Descriptive Finding Guide for. Norman Howard Casson. Prepared by: Stephania Villar

Transcription

1 Descriptive Finding Guide for Norman Howard Casson Prepared by: Stephania Villar Date: July 24,

2 Cataloging Information ACC#: Box Code: Location: Archives Restrictions: None URL: Flickr URL: Copyright: SDASM Provenance The materials in this collection were donated to the San Diego Air & Space Museum by Norman Howard Casson in March The collection has been processed and is open for research with no restrictions. History Norm Casson worked on the Apollo Missions for NASA, beginning as an engineer and becoming the director in charge of checkout testing procedures. Norman Howard Casson has spent his technical career of six decades in aerospace. Though Casson was employed as a launch test conductor for the Titan I Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, and later the Titan II and received many honors for his work there he is best known for his contributions to the United States lunar landing program, The Apollo Project. NASA trusted Casson with the responsibility to thoroughly test and checkout every NASA manned spacecraft and take it through testing, and mission rehearsal with the actual astronaut crew members. After proving himself capable of managing Station C of the state-of-the-art Building 290 (constructed specifically for these operations), he was eventually given the responsibility of managing all Technicians, the Test Procedure Writing engineers, four control rooms, tank farm fluid and cas facilities, the systems engineers, the senior engineering test project managers, as well as all clerical and operations support personnel and the Apollo Post Recover operation and budget. This last was a team of engineers and technicians required to travel to the splashdown area of all Apollo Spacecraft returning from space, to save the systems and take steps to prevent hostile contamination from the surface of the moon. Casson was immensely successful. He completely restructured the organization into what he believed was a lean and agile machine. He set up systems to assure the engineers working on the project were up-to-date with certification and qualifications as well. Casson worked on the Apollo Missions for NASA as an engineer as well. He has a wealth of information on the American Space program. Casson lives in Arkansas and visits the Library & Archives when he is in the San Diego Area. He has donated personal papers and pictures about the Apollo Mission and his time working for NASA to the Library and Archives. 2

3 Scope & Content Notes One box, x 5 x 15, containing primarily photographs as well as instruction booklets and Skywriter articles from Folders and their contents have been kept in their original order. Related SDASM Resources: Related Research Institutions: Secondary Sources: Important Personalities & Subjects Alan Bean; Alfred M. Worden, Jr.; Apollo 5; Apollo 8; Apollo 9; Apollo 10; Apollo 11; Apollo 12; Apollo 15; Cold War; David R. Scott; Edward H. White; Edwin Buzz Aldrin, Jr.; Eugene Cernan; James B. Irwin; John Young; Joseph Kerwin; Lunar Landing; Michael Collins; NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration); Neil Armstrong; Roger B. Chaffee; Space Exploration; Thomas Stafford; Virgil Gus Grissom Content & Series Description BOX 01 Box Listing Folder 01 - Photographs I 1. Apollo Lunar Capsule. 2. Apollo 1 Lunar Capsule. 3. No caption. 4. North American Aviation Inc. photograph. 5. NASA Industrial Plant, Downey, CA. 6. Astronaut transfer into Apollo Capsule. 7. No caption. 8. No caption. 9. Apollo Lunar Capsule. 10. NASA workers inspecting Apollo Capsule. 11. Inside Apollo Capsule. 12. Apollo Lunar Capsule. 13. Northrop Ventura Block II Upper Deck Mock Up. 14. Apollo Lunar Capsule. 15. No caption. 16. No caption. 3

