Author: Douglas J. Mudgway
Publisher: History Office
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 356
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Biography of William H. Pickering, 1910-2004 On the first day of February 1958, three men held aloft a model of Explorer 1, America's first Earth satellite, for the press photographers. That image of William Pickering, Wernher von Braun, and James Van Allen became an icon for America's response to the Sputnik challenge. Von Braun and Van Allen were well known, but who was Pickering? From humble beginnings in a remote country town in New Zealand, Pickering came to California in 1928 and quickly established himself as an outstanding student at the then-new California Institute of Technology (Caltech). At Caltech, Pickering worked under the famous physicist Robert Millikan on cosmic-ray experiments, at that time a relatively new field of physics. In 1944, when Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) was developing rocket propulsion systems for the U.S. Army, Pickering joined the work-force as a technical manager. He quickly established himself as an outstanding leader, and 10 years later, Caltech named him Director of JPL. And then, suddenly, the world changed. In October 1957, the Sputnik satellite startled the world with its spectacular demonstration of Soviet supremacy in space. Pickering led an intense JPL effort that joined with the von Braun and Van Allen teams to answer the Soviet challenge. Eighty-three days later, on 31 January 1958, America's first satellite roared into Earth orbit. A few months after that, Pickering's decision to affiliate JPL with the newly formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration set the basis for his subsequent career and the future of NASA's ambitious program for the exploration of the solar system. In the early days of the space program, failure followed failure as Pickering and his JPL team slowly ascended the learning curve. Eventually, however, NASA and JPL resolve paid off. First the Moon, then Venus, and then Mars yielded their scientific mysteries to JPL spacecraft of ever-increasing sophistication. Within its first decade, JPL-built spacecraft sent back the first close-up photographs of the lunar surface, while others journeyed far beyond the Moon to examine Venus and return the first close-up views of the surface of Mars. Later, even more complex space missions made successful soft-landings on the Moon and on Mars. Pickering's sudden death in March 2004 at the age of 93 was widely reported in the U.S. and overseas. As one NASA official eulogized him, His pioneering work formed the foundation upon which the current program for exploring our solar system was built. On this, the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Space Age, it is proper to remind ourselves of the ordinary people who met the extraordinary challenge to make it happen. (most of this is from the left inside flap of the dust jacket) r
Author: Douglas J. Mudgway
Publisher: www.Militarybookshop.CompanyUK
ISBN: 9781780396941
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 270
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Book Description
NASA SP-4113. The NASA History Series. Provides a biography of Dr. William H. Pickering. The dust jacket states: "More than any other individual Bill Pickering was responsible for America's success in exploring the planets, an endeavor that demanded vision, courage, dedication, expertise, and the ability to inspire two generations of scientists and engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory," a quote from Thomas P. Everhart.
Author: National Aeronautics Administration
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781493648221
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 272
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Book Description
On the first day of February 1958, three men held aloft a model of Explorer 1, America's first Earth satellite, for the press photographers. That image of William Pickering, Wernher von Braun, and James Van Allen became an icon for America's response to the Sputnik challenge. Von Braun and Van Allen were well known, but who was Pickering? From humble beginnings in a remote country town in New Zealand, Pickering came to California in 1928 and quickly established himself as an outstanding student at the then-new California Institute of Technology (Caltech). At Caltech, Pickering worked under the famous physicist Robert Millikan on cosmic-ray experiments, at that time a relatively new field of physics. In 1944, when Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) was developing rocket propulsion systems for the U.S. Army, Pickering joined the work-force as a technical manager. He quickly established himself as an outstanding leader, and 10 years later, Caltech named him Director of JPL. And then, suddenly, the world changed. In October 1957, the Sputnik satellite startled the world with its spec-tacular demonstration of Soviet supremacy in space. Pickering led an intense JPL effort that joined with the von Braun and Van Allen teams to answer the Soviet challenge. Eighty-three days later, on 31 January 1958, America's first satellite roared into Earth orbit. A few months after that, Pickering's decision to affiliate JPL with the newly formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration set the basis for his subsequent career and the future of NASA's ambitious program for the exploration of the solar system. In the early days of the space program, failure followed failure as Pickering and his JPL team slowly ascended the "learning curve." Eventually, however, NASA and JPL resolve paid off. First the Moon, then Venus, and then Mars yielded their scientific mysteries to JPL spacecraft of ever-increasing sophistication. Within its first decade, JPL-built spacecraft sent back the first close-up photographs of the lunar surface, while others journeyed far beyond the Moon to examine Venus and return the first close-up views of the surface of Mars. Later, even more complex space missions made successful soft-landings on the Moon and on Mars. Pickering's sudden death in March 2004 at the age of 93 was widely reported in the U.S. and overseas. As one NASA official eulogized him, "His pioneering work formed the foundation upon which the current program for exploring our solar system was built." On this, the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Space Age, it is proper to remind ourselves of the ordinary people who met the extraordinary challenge to make it happen.
Author: William Henry Pickering
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
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Author: National Academy of Engineering
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309152186
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 380
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Book Description
This is the fourteenth volume in the series of Memorial Tributes compiled by the National Academy of Engineering as a personal remembrance of the lives and outstanding achievements of its members and foreign associates. These volumes are intended to stand as an enduring record of the many contributions of engineers and engineering to the benefit of humankind. In most cases, the authors of the tributes are contemporaries or colleagues who had personal knowledge of the interests and the engineering accomplishments of the deceased.
Author: William H. Pickering
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 85
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Book Description
The collection consists primarily of correspondence, although memoranda, notes, pamphlets, copies of newspaper, magazine and journal articles, transcripts of speeches, press releases and photographs are also present. The collection is arranged in its original order, organized by numerical filing number. Each category can be considered a series or sub-series. These are: Lab Visits, including Congressional visits; Special Events; General Correspondence, including invitations and requests; Awards and Commendations; JPL Correspondence, including biographies, history, minority affairs and annual reports; Foreign Travel Logs; and Outgoing Correspondence Files. Each series or sub-series has been arranged in chronological order unless otherwise noted. The date span of the collection is 1955 to 1976, with bulk dates of 1964 to 1975. The earliest document in the collection is biographical information of Pickering dated 1955.
Author: William Henry Pickering
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Moon
Languages : en
Pages : 236
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Author: Douglas J. Mudgway
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Aerospace engineers
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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From humble beginnings in a remote country town in New Zealand, William Pickering became an icon for America's response to the Sputnik challenge, alongside Wernher von Braun and James Van Allen.
Author: William Henry Pickering
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Comets
Languages : en
Pages : 234
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Book Description
Author: William Whewell
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Astronomy
Languages : en
Pages : 414
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Book Description
