William R. Lucas

Last updated
William R. Lucas
WilliamRLucas2.jpg
Official NASA portrait of Dr. William R. Lucas
Born (1922-03-01) March 1, 1922 (age 101)
EducationBachelor's degree in chemistry at Memphis State College, Master's degree and a Doctorate in metallurgy from Vanderbilt University
Occupation(s)Director of the
Marshall Space Flight Center

William Ronald Lucas (born March 1, 1922) was the fourth Director of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. He served as director from June 15, 1974, to July 3, 1986.

Contents

Early career

Lucas was born in Newbern, Tennessee. He graduated from Memphis State College (now the University of Memphis) in 1943 with a degree in chemistry. He earned a master's degree and a doctorate in metallurgy from Vanderbilt University in Nashville. He briefly interrupted his education to serve in the United States Navy during World War II.

In 1952, Lucas moved to Huntsville, Alabama, to join Wernher von Braun's team at the Army Ballistic Missile Agency, based at the Redstone Arsenal. [1] After serving as a staffer with the Guided Missile Development Group, he became the agency's materials officer in 1956. In this position, Lucas designed the thermal control system for the United States' first space satellite, Explorer 1. He also selected the materials used in the rocket that made Alan Shepard the first American in space, in 1961.

When von Braun's team was transferred to NASA as part of the Marshall Space Flight Center in 1960, Lucas transferred to the new organization. He served in Marshall's Propulsion and Vehicle Engineering Laboratory, eventually becoming its director. While there, he developed the propulsion system for the Saturn V rocket. He also developed the world's second space station, Skylab.

Director of Marshall

After three years as Marshall's deputy director, Lucas was named the center's director in 1974. He took over only two years after the start of the Space Shuttle program. Under his direction, Marshall was responsible for managing the Shuttle's propulsion system, including the solid rocket boosters (SRBs) and the main engines on the Orbiter.

Dr. Wernher von Braun, a former Marshall Space Flight Center Director, and Lucas, a newly appointed MSFC Director, viewing a Space Shuttle model, October 11, 1974. VonBraunLucas.jpg
Dr. Wernher von Braun, a former Marshall Space Flight Center Director, and Lucas, a newly appointed MSFC Director, viewing a Space Shuttle model, October 11, 1974.

As director, Lucas soon became known as a harsh taskmaster. Unlike most high-ranking NASA officials, he frequently dressed down his subordinates in public. He also barred employees from jogging during lunch breaks, under penalty of losing time from annual leave. Lucas also had a reputation for dealing only in terms of hard, quantifiable data. [2]

Marshall Space Flight Center director William R. Lucas accepting a certificate from Madison County Commission Chairman James Record and Huntsville architect Harvie Jones (1976) JamesRecordRedstone.jpg
Marshall Space Flight Center director William R. Lucas accepting a certificate from Madison County Commission Chairman James Record and Huntsville architect Harvie Jones (1976)

Despite Lucas' achievements (he received nearly every honor that NASA could bestow), few people outside the aerospace community heard of him prior to the Challenger tragedy. In the aftermath of the incident, it emerged that key personnel at Marshall, including Lucas, knew of a potentially catastrophic design flaw with the SRBs as early as 1977. The SRBs' "field joints" were supposed to close more tightly as a result of forces generated by ignition. Instead, the metal parts of the SRB casing bent away from each other, opening a gap through which hot gases could leak out and erode the O-ring seals. In the event of serious erosion, the booster could burst—which would destroy the shuttle. [2]

Despite his outward image as a stickler for doing things according to regulations, Lucas flagrantly violated them by ordering his managers not to raise any Marshall-related issue during the "Flight Readiness Review" process that could cause a delay in the launch. Lucas had issued a standing order that Marshall was not, under any circumstances, to cause a delay in the flight manifest. As a result, Marshall Center managers did not report evidence of severe O-ring erosion during the second space shuttle mission. Rather, they opted to keep the problem within their reporting channels with the SRBs' contractor, Thiokol. Even after the O-rings were redesignated as "Criticality 1"—meaning that their failure would result in the destruction of the Orbiter—no one at Marshall suggested that the shuttles be grounded until the flaw could be fixed. As a result, no one in NASA's senior management knew about the dimensions of the problem until a NASA auditor discovered a contract for a redesigned SRB in a 1985 budget report. [2]

Following the Challenger tragedy, a longtime Marshall Center manager, known as "Apocalypse," wrote a letter to the center's inspector general detailing Lucas' management style. This letter eventually wound up in the hands of the Rogers Commission, which investigated the accident. Following strong criticism from the commission, Lucas retired in July 1986.