4 17. No caption. 18. No caption. 19. Apollo capsule. 20. Mercury Rocket. 21. Little Joe Rocket Testing. 22. Apollo Capsule Escape Test. 23. Work on Apollo Capsule. 24. Work on Apollo Capsule. 25. Work on Apollo Capsule. 26. Apollo Capsule. 27. Apollo Capsule. 28. Apollo Capsule Parachute. 29. Apollo Capsule Testing. 30. Apollo Capsule. 31. Apollo Capsule. 32. Unidentified rocket stage. 33. Unidentified rocket stage transport. 34. Unidentified rocket stage transport. 35. Unidentified rocket stage transport. 36. Unidentified rocket stage transport. 37. Unidentified rocket stage transport. 38. Unidentified rocket stage transport. Folder 02 - Photographs II 39. Nelson Chase and Norm Casson. 40. Francis French and Norm Casson. 41. Katrina Pescador and Norm Casson. 42. Al Worden autograph to Norm Casson. 43. Norm Casson with Katrina Pescador and Pam Gay. 44. No caption. 45. No caption. 46. No caption. 47. No caption. 48. No caption. 49. No caption. 50. No caption. 51. No caption. 52. No caption. 53. SC2TV-1 Pacesetter S/N SC2TV-1 Pacesetter S/N Lunar Schooner Spacecraft Gus Grissom & Ed White autographs (picture with Norm Casson). 57. Armstrong, Collins, Aldrin autographed picture. 58. Apollo Joseph Kerwin autograph picture. 60. Apollo 15 Moon Landing. 4

5 61. Apollo 15 Moon Landing - James Irwin. 62. Apollo 15 Moon Landing - James Irwin. 63. Apollo 15 Crew - Irwin, Scott, Worden. 64. Astronaut David Scott salutes Norm Casson from the moon. 65. Apollo 15. Folder 03 - Photographs III 66. Dale Myers. 67. Spacecraft 2 TV-1, c/o station 2D, Spacecraft Spacecraft 2 TV-1, c/o station 2D, Spacecraft Spacecraft 2 TV-1, c/o station 2D, Spacecraft Spacecraft 2 TV-1, c/o station 2D, Spacecraft Spacecraft 2 TV-1, c/o station 2D, Spacecraft Spacecraft 2 TV-1, c/o station 2D, Spacecraft Spacecraft 2 TV-1, c/o station 2D, Spacecraft Spacecraft 2 TV-1, c/o station 2D, Spacecraft Spacecraft 2 TV-1, c/o station 2D, Spacecraft Spacecraft 2 TV-1, c/o station 2D, Spacecraft Spacecraft 2 TV-1, c/o station 2D, Spacecraft Spacecraft 2 TV-1, c/o station 2D, Spacecraft Apollo Capsule 80. Apollo Capsule 81. Apollo Capsule 82. Apollo Testing 83. Apollo Testing 84. Apollo Testing 85. Apollo 1 Crew - Grissom, Chaffee, White Folder 04 - Large Photographs (kept at end of box) 86. Apollo 11 - Saturn V launch 87. Apollo 12 landing - Alan Bean 88. Apollo 11 astronauts in quarantine with Richard Nixon (top), Apollo 11 recovery (bottom) 89. Apollo Apollo 10 crew - Stafford, Young, Cernan 91. Apollo Moon (Apollo 10 & 11) 93. Apollo 11- Rendezvous 94. Apollo 11- Astronaut Aldrin 95. Apollo 11 splashdown Folder 04 NASA Recover Requirements Book 96. Apollo 11 NASA Recovery Requirements Booklet. 97. Apollo 12 NASA Recovery Requirements Booklet 5

6 Folder 05 Skywriter Articles 98. Space and Information Systems Skywriter, Casson autographed, January 8, (two copies) 99. Space and Information Systems Skywriter, Casson autographed, December 3, Space and Information Systems Skywriter, Casson autographed, March 18, Space and Information Systems Skywriter, Casson autographed, March 25, Space and Information Systems Skywriter, Casson autographed, April 8, Space and Information Systems Skywriter, Casson autographed, August 12, (two copies) 104. Space and Information Systems Skywriter, Casson autographed, August 26, Space and Information Systems Skywriter, August 26, Space and Information Systems Skywriter, Casson autographed, October 28, Space and Information Systems Skywriter, Casson autographed, January 27, Space and Information Systems Skywriter, January 27, Space and Information Systems Skywriter, Casson autographed, August 11, Space and Information Systems Skywriter, Casson autographed, May 3, Space and Information Systems Skywriter, Casson autographed, December Space and Information Systems Skywriter, Casson autographed, January 3, Space and Information Systems Skywriter, January 3, Space and Information Systems Skywriter, Casson autographed, October 31, Folder 06 Photocopies original news article clippings and photocopied pictures of Norm Casson and a North American Rockwell newspaper, End of Box Listing 6