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  Author Sought: George Low Biography

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Author Topic:   Author Sought: George Low Biography
ColinBurgess
Member

Posts: 2031
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 07-08-2015 10:09 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for ColinBurgess   Click Here to Email ColinBurgess     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I recently had some correspondence with a well-respected space researcher and reviewer who believes a biography of George M. Low is long overdue. I believe it would be a good fit for the Outward Odyssey series and would like to invite any expressions of interest in putting this book together.

I will quote the words of my correspondent, as he says it all:

John Logsdon's new book, "After Apollo," left me with the impression that someone needs to be writing a biography or a similar space history centered around George Low. His papers, especially his "Personal Notes" that Logsdon makes such good use of would seem to be a treasure trove of raw material for such a work.

Of all the Founding Fathers of the U.S. space program, one could make the case for Low being the Indispensable Man. He, along with Abe Silverstein, midwifed the birth of Apollo with their early work on planning for the long-term goals. He took over the ASPO after the fire and got the CSM back on track. He cooked up the idea of sending Apollo 8 to the moon when the LEM fell behind schedule and, conspiratorially, got support from the relevant players (so James Webb couldn't shoot down the idea of which he was reportedly "horrified"). He was intimately involved in sheparding the Shuttle through, despite a serious lack of interest on the part of the Nixon Administration, whose position on NASA was basically, "we won't countenance ending the US manned spaceflight program, but we will cut your budget, so come up with something - we don't really care what."

Low was apparently a taker of copious notes - Logsdon refers to them extensively - and his papers are in the library of Rensselear Polytechnic Institute. Accessing them would be easy and, no doubt, provide some very productive research.

Please contact me if you feel you have the interest and background to tackle this important work for the Outward Odyssey series.

Paul78zephyr
Member

Posts: 675
From: Hudson, MA
Registered: Jul 2005

posted 07-09-2015 11:00 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Paul78zephyr     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I would love to read a biography of George Low. He is always known for the things you mentioned however I'm sure there was much more to this brilliant man.

NukeGuy
Member

Posts: 55
From: Irvine, CA USA
Registered: May 2014

posted 07-10-2015 10:23 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for NukeGuy     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I attended RPI when George Low was its president.

There were two other RPI graduates that had a significant role in NASA history. Chuck Mathews was an early member of the Space Task Group and worked with Chris Kraft in the early stages of setting up mission control. He later went on to manage the Gemini program after its troubled start. Mathews was the first choice to replace Joe Shea but declined for family reasons. George Low was then selected.

The other RPI alum was Edgar Cortright who recently passed on. Cortright headed the Apollo 13 investigation and also headed the Langley Research Center and pushed for the Viking Mars lander program.

The paths of Low, Mathews and Cortright crossed numerous times from their days at RPI in the 1940s through the LEWIS, Langley and Manned Spaceflight Center in the 1950s to the 1970s.

For some time, I have contemplated writing an article for the RPI alumni magazine about these three men. Other than the NASA Oral Histories, I don't find much material on Mathews or Cortright. The RPI archives have a ton of stuff on Low including models of spacecraft, even his lab reports from his undergraduate days. I believe the archivist at RPI that worked with Charles Murray is still there.

Unfortunately, my current job is taking a lot out of me (trying to get the first new nuclear power plant built in the US in 30 years).

I will barely be able to do an article, let alone a book. But I would certainly look forward to such a book with great anticipation.

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