This collection details the evolution of early space science instruments built by the University of Iowa, from proposal to final report, through the documents created and collected by the project managers. The project managers were responsible to the principal investigator for the administration of the contract; this collection primarily houses material for missions where James Van Allen was the principal investigator. William Whelpley was University of Iowa's first project manager to the Injun IV spacecraft, assigned in 1963 to handle the increasing administrative requirements associated with NASA contracts. For missions launched prior to 1963, Van Allen was solely responsible for coordinating the administrative, scientific, and engineering details. His success with Explorer I paved the way for the design and construction of complete satellites in the University of Iowa laboratory, necessitating expansion of facilities, equipment, and personnel. Correspondence and subject files contain general material which is not attributable to a single mission or project manager; the notebooks kept by the project managers record both administrative and technical matters. The Mission files constitute the majority of the collection and include proposals; contracts; correspondence; management files; design, drawing, and blueprints; fabrication and assembly records; testing, launch, operations, and data analysis records. Missions documeted include Orbiting Space Observatory (OSO); Mariner C; Injun IV; Mariner 4; Orbiting Geophysical Observatory (OGO) 2; Explorers 33 and 35; Mariner Venus 1967; Injun V; Interplanetary Monitoring Platform (IMP) G, I, and J; Pioneers 10 and 11; Mariner Mars 1971; High Energy Astrophysics Observatory-A; Hawkeye and Hawkeye II.