Tag Search - All Blogs

Tag Search - All Blogs


Remote Controlled Manipulators

The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory's 1971 Annual Report featured this photo of a remote controlled system for handling solid propellants. A 1965 Space Programs Summary report indicated that the equipment had been ordered and would be installed in building 197 within a few months. This equipment made it possible to safely mix and load high energy solid propellants into small motors. Building 197 is still known as the Solid Propellant Engineering Laboratory.

This post was written for “Historical Photo of the Month,” a blog by Julie Cooper of JPL's Library and Archives Group.

TAGS: HISTORY, TECHNOLOGY, ROBOTICS

  • Julie Cooper
READ MORE

A large pond and smaller building 264 at JPL

To anyone who came to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., after 1975, this photo may seem odd – building 264 has only two stories, and there is a large pond running down the middle of the mall.

In September 1970, construction began on building 264, the Systems Development Laboratory, a support facility for the Space Flight Operations Facility in building 230. A 7.5 foot tunnel connected the two buildings, lined with racks to support the cables and wiring that joined them. It was constructed as a two story building with a foundation capable of supporting six additional floors, although JPL had to wait several years for additional funding to be approved. The building was finally completed late in 1975, providing mission support for the Viking and Voyager missions, computer space, and three floors of office space.

The pond was nearly 300 feet long, stretching from the mall fountain to a parking area at the east end of building 183. It was built in 1967 and removed by about 1989, but the fountain remains.

This post was written for “Historical Photo of the Month,” a blog by Julie Cooper of JPL's Library and Archives Group.

TAGS: HISTORY,

  • Julie Cooper
READ MORE

Scanning Electron Microscope

In late 1967, this Stereoscan Mark VI scanning electron microscope (SEM) was delivered to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory by the Cambridge Instrument Company. They were in high demand at the time, and JPL had to wait nearly a year between placing the order and delivery. It was used by the Electronic Parts Engineering Section Failure Analysis Laboratory to examine microcircuits for defects. Other possible uses were for the study of metals and other materials, and to examine spores for the Capsule Sterilization Program. It used an electron beam to scan the specimen rather than visible light, at a magnification of 20X to 50,000X. The camera on the front right side could be used to record the images.

This post was written for “Historical Photo of the Month,” a blog by Julie Cooper of JPL's Library and Archives Group.

TAGS: HISTORY, TECHNOLOGY

  • Julie Cooper
READ MORE

Vice President Lyndon Johnson Visits JPL

On October 4, 1961, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson visited NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. In his role as chairman of the National Aeronautics and Space Council, he toured the Lab and heard presentations about JPL’s lunar programs (Ranger and Surveyor), planetary program, the Deep Space Network and future plans. President John F. Kennedy had made his presentation to Congress several months earlier about putting a man on the moon before the decade ended. During the 1960s, JPL’s role shifted somewhat from lunar and planetary exploration to support of and preparation for manned missions to the moon and planets.

This photo shows Johnson walking out of the cafeteria (then located in Building 114) with JPL Director William Pickering while employees gathered around.

This post was written for “Historical Photo of the Month,” a blog by Julie Cooper of JPL's Library and Archives Group.

TAGS: HISTORY

  • Julie Cooper
READ MORE

Surveyor 3 Camera Returned from the Moon

In November 1969 Apollo 12 astronauts Alan Bean and Pete Conrad landed on the moon less than 600 feet from NASA's Surveyor 3 spacecraft, which had been there since April 1967. They removed the camera, some cable and tubing, and the trenching scoop from the lander and brought them back to Earth so that the effects of prolonged lunar exposure could be studied by Hughes Aircraft Company (the spacecraft prime contractor) and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The Surveyor 3 camera was kept under quarantine and studied for several weeks at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory in Houston. Then it was shipped to the Hughes facility in Culver City, Calif. This photo was taken in January 1970, probably at the Hughes facility, where Hughes and JPL employees photographed, disassembled and studied the camera in detail.

This post was written for “Historical Photo of the Month,” a blog by Julie Cooper of JPL's Library and Archives Group.

TAGS: HISTORY, SURVEYOR, EARTH'S MOON, MISSION, SPACECRAFT, SOLAR SYSTEM

  • Julie Cooper
READ MORE