PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov
Contact: Stephanie R. Zeluck
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 12, 1997
LAST MEMBER OF JPL'S EARLY ROCKET TESTING GROUP DIES
Apollo M.O. Smith, the last surviving member of the original
group of Caltech students whose rocket testing in 1936 helped
lead to the formation of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, died on
May 1 after a short illness. He was 85 years old.
Smith, a graduate student at the California Institute of
Technology, joined Frank Malina and several fellow students in
conducting liquid-propellant rocket tests in the Arroyo Seco, a
dry canyon wash near present-day JPL, between 1936 and 1938.
Their studies, assisted by Theodore von Kármán, director of the
Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory at Caltech, helped generate
the enthusiasm, interest and viability in rocketry that
eventually led to the formation in 1944 of the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory.
"It was clear that his work as one of the members of that
tiny group of Caltech students was just the first step in a long
and productive career in aerospace," said JPL Director Dr. Edward
Stone.
Smith graduated from Caltech in 1938 with master's degrees
in both mechanical and aeronautical engineering. After working
for Douglas Aircraft Co. from 1938 to 1942, he went to the newly
formed Aerojet Engineering Corp. as the company's first chief
engineer.
In 1944, Smith returned to Douglas as assistant chief of the
aerodynamics section, and was responsible for the aerodynamic
design of the D-558-1 airplane, which for a time held the world
speed record.
At the close of World War II, Smith was called upon by the
U.S. Navy to travel to Europe and learn what developments the
Germans had made in aviation and rocketry. As an indirect
consequence of that work, he proposed and began studies of a
swept-wing, tailless aircraft, culminating in the world record-
breaking F4D-1 Skyray Interceptor.
From 1948 to 1954, Smith returned to Douglas as a supervisor
of design research, spearheading the group that developed
virtually all of the design and analysis methods used to create
the Douglas DC-9 and DC-10 commercial aircraft. From 1954 until
his retirement in 1975, Smith remained at Douglas holding several
key positions, including chief aerodynamics engineer.
He served as adjunct professor at UCLA from 1975 to 1980,
and continued to actively consult on aerodynamic theory until his
health began to fail early this year.
Smith was born in Columbia, Missouri, on July 2, 1911. He is
survived by his wife, Elisabeth; his sister, Athena; his
brother, Hermes; three children, Tove Anne, Kathleen Roberta
and Gerald Nicholas; and six grandchildren.
Memorial services will be held Monday, May 19, at 2:30 p.m.,
at the Athanaeum at the California Institute of Technology. In
lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Caltech Alumni
Scholarship Fund, addressed to California Institute of
Technology, Apollo Smith Memorial Fund, MC 105-40, Pasadena, CA
91125.
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5-12-97 SRZ
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