minutes, notes, notebooks, speeches, photographs, brochures, pamphlets, programs, magazines, journals, articles, newspaper clippings and miscellaneous materials are organized by the former method. Reports are arranged alphabetically by organizational name while newsletters and papers are grouped alphabetically by title and then chronologically.
The reader should note that the Porter Collection was exposed to a fire in Porter's office sometime during the late 1970s. The fire, along with the subsequent dousing of water from the firefighters, destroyed much of this collection. All that remained are the materials described here. While the surviving materials generally suffered only minor damage (mainly to their original folders), scorch marks can be occasionally observed on some correspondence, speeches, reports, etc.. More serious problems exist with seven folders containing photographs. For conservation purposes, they have been separated from the rest of the photographs in this collection and are currently unavailable to researchers.
Arrangement:
The Porter Collection is arranged both chronologically and alphabetically. Correspondence, memoranda, meeting minutes, notes, notebooks, speeches, photographs, brochures, pamphlets, programs, magazines, journals, articles, newspaper clippings and miscellaneous materials are organized by the former method. Reports are arranged alphabetically by organizational name while newsletters and papers are grouped alphabetically by title.
Biographical/Historical note:
As an established authority on rockets, GE placed Porter in overall charge of the company's guided missiles department in 1953. By the mid-1950s, his great knowledge in this field also lead to a position as head of a panel of scientists tasked with developing a U.S. space program in time for the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957-58. On February 1, 1958, Porter was given the honor of announcing to reporters that the U.S. had launched its first satellite, Explorer 1, the previous night. The booster employed for this endeavor, an Army Jupiter-C, was designed and built mainly by the German rocket scientists (including their leader, Wernher von Braun) Porter helped to bring to America thirteen years earlier. By this time, GE assigned him as a company-wide consultant. Besides serving as leader of the U.S. IGY effort, he also served on many other boards and panels such as the International Relations Committee of the Space Sciences Board, U.S. National Academy of Science, the U.S. Academy in the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) and the U.S. delegation for the U.N. Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. During his long career in engineering and aerospace development, Porter was also the recipient of numerous honors and awards. These included the Coffin Award, Goddard Award and the Scientific Achievement Award given by Yale University.
Aside from his career, Porter had a busy personal life. In 1946, he married Edith Wharton Kelly. The couple had two daughters and a son. Porter enjoyed horticulture -- especially growing orchids, as well as skiing and playing the clarinet. He died on October 6, 1996 at the age of 83.
General note:
Dr. Porter had a fire that destroyed most of his papers. These six boxes are all that remain.
Provenance:
Susan Porter Beffel and Thomas Andrew Porter, Gift, 1997, 1997-0037, NASM
Peenemunde Research and Development Station Search this
Names:
Peenemunde Research and Development Station Search this
Extent:
2.2 Cubic feet (5 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Reports
Date:
1938-1945
bulk 1942-1944
Summary:
The German Army and Navy experimental station at Peenemünde, on the North Sea coast of Germany, was established in the mid-1930s to continue the rocketry work begun at Kummersdorf in 1930.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of copies of reports from the Peenemünde Archiv 66 series covering aerodynamic work on the V-2 (A4), A5, and Wasserfall missiles.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into two series: first are blueprint copies, which include photographs as illustrations, followed by autopositive copies, which include copy negatives used to produce illustrative photographs. There is significant overlap between these two series. In each series the documents are in order by Archiv Number.
Biographical/Historical note:
The German Army and Navy experimental station at Peenemünde, on the North Sea coast of Germany, was established in the mid-1930s to continue the rocketry work begun at Kummersdorf in 1930. By the end of World War II (1939-1945) the research station produced a number of successful weapons, including the first surface-to-surface guided missile (V-1), the first ballistic missile (V-2), and the first operational air-to-surface missile (He 293), as well as other designs. The equipment developed at Peenemünde formed the basis for postwar research and designs by both the United States and the Soviet Union.
Physical Access: Researchers must use microfilm copy. Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves. Researchers must use reference copies of audiovisual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow.
Technical Access: Viewing the film portion of the collection without reference copies requires special appointment, please inquire; listening to audio discs requires special arrangement. Do not use original materials when available on reference video or audio tapes.
Collection Rights:
Publication and production quality duplication is restricted due to complex copyright, publicity rights, and right to privacy issues. Potential users must receive written permission from appropriate rights holders prior to obtaining high quality copies. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
This collection consists of the oral history recordings and transcripts for the Peenemünde Interviews Project, which examined the development of the German Peenemünde complex from the early 1930s through World War II.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of 39 hours of interviews with 13 individuals (in both audio cassette and transcript formats).
Arrangement:
The Peenemünde Interviews Project is arranged alphabetically by interviewee. Boxes 1, 2 and 3 contain the interviews on cassette tapes; box 4 contains the edited transcripts of the audio.
