Bill grew up in the Chicago area, went to the University of Illinois for a BS in engineering, and following a tenure in advanced ROTC, was comissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Air Force. He went to the Air Force Institute of Technology, focusing on armament technology (technically graduating with an aero engineering master's) in 1955. After being released from the Air Force, he visited Redstone, and recieved a job in March of 1958. He was at first assigned to the Future Project Designs Branch of the S&M laboratory of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. He worked on early Saturn developments, as well as the prospect of a lunar base, determining the ideal route for the Apollo craft, and further research into reaching Mars, transitioning into project management over time. He got involved with the Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle, and served as the project manager, but the program was canceled, and he would work on projects at Houston for some time. He would work on the technology transfer program before retiring in 1992. In his retirement, he has worked with the botanical gardens. He concludes by reflecting on the Apollo project, the lack of use of Saturn hardware, and frustration behind the contemporary space program.
University of Alabama in Huntsville Archives and Special Collections, Huntsville, Alabama
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Bill Huber (Space History Interviews).mp4
Bill was born in Chattanooga, and attended the University of Chattanooga for undergraduate studies, then went to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville for further study. **** Not ready for publication - need to clean up the audio. ****
Bill Sneed (Space History Interviews).mp4
Bill was primarily raised in Montgomery, AL. He would earn a degree in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech (although his studies were somewhat interrupted by World War II, when he served in the Army Air Force), and began work with the Navy in Panama City, Florida. He was quickly tempted to Huntsville by missile work in 1952, beginning with the Army's Launching and Handling group. Bill discusses anecdotes from early Redstone missile development, and his later work on Jupiter, as well as Pershing. When faced with the option of staying with the Army or transitioning to NASA, he chose the latter, eventually progressing to the Astrionics group. Separately, he discusses his local work in the National Speleological Society [caving/spelunking group], as well as his relationship with Walter B. Jones.
Bill Varnadoe (Space History Interviews).mp4
William "Bill" Vaughn explores his time with the space program. **NOTE**: Severe audio issues were present in the original recording; an edited version is presented, but may still be difficult to understand for some users.
Bill Vaughn (Space History Interviews).mp4
Bob was raised in Illinois, attending the University of Illinois for a bachelor's in ceramic engineering. He was drafted into the Korean War, and was sent to Redstone in Spring of 1951, being assigned to the material laboratory. After his service, he continued work at Redstone in the same category of re-entry protection. In 1956, a large booster project began, utilizing Jupiter hardware, which would eventually develop into the Saturn system. Bob would serve as a project engineer on the Saturn 1/1B booster, and on Jupiter C, also serving as a liaison to JPL. He remained with ABMA as it converted to NASA, but would leave in 1963 to work for the Spacecraft company (alongside Olin King and others). He would stay with Spacecraft for approximately 4 years, then worked for Northrop. Bob discusses the company's time working on the MARS study contract, after which he would return to MSFC (around 1971) at the behest of Dr. Eberhard Rees, working in the Propulsion Vehicle Engineering Lab. He would move to the Shuttle office, and remain with the project through several launches. Bob discusses the various personnel he interacted with in this role. After his shuttle work, Bob would retire and do consulting work (spending some time at Thiokol and Rockwell, forming a firm with several other former coworkers). He would take over Thiokol's space operations group following the Challenger disaster, running into concerns against the Advanced Solid Rocket Motor project, but ultimately bringing the company into relative success. He concludes by emphasizing the importance of strengthening engineering.
Bob Lindstrom (Space History Interviews).mp4
Bob was born in Daytona Beach, and enlisted in the Army in 1950. He studied partly at the University of Florida, but completed his degree at Auburn in 1956. Following this, he worked for General Dynamics as a thermodynamic specialist on the B58. Around 1962, Bob would join NASA, working again in the thermodynamics department (specializing on insulation for the Saturn's 2nd stage, which he also was involved with testing). Bob states that the landing and arrival on the moon was one of the greatest moments of his life. After Saturn, Bob worked on Skylab (in the advanced life support group), where he worked on several unique items for the project, including Stirling-cycle refrigeration systems. He spent some time working with the Department of Energy, then returned to working on solar power at MSFC. Bob would continue into program development, then to managing corporate research. In 1990, he would assist in managing a hydrogen leak on the shuttle Columbia, then retired from NASA. He would work for SAIC for some time, then worked part-time at UAH, and contracted with the Department of Transportation. Bob also harbored an interest in computers, which would lead him to work with Microsoft in synchronizing video conference and PowerPoint presentations. Bob also spent some time with the Marshall Retirees association, and Charles indicates that Bob has been operating/uploading this series of interviews.
