Memorial Tributes Volume 12 (2008) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Ivan A. Getting
Ivan A. Getting
Pages 128-133
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 129... ...
Getting was one of a generation of outstanding individuals who held technical leadership positions from the beginning of World War II until the end of the cold war in the 1990s. His autobiography, All in a Lifetime, is subtitled "Science in the Defense of Democracy," an apt description of his life and career.
|
From page 130... ...
Throughout his career, indeed throughout his life, Getting not only held positions that entailed heavy administrative responsibilities but also was an advisor to government on many issues, particularly related to national defense. In 1945, with General Hap Arnold and Theodore Von Karman, he was a founding member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, and he later became the chief scientist of the Air Force.
|
From page 131... ...
; and, with Bradford Parkinson, the National Academy of Engineering Charles Stark Draper Prize in 2003 for the development of the GPS satellite navigation system. He received honorary degrees from Northeastern University and the University of Southern California.
|
From page 132... ...
Aerospace was involved in the development of a family of launch vehicles and satellite systems for communication, navigation, weather, and surveillance, as well as several classified missions. Getting also initiated the planning activities at Aerospace that ultimately led to GPS and was intimately involved in the plans to use Air Force rockets, such as Atlas and Titan, to launch American astronauts into orbit aboard the Mercury and Gemini spacecraft.
|
From page 133... ...
His efforts were rewarded as the concept grew from an idea to an operational constellation of many spacecraft and became not only an essential military system, but also a global utility serving millions of users throughout the world. In March 2004, after his death, the Air Force launched a new member of the GPS constellation, with a plaque mounted on the satellite that will remain in orbit for a thousand years.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.