"After the cancellation of the Canadian Avro Arrow, Canada signed a Defence Production sharing agreement with the United States, agreeing never again to undertake production of a major weapon system on our own." Further after the cancellation of the Arrow in 1959, Chief Aerodynamicist Jim Chamberlin led a team of 25 engineers to NASA's Space Task Group to become lead engineers, program managers, and heads of engineering in NASA's manned space programs—Projects Mercury, Gemini and Apollo. This team would eventually grow to 32 Avro engineers and technicians. Many other engineers, including Jim Floyd (whose design studies at Hawker Siddeley (Avro Aircraft's UK parent) on the HSA.1000 SST design studies were ultimately influential in the design of the Concorde found work abroad in either the UK or the United States. Jim Chamberlin was born in Kamloops, British Columbia on May 23, 1915. And as head of engineering for Project Mercury, head of the U.S. Space Task Group’s engineering division and project manager on the Gemini program, as well as chief designer for the Gemini spacecraft built by Douglas, and, troubleshooter on Project Apollo, Chamberlin played an instrumental role in devising and implementing the pre-shuttle generation of American spacecraft. Jim Chamberlin was heavily involved in the design of the Lunar lander LM2. Chamberlin was described by NASA Administrator as “one of the most brilliant men ever to work with NASA.” In March 1962, millions of people watched John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth, wave to the crowds in New York from the lead limousine of his ticker tape parade. Directly behind, in the second limousine, was Jim Chamberlin. Chamberlin left NASA in 1970 to join McDonnell Douglas Astronautics, where he prepared an ultimately unsuccessful space shuttle bid before becoming technical director for the company's facility at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, a position he held until his death in 1981. NASA awarded Jim Chamberlin its Exceptional Scientific Achievement, Exceptional Engineering Achievement, Exceptional Service, and Gold medal. He was inducted into Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame in 2001.
Rating: User: Imatech 2007-06-02T20:29:15.03Z
Tags:
Canada/Avro | Arrow/United | States/American | Moon | Project/Apollo | Space | Craft/Manned | Rocket | Launchers/McDonnell | Douglas/F-18/Avro |