James Henry Deese
Encyclopedia
James Henry Deese was a NASA
manager.
from 1960 to 1964; Chief of the Advanced Studies Office of NASA Launch Operations Center from 1964 to 1966; Senior Research Administrator for the Future Studies Office at Kennedy Space Center
from 1966 to 1973; and chaired the Nuclear and Radiologic Committee at Kennedy Space Center for six years.
to William Lawrence Deese a train station master born in North Carolina
of Lumbee
Indian ancestry, and Maria Isabella Hand, also of North Carolina. Deese was cousin of American psychologist and academic James Deese
. Deese attended Palmer Academy in De Funiak Springs, Florida from 1920 to 1930. He attended Georgia Institute of Technology
and the U.S. Naval Academy from 1931 to 1935, where he studied Electrical and Civil Engineering. He began work with the U.S. Government in 1935 with the Works Progress Administration
as Project Information Specialist. In 1936 he joined Carrier Corporation
as field project engineer installing first air conditioning in the U.S. Capital and the Federal Reserve Buildings. While in this capacity, he was contributing author of Carrier's First "Handbook of Modern Air Conditioning, Heating and Ventilation".
In 1941, he transferred to Mobile, Alabama
where he served as Construction Quartermaster at Brookley Field. After the outbreak of World War II
, he was assigned on emergency basis to execute the overall design of Warner Robins AFB in Macon, Georgia. In late 1944, he transferred to Engine Research and Development Laboratories at Fort Belvoir, Virginia where he was Chief of Internal Combustion Engine Laboratory. He directed such developments as Free Stem Roto-Valves, Pressurizing Burners, and built and tested one of the first Aero Thermodynamic Jets (athoyds) in the United States. From 1949 to 1950, he was Chief of Building Utilities Research at Fort Belvoir
, where he contributed to development of Prefabricated Arctic Structures and Facilities.
where he co-authored a master plan for Cape Canaveral
, locating many of the major launch site facilities where they are today. His influence at the Cape spanned 35 years. He contributed to five major U.S. Space Programs including Redstone
, Jupiter
, Mercury
, Apollo
and Saturn
. From 1951 to 1956, he directed the design and construction of the Missile Assembly and Launch Facilities at the Cape and technically directed material programs supporting REDSTONE
, ATLAS
, CENTAUR
and other spacecraft projects as well as directing development of all cryogenic and high pressure production, storage and transfer systems at Cape Canaveral. In 1956 he accepted an assignment with Dr. Kurt Debus of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency-Missile Firing Laboratory for facilities development of the Jupiter Program. From 1960 to 1964 he was Chief, Facilities Design Branch of KSC Facilities Office where he directed, planned and supervised construction and operation of facilities for PERSHING
, JUPITER
, SATURN
, POLARIS
and NOVA
launch vehicles. While in this position, he was the primary author on Ground Operations-Launching Sites and Space Ports in the first edition of the "Handbook of Astronautical Engineering' (1961) edited by Dr. Wernher von Braun
. From 1964 to 1966 he was Chief, Advance Studies Office of NASA-Launch Operations Center Coordinating requirements and directing facility concept evaluation and special studies for Shuttle, Viking, Orbiting Space Telescopes and Earth Surveillance. From 1966 to 1973 He served as Senior Research Administrator for the Future Studies Office at KSC directing special investigations of problem areas earning international recognition as technical authority on liquid propellant explosions and analysis of low level wind behavior. He chaired the Nuclear and Radiologic Committee at KSC for six years.
from 1966 to 1968.
, from 1975 to 1990, he owned and operated Coastal Land Surveys and Engineering in Melbourne, Florida, where he applied the latest technological developments to the arts of Professional Land Surveying and Professional Engineering.
Deese died peacefully at his home on August 11, 2001.
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
manager.
Career
He was Chief of Facilities Design Branch, Kennedy Space CenterKennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program...
from 1960 to 1964; Chief of the Advanced Studies Office of NASA Launch Operations Center from 1964 to 1966; Senior Research Administrator for the Future Studies Office at Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program...
from 1966 to 1973; and chaired the Nuclear and Radiologic Committee at Kennedy Space Center for six years.