In a YouTube interview published posthumously, Thiokol engineer Roger Boisjoly stated that: "[Lucas] ran [the MSFC] like a Gestapo prison camp! And I'm not exaggerating when I say that. He had his people under him scared to death because he could crush their career in a heartbeat. And he had basically stated that: 'The Marshall Space Flight Center would never, ever be responsible for delaying a launch'. Now that's sick! A guy like that should have been taken out and shot right on the spot!" [3]

Honors

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marshall Space Flight Center</span> Rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center

The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), located in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. As the largest NASA center, MSFC's first mission was developing the Saturn launch vehicles for the Apollo program. Marshall has been the lead center for the Space Shuttle main propulsion and external tank; payloads and related crew training; International Space Station (ISS) design and assembly; computers, networks, and information management; and the Space Launch System (SLS). Located on the Redstone Arsenal near Huntsville, MSFC is named in honor of General of the Army George C. Marshall.

Space Shuttle <i>Challenger</i> disaster 1986 inflight breakup of U.S. Space Shuttle

On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members aboard. The spacecraft disintegrated 46,000 feet (14 km) above the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 11:39 a.m. EST. It was the first fatal accident involving an American spacecraft while in flight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rogers Commission Report</span> Government report on the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

The Rogers Commission Report was written by a Presidential Commission charged with investigating the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster during its 10th mission, STS-51-L. The report, released and submitted to President Ronald Reagan on June 9, 1986, both determined the cause of the disaster that took place 73 seconds after liftoff, and urged NASA to improve and install new safety features on the shuttles and in its organizational handling of future missions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Crippen</span> American military test pilot, engineer, and astronaut

Robert Laurel Crippen is an American retired naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aerospace engineer, and retired astronaut. He traveled into space four times: as pilot of STS-1 in April 1981, the first Space Shuttle mission; and as commander of STS-7 in June 1983, STS-41-C in April 1984, and STS-41-G in October 1984. He was also a part of the Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL), Skylab Medical Experiment Altitude Test (SMEAT), ASTP support crew member, and the Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) for the Space Shuttle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster</span> Solid propellant rocket used to launch Space Shuttle orbiter.

The Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) was the first solid-propellant rocket to be used for primary propulsion on a vehicle used for human spaceflight. A pair of these provided 85% of the Space Shuttle's thrust at liftoff and for the first two minutes of ascent. After burnout, they were jettisoned and parachuted into the Atlantic Ocean where they were recovered, examined, refurbished, and reused.

Space Shuttle <i>Pathfinder</i> Space Shuttle test simulator

The Space Shuttle Pathfinder is a Space Shuttle test simulator made of steel and wood. Constructed by NASA in 1977 as an unnamed facilities test article, it was purchased in the early 1980s by the America-Japan Society, Inc. which had it refurbished, named it, and placed it on display in the Great Space Shuttle Exhibition in Tokyo. The mockup was later returned to the United States and placed on permanent display at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, in May 1988.

Thiokol was an American corporation concerned initially with rubber and related chemicals, and later with rocket and missile propulsion systems. Its name is a portmanteau of the Greek words for sulfur and glue, an allusion to the company's initial product, Thiokol polymer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Boisjoly</span> American aerodynamics engineer (1938–2012)

Roger Mark Boisjoly was an American mechanical engineer, fluid dynamicist, and an aerodynamicist. He is best known for having raised strenuous objections to the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger months before the loss of the spacecraft and its crew in January 1986. Boisjoly correctly predicted, based on earlier flight data, that the O-rings on the rocket boosters would fail if the shuttle launched in cold weather. Morton Thiokol's managers decided to launch the shuttle despite his warnings, leading to the catastrophic failure. He was considered a high-profile whistleblower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex McCool</span> NASA manager (1923–2020)

Alexander A. McCool Jr. was manager of the Space Shuttle Projects Office at the NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. During his career, McCool contributed to several space developments including the Apollo Program, Skylab and the Space Shuttle program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocco Petrone</span> American NASA official (1926–2006)

