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Memorial Tributes Volume 12 (2008) / Chapter Skim
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Frederic C.E. Oder
Pages 228-233

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From page 229...
... "FRITZ" ODER, colonel, United States Air Force (retired) , and former vice president of Lockheed, died May 11, 2006, in Gloucester, Massachusetts, at the age of 86.
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From page 230...
... , where he became the deputy director of the CIA Physics and Electronics Division in the Office of Scientific Intelligence. At the CIA, he developed a close working relationship with the renowned intelligence officer Richard Bissell -- a relationship that would prove essential in the eventual development of the Corona Program, the world's first photoreconnaissance satellite system.
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From page 231...
... He also figured prominently in the development of the Atlas, Thor, Titan, and Minuteman missile systems. He centralized satellite engineering to include payload departments, streamlined program management, and established leading-edge approaches to inertial guidance, passive thermal control, and storable propellants.
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From page 232...
... He also contributed to classified histories of other space programs and advised the Air Force Space Division on its Titan launch vehicle. He was also the author or coauthor of many other classified and unclassified publications.
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From page 233...
... ; and a member of the Commonwealth Club of California. In addition to being named an NRO pioneer and an inductee to the Air Force Space and Missiles Hall of Fame, his many awards included the Legion of Merit for Accomplishments as program director, First Air Force Space Program (WS-117L)
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Key Terms

  • force space
  • fritz oder
  • reconnaissance office
  • lockheed missiles
  • satellite reconnaissance

  • space company
  • eastman kodak
  • corona program
  • classified government
  • titan launch

  • terror attacks
  • discoverer xiv
  • eventual development
  • awards included
  • storable propellants

  • special film
  • reconnaissance spanned
  • technical risks
  • control center
  • bomber capabilities

  • family moved
  • weather officer
  • soviet territory
  • million square
  • helped minimize

  • satellite design
  • officer richard
  • invaluable help
  • technical feasibility
  • intelligence agency


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