Early life
James Henry Deese was born on September 23, 1914 in Graceville, FloridaGraceville, Florida
Graceville is a city in Jackson County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,402 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S...
to William Lawrence Deese a train station master born in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
of Lumbee
Lumbee
The Lumbee belong to a state recognized Native American tribe in North Carolina. The Lumbee are concentrated in Robeson County and named for the primary waterway traversing the county...
Indian ancestry, and Maria Isabella Hand, also of North Carolina. Deese was cousin of American psychologist and academic James Deese
James Deese
James Earle Deese was an American psychologist. He joined the faculty of the University of Virginia in 1980 after having served for an extended period with Johns Hopkins University. He advanced to become the Chairman of the Psychology Department where he served until 1980...
. Deese attended Palmer Academy in De Funiak Springs, Florida from 1920 to 1930. He attended Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
and the U.S. Naval Academy from 1931 to 1935, where he studied Electrical and Civil Engineering. He began work with the U.S. Government in 1935 with the Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
as Project Information Specialist. In 1936 he joined Carrier Corporation
Carrier Corporation
The Carrier Corporation is one of the world’s largest manufacturers and distributors of heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems, and a global leader in the commercial refrigeration and food service equipment industry...
as field project engineer installing first air conditioning in the U.S. Capital and the Federal Reserve Buildings. While in this capacity, he was contributing author of Carrier's First "Handbook of Modern Air Conditioning, Heating and Ventilation".
In 1941, he transferred to Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
where he served as Construction Quartermaster at Brookley Field. After the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he was assigned on emergency basis to execute the overall design of Warner Robins AFB in Macon, Georgia. In late 1944, he transferred to Engine Research and Development Laboratories at Fort Belvoir, Virginia where he was Chief of Internal Combustion Engine Laboratory. He directed such developments as Free Stem Roto-Valves, Pressurizing Burners, and built and tested one of the first Aero Thermodynamic Jets (athoyds) in the United States. From 1949 to 1950, he was Chief of Building Utilities Research at Fort Belvoir
Fort Belvoir
Fort Belvoir is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Originally, it was the site of the Belvoir plantation. Today, Fort Belvoir is home to a number of important United States military organizations...
, where he contributed to development of Prefabricated Arctic Structures and Facilities.
Involvement in the Space Program
In 1950, by now married with children, he moved his family to Brevard County, Florida accepting an assignment as Chief Equipment Designer for the Joint Long Range Proving Ground at Patrick Air Force BasePatrick Air Force Base
Patrick Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located between Satellite Beach and Cocoa Beach, in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It was named in honor of Major General Mason Patrick. An Air Force Space Command base, it is home to the 45th Space Wing...
where he co-authored a master plan for Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral, from the Spanish Cabo Cañaveral, is a headland in Brevard County, Florida, United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic coast. Known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated from it by the Banana River.It is part of a region known as the...
, locating many of the major launch site facilities where they are today. His influence at the Cape spanned 35 years. He contributed to five major U.S. Space Programs including Redstone
Redstone (rocket)
The PGM-11 Redstone was the first large American ballistic missile. A short-range surface-to-surface rocket, it was in active service with the U.S. Army in West Germany from June 1958 to June 1964 as part of NATO's Cold War defense of Western Europe...
, Jupiter
Jupiter-C
The Jupiter-C was an American sounding rocket used for three sub-orbital spaceflights in 1956 and 1957 to test re-entry nosecones that were later to be deployed on the more advanced PGM-19 Jupiter mobile missile....
, Mercury
Project Mercury
In January 1960 NASA awarded Western Electric Company a contract for the Mercury tracking network. The value of the contract was over $33 million. Also in January, McDonnell delivered the first production-type Mercury spacecraft, less than a year after award of the formal contract. On February 12,...
, Apollo
Project Apollo
The Apollo program was the spaceflight effort carried out by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration , that landed the first humans on Earth's Moon. Conceived during the Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Apollo began in earnest after President John F...
and Saturn
Saturn (rocket family)
The Saturn family of American rocket boosters was developed by a team of mostly German rocket scientists led by Wernher von Braun to launch heavy payloads to Earth orbit and beyond. Originally proposed as a military satellite launcher, they were adopted as the launch vehicles for the Apollo moon...
