Apollo - A pioneering generation

Abstract

This paper describes an ongoing study of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) first generation of engineers - the generation which accomplished the United States' first major achievements in manned space exploration. Combining statistical analysis with personal interviews, the study explores questions such as the origins, motivations, and career histories of NASA's first generation of engineers; that generation's role in NASA's current leadership; the relationships of science, engineering, and management in NASA's institutional culture; and changes experienced within NASA during and after the Apollo program.