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Letter Signed by George Low
Letter Signed by George Low
Acquired From Mike Rowe-The Written Word
Acquired From Mike Rowe-The Written Word
Date Acquired 11th February 2020
Date Acquired 11th February 2020
Collection # TSM 46
Collection # TSM 46
A letter signed by George Low during his tenure as the director of the Rensellaer Polytechnic Institute. George Low was an engineer who started his career at NACA, which was the predecessor to NASA. As his career progressed within NASA he shifted away from hands on engineering and became an influential manger and administrator. He held a lot of high ranking positions in the agency, even on one occasion taking a demotion for the good of the agency. Following the Apollo 1 fire, he was named Manager of the Apollo Spacecraft Program Office (ASPO) where he was responsible for directing the changes to the Apollo spacecraft necessary to make it flightworthy. He was also credited with making the plan and pushing for the Apollo 8 flight to be sent to loop around the moon because the lunar module was delayed and not ready to fly. This decision is credited with keeping the Apollo program on course to meet Kennedy’s deadline of a landing by the end of the decade, and dispiriting the Russians. Low also served as the deputy Associate director of the Agency, and also held the position of acting Director of the agency after Thomas O Paine resigned suddenly. It was during this time that he is credited with saving the agency from extinction, and was instrumental in setting up the Skylab, ASTP and Shuttle programs. It has been widely debated, and generally accepted that there was no one figure in the Apollo program who could be credited with being the leading figure, one that if they had not been there the program would have failed. George Low though, can stand amongst a handful of leading lights in the program who had they not been there the history books would tell a significantly different story. After his career at NASA he spurned advances from some of the countries top engineering and aerospace companies to become the president of the Rensellaer Polytechnic Institute. It was at Rensellaer where he was a student and obtained his degree prior to joining NACA. He served in this capacity until his untimely and early death at the age of 58. The letter in the collection is his signed response to a request for a copy of his biography.
A letter signed by George Low during his tenure as the director of the Rensellaer Polytechnic Institute. George Low was an engineer who started his career at NACA, which was the predecessor to NASA. As his career progressed within NASA he shifted away from hands on engineering and became an influential manger and administrator. He held a lot of high ranking positions in the agency, even on one occasion taking a demotion for the good of the agency. Following the Apollo 1 fire, he was named Manager of the Apollo Spacecraft Program Office (ASPO) where he was responsible for directing the changes to the Apollo spacecraft necessary to make it flightworthy. He was also credited with making the plan and pushing for the Apollo 8 flight to be sent to loop around the moon because the lunar module was delayed and not ready to fly. This decision is credited with keeping the Apollo program on course to meet Kennedy’s deadline of a landing by the end of the decade, and dispiriting the Russians. Low also served as the deputy Associate director of the Agency, and also held the position of acting Director of the agency after Thomas O Paine resigned suddenly. It was during this time that he is credited with saving the agency from extinction, and was instrumental in setting up the Skylab, ASTP and Shuttle programs. It has been widely debated, and generally accepted that there was no one figure in the Apollo program who could be credited with being the leading figure, one that if they had not been there the program would have failed. George Low though, can stand amongst a handful of leading lights in the program who had they not been there the history books would tell a significantly different story. After his career at NASA he spurned advances from some of the countries top engineering and aerospace companies to become the president of the Rensellaer Polytechnic Institute. It was at Rensellaer where he was a student and obtained his degree prior to joining NACA. He served in this capacity until his untimely and early death at the age of 58. The letter in the collection is his signed response to a request for a copy of his biography.
Also included was the copy of the biography that was requested in the letter.
Also included was the copy of the biography that was requested in the letter.
The biography lists the awards given to him during his career, and the last entry is 1982.
The biography lists the awards given to him during his career, and the last entry is 1982.
On July 16, 1984, the White House announced that Low had been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contributions to education and the nation's space program ,
On July 16, 1984, the White House announced that Low had been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contributions to education and the nation's space program ,
George died of cancer the following day
George died of cancer the following day
Copy of the biography
Copy of the biography
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