Nov 10 2001

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Maxwell W. Hunter II, one of the world’s leading rocket designers and space engineers, died at the age of 79. Hunter had graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1944 and had worked for Douglas Aircraft. While at Douglas, he had designed several of the company’s missiles, including the Nike and the Thor, as well as many of its space projects, including the Delta rocket and the Saturn S-IV stage of the Apollo Moon rocket program. Hunter had later worked for Lockheed Missiles and Space Company. Among his achievements with Lockheed was the design of the Space Shuttle. Hunter had also advised Presidents John F. Kennedy and President Lyndon B. Johnson on space programs and space policy and had been a noted proponent of nuclear-powered spacecraft and a space-based laser defense program. In addition, Hunter had authored nearly 60 technical papers and had received the National Space Society’s Wernher von Braun Memorial Award in recognition of his contributions to the development of missiles, rockets, and spaceflight. (Dennis McLellan, “Maxwell Hunter II, 79; Pioneer Rocket Scientist,” Los Angeles Times, 17 November 2001.)


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