A Guide to the Otis Jerome Parker Papers 1963-1975
A Collection in
the Special Collections
Collection Number Ms87-065
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Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Contact Information:University Libraries
P.O. Box 90001
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, Virginia 24062-9001
USA
Phone: (540) 231-6308
Fax: (540) 231-3694
Email: specref@vt.edu
URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu/
Processed by: John M. Jackson, Special Collections Staff
2005 By Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. All rights reserved.
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
Collection is open to research.
Use Restrictions
Permission to publish material from the Otis Jerome Parker Papers must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.
Preferred Citation
Otis Jerome Parker Papers, Ms87-065 - Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.
Acquisition Information
The Otis Jerome Parker Papers were donated to the Special Collections in 1987.
Processing Information
The processing, arrangement and description of the Otis Jerome Parker Papers commenced and was completed in May 2005.
Biographical/Historical Information
Otis Jerome Parker (1918-1995), an aerospace engineer, was employed by NASA's Langley Research Center during the 1960s and 1970s. He worked in the Flight Vehicles and Systems Division during the Gemini program and was named assistant manager of Langley's Apollo Applications Program Experiments Systems in 1969. In 1971, he was assigned the same position in the Skylab program. Parker was largely involved with the design and development of "jet shoes" and other devices intended to provide maneuverability during astronauts' extravehicular activity in spaceflight. During his work at NASA, Parker was granted patents as inventor or co-inventor of a despin weight release mechanism, a spacecraft separation system, an ullage compensator and a flared tube strainer.
Scope and Content
This collection contains the papers of Otis Jerome Parker, an aerospace engineer employed at NASA's Langley Research Center during the Gemini, Apollo and Skylab projects. The collection consists largely of a few NASA publications regarding the design and development of "jet shoes" and other devices intended to provide propulsion and maneuverability during extravehicular activity (EVA) in spaceflight. The collection also includes Langley inter-office communications regarding Parker and the projects on which he worked, as well as a small set of photographs of Parker and EVA propulsion devices. With the exception of one photograph, this collection consists of photocopied materials.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged by document type, then chronologically.