February 1980
From The Space Library
Dr. Richard T. Whitcomb, 59, the "legendary aerodynamicist" inventor of the area rule and the supercritical wing, retired February 29 after 37 years of service with NASA. Graduated in 1943 with honors in mechanical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Whitcomb said an article in Fortune magazine impelled him to apply for a job at NASA's Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory. His "brilliant career" there included three landmark ideas, all radical departures from conventional aerodynamic theory, all developed in Langley wind tunnels, and all successful.
His honors included the Collier Trophy for applying his "area rule" to design of supersonic aircraft, and the U.S. Air Force exceptional service medal (highest civilian award) in 1954; NASA's first distinguished service medal in 1956; NASA's medal for exceptional scientific achievement and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautic's Sylvanus Albert Reed award, 1969; the National Medal of Science, highest honorary scientific award of the U.S. government, 1973; in 1974, the National Aeronautic Association's Wright Brothers memorial trophy, the AIAA aircraft design award, and a $25,000 cash award (largest ever given by NASA to an individual) for invention of the supercritical wing; in 1978, the National Business Aircraft Association award. (NASA Release 74-148, 80-38)
NASA announced that Dr. William C. Schneider, associate administrator for space tracking and data systems, would retire from federal service February 29. He joined the Gemini program in 1963 after two years at International Telephone and Telegraph's (ITT) federal Laboratories as director of space systems, having also worked for the U.S. Navy and for NACA. He received NASAs exceptional service medal for his work as mission director for 7 of 10 Gemini missions. From July 1967 to December 1968 he directed Apollo missions beginning with Apollo 4 and won NASA's distinguished service medal for the success of Apollo 8, first manned flight around the moon. He directed the Skylab program from December 1968 to July 1974, and with the three Skylab crews received the Collier Trophy in 1973. He would become a vice president of Computer Sciences Corporation. (NASA anno, Feb 22/80; NASA Release 80-27)
LaRC announced that four of its top managers left NASA February 29. They were deputy director Oran W. Nicks; associate director Dr. John E. Duberg; Richard R. Heldenfels, director for structures; and James E. Stitt, director for electronics. The latter three, who began their federal service in the 1940s with NACA (Dr. Duberg in 1943, Heldenfels and Stitt in 1947), would retire. Nicks, who since 1970 had been deputy director at LaRC, began at NASA Headquarters 1960 working on unmanned programs; he would become executive director of the research foundation at Texas A&M University. (LaRC Release 80-14)
The Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) Newsreview reported that Air Force Secretary Dr. Hans M. Mark proposed establishment of a consolidated space operations center near Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, combining two major mission elements of the U.S. Air Force: satellite control and direction of future DOD Shuttle operations. The Colorado location, prime candidate out of 13 potential sites, would offer proximity to the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) complex at Cheyenne Mountain; it would employ about 300 military, 100 U.S. Air Force civilian, and 1,400 contractor employees. (AFSC Newsreview, Feb/80, 1)
FBIS reported the 11-18 airliner that carried a group of Soviet journalists and researchers to check the possibility of regular air service through Africa and the Middle East to the Antarctic, had returned safely to Moscow after establishing the flying time for the new route as 27 hours. Previously, the trip home by sea had taken 1 month. (FBIS, Moscow Wrld Svc, Feb 23/80)
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