Bob Middleton (Space History Interviews).mp4
Robert (Bob) grew up in Birmingham, AL, and recieved his undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama. Beginning in 1954, he found summer work in Huntsville; he would begin working full-time in the city in 1957, but would return to the University of Alabama to recieve his PhD in physics. He entered into the Sturctures/Mechanics group to begin with, but after recieving his master's, was transferred to the research projects division. Along with work on Explorer 1 and 4, he contributed significantly to the Argus project, which he offers an overview of. Bob also notes his experience with the S-15 gamma ray telescope, then his work on the Apollo program (especially the Saturn 1B) and meteoroid studies with Pegasus. For Skylab, Bob would contribute to analyzing contamination of the interior atmosphere; this track would lead him to focus more on materials sciences, and the Space Sciences group. He would retire from government work at 55, and would begin working at UAH as a professor of materials science (albeit technically in the chemistry department). Bob would become the director of the microgravity science program at NASA headquarters. Bob contributed to the USML 1 Spacelab module, as well. After some time teaching, his work notes would be used to create an introductory solid-state physics textbook. Bob concludes by discussing the current state of the Space Station project, and concludes by discussing Marshall's contribution to the UAH superconductivity discovery.
Bob Naumann (Space History Interviews).mp4
Bob was born in Chattanooga, TN, and lived in Oak Ridge during World War II. He enlisted in the Air Force out of high school, went to MTSU, then worked for the Force as a civilian for a brief time until he went to work at MSFC (in July 1960). He worked in the aero ballistics laboratory, beginning with control/design studies for the Saturn series. He would continue to the Advanced Systems office, remaining at Marshall until 1967, when he would begin work at NASA headquarters (in the manned spaceflight office). Bob discusses a variety of projects, including his contributions to the space shuttle and Skylab projects. He also mentions his time working with early European space agencies, which developed into Spacelab, which he had significant influence on. In 1982 he would retire from NASA, going on to work for Teledyne Brown for some time, then as the senior Washington officer for TRW. Eventually he would return to Huntsville, continuing to work for TRW until 2000, when he retired into a consultancy position. Bob contributed to the Marshall Retirees Association, and to other ancillary organizations. He concludes by emphasizing the importance of teamwork.
Bob Nolbitt (Space History Interviews).mp4
Bob was raised in middle Tennessee. He entered the Navy in 1944, then went to college at Tennesee Tech (earning a BS in electrical engineering). Following work with the TVA, he would join the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (at Redstone Arsenal) in 1956, beginning with the Launching and Handling Laboratory. Bob provides a detailed chronology of his career: he would serve some time as a NASA representative at Lockheed, then returned to Huntsville as an assistent on the Agena program. In June 1963 he would take a year-long fellowship at MIT, where he would recieve a master's in management. Bob also discusses various personalities he encountered in his career. He worked on Skylab's Integration and Engineering office, as well as in operations support, which he discusses aspects of in detail. Following Skylab, he joined the Materials and Processes laboratory as the deputy director, where he remained nearly 2 years. Bob also discusses relations with the European Space Agency (as with Spacelab), and other positions before his retirement from MSFC in 1981, as well as a study he performed on the selection of contractors. Following his NASA retirement, he would found Pace and Wade, Inc. with Jack Wade, which would serve as a temporary-position based operation for supporting NASA (which eventually became a full-time operation). He would remain with that company until 2003, where it would be sold to another local company, and he would fully retire.
Raised in Indiana, Bob was inspired into aviation by his uncles, and went to Purdue University for electrical engineering. However, his passion for aviation (and spaceflight) remained, and he would begin working in Huntsville in 1957 (beginning with the Redstone rocket, doing diagnostics for Manufacturing/Engineering). He recalls the progression from the Army Ballistic Missile Agency to NASA, as well as receiving a master's at MIT in 1967. Bob recalls several unique project experiences, emphasizing the team's ability to anticipate progress (including use of robotics in manufacturing). Bob also served in the Materials lab for 20 years; he recalls experiences here, as well as his involvement with Skylab. Eventually, Bob was moved into management positions, including associate director of the MSFC's technical aspect; he also spent significant time working in failure investigations (including work on righting hydrogen leaks from the Columbia shuttle, and developing the Space Station. Bob retired from Marshall in 1999, but as of recording had continued consulting for some time afterwards.
Bob Schwinghammer (Space History Interviews).mp4