Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434) 560 Drillfield Drive Newman Library, Virginia Tech Blacksburg, Virginia 24061 Business Number: 540-231-6308 specref@vt.edu URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu
Special Collections Staff
Repository
Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Identification
Ms.1990.068
Title
John W. Townsend, Jr., Papers 1949-1990
Quantity
8.4 Cubic Feet, 6 boxes
Creator
Townsend, John W., Jr. (John William), 1924-2011
Location
Please note: This collection is in off-site storage and requires 2-3 days notice for retrieval. Please contact Special Collections for
more information.
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University
Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal
or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition
form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with
forms or to submit a completed form.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder],
John W. Townsend, Jr., Papers, Ms1990-068, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
Source of Acquisition
The John W. Townsend, Jr., Papers were donated to Special Collections in 1990.
Processing Information
Some original description of the John W. Townsend, Jr., Papers was completed prior to 2000. A folder list and additional description
of the collection was completed in October and November 2018.
John W. Townsend, Jr. was born in 1924. He received a B.A. from Williams College in 1947, an M.A. in 1949, and a Sc.D. in
1961. After completing his M.A., Townsent went to work for the Naval Research Labororatory from 1949-1958, spending the last
three years as a branch head. In 1958, he moved to NASA for a decade, including three years (1965-1968) as the deputy director
fo the Goddard Space Center in Maryland. He left NASA in 1968 to serve as a deputy administrator in the Environmental Sciences
Services Administration (1968-1970), and an associate adminstrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(1970-1977). In 1977, he took a break from government work, serving as the president of Fairchild Space and Electronics Company
(1977-1982) and, when the company changed names, president of Fairchild Space Company from 1983-1987. In 1987, he returned
to NASA as director of the Goddard Space Center until his retirement in 1990. Townsend died in November 2011.
This collection contains six boxes of John W. Townsend, Jr.'s personal and professional papers from 1949 until his retirement
from corporate and government aerospace work in 1990. In addition to profressional correspondence, memos, and subject files,
there are extensive travel files from 1949-1968 and 1985-1990, congressional testimony on NASA projects from 1982-1986, and
files on the history of the Upper Air Rocket Research Program at the Naval Research Laboratory from about 1956-1958. Throughout
his career, Townsend also served on a number of council, boards, and panels. The collection also includes files from the Thumba
Equatorial Rocket Launching Station Advisory Panel (1966-1968, the International Academy of Astronautics (c. 1981-1987), the
NASA Advisory Council (1982-1987), the National Academy of Engineering (1982-1987), the National Research Council Space Applications
Board (1983-1987), and the Office of Technology Assessment Advisory Board Panel on International Cooperation and Competition
in Civilian Space Activities (1982-1985).
The collection is in the original order it was received. For the most part, materials related to the same topic or organization
are together and arranged in reverse chronological order.