fut_v_c_o_litho/pstr (ca. 1958-59, unnumbered Aerojet-General Corp. photo)
“FUTURISTIC SPACE STATION WITH ION ROCKET SHIP IN ORBIT ABOVE ANTARCTICA
CONCEPT PAINTED BY WILLIAM C. HOUSE OF AEROJET-GENERAL”
11” x 13.875”.
A cropped version of the image is available at the excellent & informative ATOMIC ROCKETS website, specifically:
www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/images/spacestation...
William C. House - The Real Deal. Multiple extracts from disparate sources, sort of chronologically:
“One of the best known champions of the turborocket was William C. House, who proposed a cycle in 1949 while an employee of the Aerojet Engineering Corporation.* House examined a number of bipropellants including liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. He apparently proposed this combination to the Air Force in September 1953 and later, but nothing came of it (fig. 30, bottom):
history.nasa.gov/SP-4404/p123.jpg
“William C. House, director of NERVA (nuclear engine for rocket vehicle application) operations of the Aerojet-General Corporation, has been named a vice president of the company. He has been with Aeroject since 1949. Four months ago he received the Navy’s Meritorious Public Service Citation for his work on the Polaris missile.”
In 1956, the Awards Committee of the Aerospace Research Council selected Mr. House to become a Fellow Member of American Rocket Society, forerunner of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). Some of the others selected that year: William H. Pickering, director, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology; Simon Ramo, executive vice president, The Ramo-Wooldridge Corp., and Fred S. Whipple, chairman, Department of Astronomy, Harvard University & director, Astrophysical Observatory of the Smithsonian Institute.
mypatentprints.com/products/space-vehicle-patent-1960-spa...
Credit: ‘MyPatentPrints’ website
They’re ALL cool, but the “Fuel Station”, apparently a variant of this, is also courtesy of Mr. House:
paleofuture.com/blog/2013/9/12/space-taxis-air-sleds-and-...
Credit: “Paleofuture” website - which BTW is excellent…I’d almost forgotten about it!
From a 1969 citation:
“His education includes a B.S. (Aeronautical Engineering), California Institute of Technology. Prior experience includes service with Northrop Aircraft Company; U.S. Naval Engineering Experimental Station; Project SQUID, Princeton University; General Tire and Rubber Company of California and presently with Aerojet-General Corporation. His present position is Vice President and General Manager, Surface Effect Ships Division, Aerojet General Corporation.”
Finally, at least as of December 1972, Mr. House served on the board of directors of Caltech’s Alumni Association, being class of 1940.
Mr. House, as stated earlier, the real deal…rocket scientist…and talented artist!
Continue to RIP Good Sir and Thank You.
fut_v_c_o_litho/pstr (ca. 1958-59, unnumbered Aerojet-General Corp. photo)
“FUTURISTIC SPACE STATION WITH ION ROCKET SHIP IN ORBIT ABOVE ANTARCTICA
CONCEPT PAINTED BY WILLIAM C. HOUSE OF AEROJET-GENERAL”
11” x 13.875”.
A cropped version of the image is available at the excellent & informative ATOMIC ROCKETS website, specifically:
www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/images/spacestation...
William C. House - The Real Deal. Multiple extracts from disparate sources, sort of chronologically:
“One of the best known champions of the turborocket was William C. House, who proposed a cycle in 1949 while an employee of the Aerojet Engineering Corporation.* House examined a number of bipropellants including liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. He apparently proposed this combination to the Air Force in September 1953 and later, but nothing came of it (fig. 30, bottom):
history.nasa.gov/SP-4404/p123.jpg
“William C. House, director of NERVA (nuclear engine for rocket vehicle application) operations of the Aerojet-General Corporation, has been named a vice president of the company. He has been with Aeroject since 1949. Four months ago he received the Navy’s Meritorious Public Service Citation for his work on the Polaris missile.”
In 1956, the Awards Committee of the Aerospace Research Council selected Mr. House to become a Fellow Member of American Rocket Society, forerunner of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). Some of the others selected that year: William H. Pickering, director, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology; Simon Ramo, executive vice president, The Ramo-Wooldridge Corp., and Fred S. Whipple, chairman, Department of Astronomy, Harvard University & director, Astrophysical Observatory of the Smithsonian Institute.
mypatentprints.com/products/space-vehicle-patent-1960-spa...
Credit: ‘MyPatentPrints’ website
They’re ALL cool, but the “Fuel Station”, apparently a variant of this, is also courtesy of Mr. House:
paleofuture.com/blog/2013/9/12/space-taxis-air-sleds-and-...
Credit: “Paleofuture” website - which BTW is excellent…I’d almost forgotten about it!
From a 1969 citation:
“His education includes a B.S. (Aeronautical Engineering), California Institute of Technology. Prior experience includes service with Northrop Aircraft Company; U.S. Naval Engineering Experimental Station; Project SQUID, Princeton University; General Tire and Rubber Company of California and presently with Aerojet-General Corporation. His present position is Vice President and General Manager, Surface Effect Ships Division, Aerojet General Corporation.”
Finally, at least as of December 1972, Mr. House served on the board of directors of Caltech’s Alumni Association, being class of 1940.
Mr. House, as stated earlier, the real deal…rocket scientist…and talented artist!
Continue to RIP Good Sir and Thank You.