Historical note:
The collection consists of the oral history recordings and transcripts for the Peenemünde Interviews Project, which examined the development of the German Peenemünde complex from the early 1930s through World War II. This project constitutes one of several oral history projects conducted within the Department of Space History, NASM. The principal investigator for this project was Michael Neufeld and the following individuals were interviewed: Werner Dahm; Konrad Danneberg; Walter Haeussermann; Karl Heimberg; Helmut Hoelzer; Fritz Mueller; Herman Oberth; Eberhard Rees (with Mrs. Rees); Gerhard Reisig; Arthur Rudolph; Bernhard Tessman (with Karl Heimburg); Georg von Tiesenhausen; and Walter Wiesman.
Provenance:
Space History, NASM, Transfer, 1999, 1999-0038, Varies
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.
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.
This collection consists of a complete set of production blueprints for the V-2 rocket powerplant and directly related accessories.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of engineering drawings for the V-2. The material consists of a complete set of production blueprints for the V-2 rocket powerplant and directly related accessories. The drawings are identified as 'Engineering Records File Copy' (in English).
Arrangement:
Arranged by drawing size.
Biographical / Historical:
The V-2 was a short-range ballistic missile designed by Germany for use against Southern England in 1944-45. The missile carried a 2000 lb. (910 kg) conventional warhead at supersonic speeds. The vehicle was fueled with sufficient alcohol and liquid oxygen for c.65 seconds of powered flight, giving a maximum range, including unpowered ballistic trajectory, of c.220 miles (352 km). A number of V-2s were captured intact by the Allies and used for rocketry experiments in the late 1940s. In addition, the V-2 design team, headed by Werner on Braun, was captured by the United States Army and returned to the United States, where it formed the core of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and National Aeronautics and Space Administration launch vehicle design teams.
General:
Access note: Only eight of the drawings have been translated.
NASMrev
Provenance:
NASM SS&E, Transfer, 1987, NASM.1987.0089
Restrictions:
ITAR-controlled technical data.
Rights:
ITAR-controlled technical data. 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 photographs, negatives, blueprints, patents, test reports and correspondence dealing with Mount's rocket application inventions.
Biographical / Historical:
Wadsworth W. Mount (1907-1985) was educated at Amherst College and New York University. Besides practicing business and finance, he patented and successful demonstrated a number of inventions, including wire and cable carrying rocket projectors for antiaircraft and lifesaving applications. Among his rocket patents are 4 types of ordnance equipment for the US Navy in WWII. After WWII he worked with the Naval Ordnance Lab and Bureau of Ordnance requirements, and conducted experiments on the use of small rocket motors for firing steel cable ashore from ships in distress.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Wadsworth W. Mount, gift, XXXX-0368, 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
This collection contains numerous articles and papers on rocketry, as well as drawings and photographs of rockets and rocket systems. The material was collected by Sutton in the course of this work.
Biographical / Historical:
George Paul Sutton (1920- ) was an aerospace engineer and manager. He received degrees from Los Angeles City College (AA, 1940) and the California Institute of Technology (BS, 1942; MS (ME), 1943) before going to work as a development engineer for the Rocketdyne Division of North American Aviation [now Rockwell International]. He remained at Rocketdyne into the late 1960s, while also sitting as Hunsaker Professor of Aeronautical Engineering at MIT (1958-59) and serving as Chief Scientist, Advanced Research Projects Agency and Division Director, Institute of Defense Analysis for the Department of Defense (1959-60). Following his work at Rocketdyne he joined the technical staff at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
No donor information, gift, unknown, XXXX-0009, 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
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
This collection consists of Ritchie's research files. The material consists of newspaper and magazine clippings, photos, drawings, and Soviet books detailing Russian missile and rocket development during the 1960s. The collection also includes copies of Ritchie's reports during his tenure at Bendix and manuscripts of various chapters of his book 'Rocket and Missile Systems Development in the Soviet Union.
Biographical / Historical:
Donald Jeanne Ritchie (1920- ) is a mathematician and physicist who has been active in missile guidance system design and development and in arms control and disarmament studies. He began work as a production engineer at Bell Aircraft Corp (1940-42) before joining the Design Branch of Wright Air Development Center, Wright Field, OH (1942-45), where he participated in preliminary design work on jet aircraft. Following World War II, he attended Wayne University, completing degrees in Mathematics and Physics (BS, 1949) and Applied Mathematics (MS, 1951). He spent most of the next two decades at Bendix's Research Laboratory Division (Senior Mathematician, 1949-54; Project Engineer, 1955-57; Supervisory Mathematician, 1958-65; Assistant Department Head, Surveillance, Navigation, and Guidance, 1965-67) working on missile systems. He spent several brief periods outside Bendix, at Atomic Power Development Associates (Senior Mathematician, 1954-55), Crosley Division, Avco Manufacturing Co (Supervisor, Missile Systems, 1957), and Corvy Division, Melpar Inc, Scientific Analysis Office (Branch Leader, 1957-58). He then joined the faculty of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Institute (now Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University) as Professor of Aeronautical Engineering, Director of Research, and Chairman of the Aeronautical Engineering Division (1967-?). During this time he also worked as a consultant to the United States Air Force Foreign Technical Intelligence Division and the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Baron von Ritchie?, Gift, unknown, XXXX-0088, 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
Restrictions on access. No duplication allowed listening and viewing for research purposes only.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
