NASA HISTORY DIVISION Office of External Relations volume 26, number 3 third quarter 2009 From apollo 40th the ChieF anniversary events historian NASA Headquarters hosted the Apollo 40th Anniversary History Symposium on 16 July 2009 in the NASA Headquarters James Webb auditorium. The “Apollo: History and Legacy” roundtable discussion moderated by NASA’s then–Chief Historian, Dr. Steven J. Dick, marked the 40th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11. This column marks the end of an era. While no The discussion began with remarks by Associate Administrator (and, at the major spacecraft stopped operating recently, time, acting Administrator) Chris Scolese. The panelists included Dr. John Dr. Steven J. Dick retired as the National Logsdon, Charles A. Lindbergh chair in aerospace history, National Air and Aeronautics and Space Administration Space Museum (NASM), Smithsonian Institution; Dr. Roger Launius, senior (NASA) Chief Historian at the end of July. curator in space history, NASM; Dr. Michael Neufeld, chair of the Space An astronomer and historian of science who History Division, NASM, and author of a recent biography of Wernher von worked for approximately 25 years for the U.S. Braun; Cristina Guidi, Deputy Director, Constellation Systems Division, Naval Observatory and 6 years at NASA, Steve Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, NASA; and Craig Nelson, author was a wonderful boss. Always upbeat and of Rocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon. pleasant to work with, Steve took bureaucratic frustrations in stride. A paragon of sound, From 19 to 20 July 2009, NASM hosted several important Apollo 40th anniver- mature judgment, he served as an excellent sary events. sounding board and a great role model. On Sunday, 19 July 2009, the Apollo 11 crew (Neil Armstrong, Michael While we miss him already, you will hear from Collins, and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin), along with former Johnson Space Steve again in the near future, as he contin- Center (JSC) Director Christopher Kraft, spoke at the John H. Glenn ues to work on several forthcoming NASA Lecture about the mission and the Apollo program. John Glenn also History Series books. Specifically, he is editing spoke briefly. Margaret Weitekamp of the Space History Division orga- NASA’s First 50 Years: Historical Perspectives, nized the event and served as the master of ceremonies for the evening. the proceedings volume of the conference we continued on next page held last fall to mark NASA’s 50th anniver- sary; a book called Cosmos and Culture that in this issue: will appear in our Societal Impact subseries; and a set of focused Societal Impact studies. In From the Chief Historian 1 addition, he is the coeditor for a forthcoming Apollo 40th Anniversary Events 1 collection of oral histories that he, Rebecca Wright, and Sandra Johnson conducted with News from Headquarters and the Centers 6 NASA’s top leaders on the occasion of NASA’s Space Shuttle Main Engine Testing Comes to a Close 13 50th anniversary. Steve also intends to try his Recent Publications 15 hand at writing science fiction. We wish him all the best. Online Resources 23 Fellowships 24 During this time of transition, a number of people have stepped in to help on many fronts. Other Aerospace History News 24 I thank my History Division colleagues Obituaries 26 Nadine Andreassen, Jane Odom, Colin Upcoming Meetings 26 Fries, John Hargenrader, and Liz Suckow for Chief Historian Steven Dick Retires 27 continued on page 6 nasa history division Apollo 40th Anniversary Events (continued) NASA Chief Historian Steven Dick talks prior Acting NASA Administrator Chris Scolese to a panel discussion entitled “Apollo: History speaks about the legacy of Apollo prior to a and Legacy” at the Apollo 40th Anniversary panel discussion at the Apollo 40th Anniversary History Symposium on 16 July 2009 at NASA History Symposium on 16 July 2009. (Photo Headquarters. (Photo credit: NASA/Paul E. Alers) credit: NASA/Paul E. Alers) Steven J. Dick, left, conducts a panel discussion on the legacy of Apollo with John Logsdon, second left; Roger Launius; Michael Neufeld; Cristina Guidi; and Craig Nelson, right, on 16 July 2009. (Photo credit: NASA/Paul E. Alers) 2 volume 26, number 3 third quarter 2009 Apollo 40th Anniversary Events (continued) On 20 July 2009, NASM featured a small reception for the donors and friends of Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean, whose art exhibit “Painting Apollo: First Artist on Another World” opened on 16 July 2009 and will run until 13 January 2010. Carolyn Russo of the Aeronautics Division curated the exhibit with assistance from Allan Needell, the Apollo curator in Space History, and Linda King of the Exhibits Design Division served as the designer. Following the Bean reception, NASA’s official 40th anniversary party commenced for several thousand people. Many famous Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo astro- nauts attended all of these events, along with the recent STS-125 Hubble Space Telescope repair crew. Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium and Rose Center at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, hosted the event. During the event, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the former lieutenant governor of Maryland and daughter of Robert Kennedy, presented a Moon rock that had previously belonged to her uncle, John F. Kennedy, to Rice University student Max Paul. NASA had originally given the rock to John F. Kennedy as one of the Agency’s highest honors, the Ambassador of Exploration Award, bestowed upon individuals who have contributed to the realization of America’s goal of landing a human on the Moon. At the John H. Glenn Lecture on 19 July 2009, Jack Dailey, Christopher Kraft, Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, John Glenn, and Wayne Clough stand in front of the Apollo exhibit at NASM. continued on next page 3 nasa history division Apollo 40th Anniversary Events (continued) On 20 July 2009, Alan Bean shows an image from his exhibit, “Painting Apollo: First Artist on Another World.” Alan Bean speaks about his paintings during a press conference on Wide-angle camera view of Alan Bean’s “Painting Apollo: First 20 July 2009. Artist on Another World” exhibit, 20 July 2009. 4 volume 26, number 3 third quarter 2009 Apollo 40th Anniversary Events (continued) On 20 July 2009, Rice University student Max Paul accepts the Ambassador of Exploration Award originally presented to John F. Kennedy; the award will be sent to Rice for display. From left: new NASA Administrator Charles Bolden; Max Paul; Kathleen Kennedy Townsend; and Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. At NASA’s Apollo 40th anniversary party on 20 July 2009, Neil Armstrong stands next to Diana Krall. 5 nasa history division From the Chief Historian (continued) assisting in so many ways. Special thanks also go to my supervisors, Al Condes and Michael O’Brien, for being most supportive and giving me the opportunity to serve as the acting Director of the History Division. I also thank Chris Giulietti for going out of his way to be helpful on several administrative matters and to all our colleagues in the Office of External Relations. Last but not least, we do indeed all “stand on the shoulders of titans,” so the NASA History Program certainly owes a debt of gratitude to the other great Chief Historians who served before Steve Dick. It is most definitely a team effort! Stephen Garber Acting Director, NASA History Division news From headquarters and the Centers Headquarters Jane Odom continues to evaluate and acquire new material for the Historical Reference Collection (HRC). Additionally, she appraises material for historical value, directs the subsequent processing of collections, and answers reference requests. Jane is publishing via the Internet speeches of key officials in NASA’s his- tory. These will be linked and available soon. In mid-August, Jane attended the joint annual meeting of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) and the Council of State Archivists in Austin, Texas. She attended a roundtable describing the history of science collections at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin, a session advocating doing surveys of holdings in archival repositories, a government records section meeting describing transparency in government, a session describing the oral history programs in the U.S. Army and at the Association of American Medical Colleges, a session on environmental sustainability and archives, and an oral history roundtable meeting that included an interview with longtime SAA member and educator Dr. David B. Gracy II. The plenary session featured speeches by the presidents of the sponsoring organizations and an address by acting Archivist of the United States Adrianne Thomas. As always, the conference featured repository tours, vendor exhibits, and numerous opportunities for networking with colleagues. Collectively, Colin Fries, John Hargenrader, and Liz Suckow all share reference duties, answering inquiries received by e-mail, assisting walk-in researchers, and helping Jane with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. They also work to further preserve and describe our hard-copy collection by photocopying dete- riorating news clippings, replacing worn folders, and updating abstracts of folder contents. Their work currently concentrates on the Administrators’ files and on the satellites and probes collection. In addition, they recently reviewed the appendices for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 Aeronautics and Space Report of the President. Colin finished processing a collection of unpublished manuscripts as well as a col- lection of Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSIP) material. He evaluated for 6 volume 26, number 3 third quarter 2009 retention purposes a 4-cubic-foot collection of Shuttle Flight Certification materi- als. He finished organizing in our database the PDFs of Headquarters news releases, 1962–74, and he has begun organizing another set of releases dated 1975–84.