Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

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.

Additional arrangement and description of the John W. Townsend, Jr., Papers was completed as part of the project, "Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech," funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) in 2024.

Biographical Note

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.

Scope and Content

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 professional 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 councils, 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).  

Materials in this collection have been separated into the following series:

Series I: Reading Files, 1958-1967, contains Townsend's reading files for a variety of subjects.

Series II: Organizations and Committees, 1982-1987, n.d., consists of materials from Townsend's involvement in committees, boards, and panels, including the American Geophysical Union, the International Academy of Astronautics, the National Academy of Engineering, NASA Advisory Council, the National Resource Council Space Applications Board, and the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station Advisory Panel.

Series III: Correspondence, 1957-1990, contains professional correspondence, memos, and clippings.

Series IV: Travel, 1949-1990, includes extensive travel documentation.

Series V: Testimonies, 1981-1986, contains files from Townsend's congressional testimonies on NASA projects.

Series VI: Subject Files, 1987-1989, n.d., consists of subject files such as publications, files on the history of the Goddard Space Flight Center and the Rocket-Sonde Research Branch of the Naval Research Laboratory, and Earth observations.

Series VII: Personal Files, 1978-1989, n.d., includes files such as appointment books and performance ratings.

Arrangement

This collection has been arranged into the following series:

Series I: Reading Files, 1958-1967, is arranged chronologically.

Series II: Organizations and Committees, 1982-1987, n.d., is arranged alphabetically according to group. If there is more than one item from a group, they are arranged chronologically. For example, "National Academy of Engineering, 1983" is before "National Academy of Engineering, 1984."

Series III: Correspondence, 1957-1990, is arranged chronologically.

Series IV: Travel, 1949-1990, is arranged chronologically.

Series V: Testimonies, 1981-1986, is arranged chronologically.

Series VI: Subject Files, 1987-1989, n.d., is arranged chronologically.

Series VII: Personal Files, 1978-1989, n.d., is arranged chronologically.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)
• Businesspeople
• Physicists
• Physics
• Science and Technology
• United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees
• United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the John W. Townsend, Jr., Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).