Rocco Anthony Petrone was an American mechanical engineer, U.S. Army officer and NASA official. He served as director of launch operations at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) from 1966 to 1969, as Apollo program director at NASA Headquarters from 1969 to 1973, as third director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center from 1973 to 1974, and as NASA Associate Administrator from 1974 until his retirement from NASA in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James R. Thompson Jr.</span> Deputy Administrator of NASA

James Robert Thompson Jr., known as J.R. Thompson, was the fifth director of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center located in Huntsville, Alabama. He served as director from September 29, 1986, to July 6, 1989. Thompson also served as NASA's deputy director from July 6, 1989, to November 8, 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. Wayne Littles</span>

Dr. Jerrol Wayne Littles was the eighth director of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center located in Huntsville, Alabama. He served as director from February 3, 1996, to January 3, 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art Stephenson</span> NASA personnel

Arthur G. Stephenson was the ninth Director of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center located in Huntsville, Alabama. He served as director from September 11, 1998, to May 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Axel Roth</span>

Axel Roth was born in Darmstadt, Germany, on October 25, 1936. He was the son of Ludwig Roth, an original member, of the German Rocket Team. He survived World War II, RAF bombing of rocket development facility at Peenemünde, Germany, August 17–18, 1943, known as Operation Crossbow. He arrived in the US in New York City, NY in 1946, a year after his father arrived there as part of Operation Paperclip, aboard a converted troop transport. He moved first to Ft. Bliss, Texas, and then to Huntsville, Alabama in 1950 when the German Rocket Team was relocated to Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert M. Lightfoot Jr.</span>

Robert M. Lightfoot Jr. is former Acting Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), serving from January 20, 2017 until April 23, 2018. Succeeding Charles Bolden, Lightfoot became the space agency's acting Associate Administrator on March 5, 2012. That job became permanent on September 25, 2012. He had previously served as the eleventh Director of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, from March 2009 until his promotion in March 2012. On March 12, 2018 he announced his retirement from NASA effective April 30, 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur E. Goldman</span>

Arthur Eugene "Gene" Goldman is the executive director for Aerojet's Southeast Space Operations division. Before retiring from NASA in August 2012, he last served as acting director of the Marshall Space Flight Center located in Huntsville, Alabama. He was appointed as acting director effective March 5, 2012, following the promotion of the previous director, Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr., to Acting Associate Administrator of NASA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Henderson</span>

Robin Neely Henderson is the Associate Director, Management, of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center located in Huntsville, Alabama. She was named to become the center's Acting Director effective August 3, 2012, following the retirement of the previous director, Arthur E. Goldman, to take a private sector position. On September 25, 2012, NASA named Patrick Scheuermann as the center's new permanent director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Studied Space Shuttle designs</span> Launch vehicle study

During the lifetime of the Space Shuttle, Rockwell International and many other organizations studied various Space Shuttle designs. These involved different ways of increasing cargo and crew capacity, as well as investigating further reusability. A large focus of these designs were related to developing new shuttle boosters and improvements to the central tank, but also looked to expand NASA's ability to launch deep space missions and build modular space stations. Many of these concepts and studies would shape the concepts and programs of the 2000s such as the Constellation, Orbital Space Plane Program, and Artemis program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heinrich Struck</span> German-American rocket scientist

Heinrich Georg "Heinz" Struck was a German-American rocket scientist and member of the "von Braun rocket team." Struck worked in aerodynamics in both the private and federal sectors, particularly NASA, where he was recognized for his contributions to the Space Shuttle program.

George Landwehr von Pragenau was an Austrian-American engineer and rocket scientist. Brought to the U.S. by the Army for his work with transistors, he was heavily involved with the testing of the Saturn I and Saturn V rockets and the Space Shuttle. In 1985 he received NASA's Inventor of the Year Award for his work in stabilizing the Shuttle's fuel pumps.

References

  1. Lucas, William R. (1999-07-11). "Apollo program gave us a cause to believe in". The Huntsville Times. p. S10.
  2. 1 2 3 McConnell, Malcolm (1987). Challenger: A Major Malfunction . Garden City, NY: Doubleday. ISBN   0-385-23877-0.
  3. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : The Challenger crew are NOT still alive III. YouTube .
  4. "Distinguished Alumni Awards program". The University of Memphis.
  5. "Elmer A. Sperry Award recipients list".