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.
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.
Hiroshima-shi (Japan) -- History -- Bombardment, 1945
Date:
bulk Circa early 1946
1958-1962
Summary:
This collection consists of two groups of material from United States Navy pilot S. Joel Premselaar (b. 1920); the first group contains predominantly aerial and ground photographs of Ground Zero at Hiroshima, Japan, taken by Premselaar in early 1946; the second group consists primarily of one VHS videotape reproducing films from 1958-1962 documenting Project Pilot (NOTSNIK, NOTS-EV-1), Project Caleb (NOTS-EV-2), and Satellite Interceptor Project (SIP) rockets.
Scope and Contents:
This collection is divided into two series. Series 1 consists of 44 different photographic images taken in Japan in early 1946 by the donor, appearing in a variety of formats (original 4 x 5 inch negatives, 35 mm copy negatives, original 4 x 5 inch prints, modern 4 x 6 inch copy prints, and color inkjet digital copy prints). Images include 35 aerial or ground views of Hiroshima at Ground Zero, three aerial views of Yokohama, four views of an unidentified Japanese man, and two aerial views of the Tokyo Imperial Palace. Series 2 (circa 1958-1962) consists of one VHS videotape reproducing films documenting Project Pilot (NOTSNIK, NOTS-EV-1), Project Caleb (NOTS-EV-2), and Satellite Interceptor Project (SIP) rockets; and one 8 x 10 inch digital black and white copy photograph of a US Navy Douglas F4D-1 (F-6A) Skyray (BuNo. 130745) assigned to China Lake.
Arrangement:
Materials in this collection are grouped by subject into two series; materials within each series are grouped by format.
Biographical / Historical:
S. Joel Premselaar (b. 1920) learned to fly at Flushing Airport, New York at the age of 13. At 17 Premselaar joined the Navy, and during World War II he flew 65 different types of aircraft, primarily attack aircraft for logistical support. Premselaar was also the photography officer for his ship, the USS Iowa. Following the end of the war, the USS Iowa spent January to March 1946 stationed in Tokyo Bay as the flagship of the Fifth Fleet. As part of his duties, Premselaar took aerial photographs of Tokyo, Yokohama, and Hiroshima, and ground photographs of Hiroshima at Ground Zero showing damage caused by the atomic bomb. After returning to the United States, Premselaar continued flying for the Navy as a test pilot stationed at the Naval Ordnance Test Station (NOTS) at China Lake, California, where in 1958 he took part in Project Pilot (later nicknamed "NOTSNIK"), an attempt to create an air-launched satellite launch vehicle. Premselaar piloted a modified Douglas F4D-1 (F-6A) Skyray which was used to air-launch the five-stage NOTS-EV-1 Pilot rocket into orbit, with a Naval Observation Television Satellite as the intended payload. After his retirement from the Navy in 1959, Premselaar continued in aviation and worked as a consultant for Lockheed and then for Boeing in cockpit design. He then worked for an avionics lab for the United States Air Force before starting his own aviation business. Premselaar is now retired.
General:
The original film footage is held at China Lake, California.
Provenance:
S. Joel Premselaar, Gift, 2003
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
A pamphlet containing a lecture by Professor Harold Scott entitled 'America's Problem of National Defense' The lecture was published by Princeton University in 1939. Also included in the folder is a document by Dr. Paul F. Winternitz entitled 'Long Range Rocket, Section II. (Propellant Systems).
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Collection 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
A diary of Wyld's that is dated from the 10th of February, 1931 to May 1936.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Collection 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
A colleciton of three prints. The first is a portrait of Wyld and is held with tape to a cardboard frame, the joining of which is fragile. The second depicts the launching of a V-2 rocket. The third is labled as depicting the flight of a mail rocket at Greenwood Lake, New York in 1935.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Collection 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
A collection of newspaper clippings covering the development of rocket propulsion systems in aviation.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Collection 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
A collection of handwritten and typed notes by Wyld. The the folder is made up of loose sheets of note paper and a single notebook.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Collection 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
