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Pickering, W. H. (William Hayward), 1910-2004
Oral History interview with William H. Pickering, 2003.
This 2003 interview with William H. Pickering, in two sessions, contains his further recollections of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's early involvement with the US Army and missile development, followed by JPLs transformation into a NASA laboratory with a focus on exploration of the solar system. The interview begins with an account of his return to the small town in New Zealand where he grew up, to attend dedication of a memorial to himself and Ernest Rutherford, who attended the same primary school. Additional recollections of JPL's collaboration with Wernher von Braun; of the first flight of Sputnik; Caltech's early work in rocketry; development and production of the Corporal missile. Further discussion of his work establishing an applied research institute in Saudi Arabia in the late 1970s; his later relationship with it. Establishment of Pickering Research, a consulting business, after retiring as director of JPL in 1976; consulting for the Electrical Power Research Institute after Three-Mile Island incident in 1979; contract in 1980s to help mainland China set up computer systems for its satellite program. The interview concludes with an account of his recent involvement in the sawdust-pellet (alternative fuels) business.
Electrical engineer; Professor of Electrical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 1940-1980; Director, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1954-1976.
Rutherford, Ernest, 1871-1937.
Von Braun, Wernher, 1912-1977.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (U.S.) -- History.
Aeronautics -- Research -- United States -- History.
Fuel switching.
Corporal (Missile).
National Medal of Science.
Planetary exploration.
Rocketry -- History.
Solar system -- Exploration.
Sputnik satellites
Interviews. aat
Oral histories. aat
Transcripts. aat
Aeronautical engineers. lcsh
Cohen, Shirley, 1922- interviewer.
AIP-ICOS
California Institute of Technology. Institute Archives. 1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
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