. From 1951 to 1956, he directed the design and construction of the Missile Assembly and Launch Facilities at the Cape and technically directed material programs supporting REDSTONE
Redstone (rocket)
The PGM-11 Redstone was the first large American ballistic missile. A short-range surface-to-surface rocket, it was in active service with the U.S. Army in West Germany from June 1958 to June 1964 as part of NATO's Cold War defense of Western Europe...
, ATLAS
Atlas (missile)
The SM-65 Atlas was the first intercontinental ballistic missile developed and deployed by the United States. It was built for the U.S. Air Force by Convair Division of General Dynamics at the Kearny Mesa assembly plant north of San Diego, California...
, CENTAUR
Centaur (rocket stage)
Centaur is a rocket stage designed for use as the upper stage of space launch vehicles. Centaur boosts its satellite payload to geosynchronous orbit or, in the case of an interplanetary space probe, to or near to escape velocity...
and other spacecraft projects as well as directing development of all cryogenic and high pressure production, storage and transfer systems at Cape Canaveral. In 1956 he accepted an assignment with Dr. Kurt Debus of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency-Missile Firing Laboratory for facilities development of the Jupiter Program. From 1960 to 1964 he was Chief, Facilities Design Branch of KSC Facilities Office where he directed, planned and supervised construction and operation of facilities for PERSHING
Pershing missile
Pershing was a family of solid-fueled two-stage medium-range ballistic missiles designed and built by Martin Marietta to replace the PGM-11 Redstone missile as the United States Army's primary nuclear-capable theater-level weapon. The Pershing systems lasted over 30 years from the first test...
, JUPITER
Jupiter-C
The Jupiter-C was an American sounding rocket used for three sub-orbital spaceflights in 1956 and 1957 to test re-entry nosecones that were later to be deployed on the more advanced PGM-19 Jupiter mobile missile....
, SATURN
Saturn (rocket family)
The Saturn family of American rocket boosters was developed by a team of mostly German rocket scientists led by Wernher von Braun to launch heavy payloads to Earth orbit and beyond. Originally proposed as a military satellite launcher, they were adopted as the launch vehicles for the Apollo moon...
, POLARIS
UGM-27 Polaris
The Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fuel nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile built during the Cold War by Lockheed Corporation of California for the United States Navy....
and NOVA
Nova rocket
Nova was a series of proposed rocket designs, originally as NASA's first large launchers for missions similar to the production-level Saturn V, and later as larger follow-ons to the Saturn V intended for missions to Mars. The two series of designs were essentially separate, but shared their name...
launch vehicles. While in this position, he was the primary author on Ground Operations-Launching Sites and Space Ports in the first edition of the "Handbook of Astronautical Engineering' (1961) edited by Dr. Wernher von Braun
Wernher von Braun
Wernher Magnus Maximilian, Freiherr von Braun was a German rocket scientist, aerospace engineer, space architect, and one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany during World War II and in the United States after that.A former member of the Nazi party,...
. From 1964 to 1966 he was Chief, Advance Studies Office of NASA-Launch Operations Center Coordinating requirements and directing facility concept evaluation and special studies for Shuttle, Viking, Orbiting Space Telescopes and Earth Surveillance. From 1966 to 1973 He served as Senior Research Administrator for the Future Studies Office at KSC directing special investigations of problem areas earning international recognition as technical authority on liquid propellant explosions and analysis of low level wind behavior. He chaired the Nuclear and Radiologic Committee at KSC for six years.
Community Contribution
His community services included a significant contribution to the site location of Our Lady of Lourdes School and Melbourne Central Catholic High School, as well as serving as City Commissioner of Melbourne, FloridaMelbourne, Florida
Melbourne is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. As of 2009, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 78,323. The municipal area is the second largest by size and by population in the county. Melbourne is a principal city of the Palm Bay – Melbourne – Titusville, Florida...
from 1966 to 1968.
Life After NASA
After retirement from NASANASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
, from 1975 to 1990, he owned and operated Coastal Land Surveys and Engineering in Melbourne, Florida, where he applied the latest technological developments to the arts of Professional Land Surveying and Professional Engineering.
Deese died peacefully at his home on August 11, 2001.