B. P. Blasingame Papers,
Scope and Content
The B. P. Blasingame Papers contains several books, reports, and papers about navigation, inertia, and space flight. Although the majority of the materials are undated, they are likely from the 1960s and 1970s. Series I: Books and Record Albums includes three books related to the Skylab I-IV space projects, five books related to the Apollo 12, 14, 16, 17, and Apollo-Soyuz missions, and one guide to orbital flight, as well as two copies of the CBS production "Man on the Moon," narrated by Walter Cronkite. Series II: Papers and Reports consists of four official reports by Charles Stark Draper, of Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., regarding inertial guidance and navigation. There is also a report on the optical tracking of the Apollo 12 spacecraft, published by the Manned Spacecraft Center, and an unpublished report on inertial systems by Dr. Blasingame in this series.
Dates
- Creation: c.1962-1978
Creator
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research.
Use Restrictions
Permission to publish material from B. P. Blasingame Papers must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.
Biographical Note
Dr. Benjamin Paul Blasingame was born on August 1, 1919 in State College, Pennsylvania. He majored in mechanical engineering at Pennsylvania State College and was a cadet in the school's ROTC program. He graduated in 1940 and was called to active duty in the United States Air Force in 1941. While still in the Air Force, Blasingame received his Doctor of Science degree in 1950 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After his military career, Blasingame became the director of engineering at AC Spark Plug, the Electronics Division (Delco) of General Motors. Under his leadership Delco would become the leading contractor for NASA's Apollo guidance and navigation systems.
For a more complete biographical sketch of Dr. Blasingame see: http://www.afspc.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-100405-043.pdf
Full Extent
0.8 Cubic Feet (2 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The B. P. Blasingame Papers contains several books, reports, and papers about navigation, inertia, and space flight. Although the majority of the materials are undated, they are likely from the 1960s and 1970s.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in two series by material type.
Acquisition Information
The B. P. Blasingame Papers were donated to Special Collections in 1987.
Processing Information
The processing, arrangement, and description of the B. P. Blasingame Papers was completed in April 2015.
- Title
- B. P. Blasingame Papers, c.1962-1978
- Author
- David Atkins, Graduate Assistant and Kira A. Dietz, Archivist
- Date
- © 2015 Virginia Tech. All rights reserved.
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections, Virginia Tech Repository
Special Collections, University Libraries (0434)
560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg Virginia 24061 US
540-231-6308
specref@vt.edu