Frank Malina: Difference between revisions
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By late 1945, Malina's rockets had outgrown the facility at Arroyo Seco, and his tests were moved to [[White Sands Missile Range]] in [[New Mexico]]. Here, the project's [[WAC Corporal]] sounding rocket was the first U.S. rocket to break the 50-mile altitude mark, becoming the first [[sounding rocket]] to reach space.<ref>The U.S. at the time used a definition of space as beginning at 50 miles' altitude, instead what would become the international standard {{convert|100|km||abbr=off|sp=us}}. See [[Kármán line]].</ref> |
By late 1945, Malina's rockets had outgrown the facility at Arroyo Seco, and his tests were moved to [[White Sands Missile Range]] in [[New Mexico]]. Here, the project's [[WAC Corporal]] sounding rocket was the first U.S. rocket to break the 50-mile altitude mark, becoming the first [[sounding rocket]] to reach space.<ref>The U.S. at the time used a definition of space as beginning at 50 miles' altitude, instead what would become the international standard {{convert|100|km||abbr=off|sp=us}}. See [[Kármán line]].</ref> |
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[[File:P1-RocketBoys.jpg|thumb|Seated left to right: Rudolph Schott, Apollo Milton Olin Smith, Frank Malina (white shirt, dark pants), Ed Forman and Jack Parsons (right, foreground). Nov. 15, 1936.]] |
[[File:P1-RocketBoys.jpg|thumb|Seated left to right: Rudolph Schott, Apollo Milton Olin Smith, Frank Malina (white shirt, dark pants), Ed Forman and Jack Parsons (right, foreground). Nov. 15, 1936.]] |
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During 1947, with rocket research in high gear, Malina's demanding travel and administrative schedule, along with a dislike of so much rocketry research being devoted to weapons systems and not scientific research, caused him to re-evaluate his career and leave Aerojet.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Johnson|first1=James L.|title=America's Forgotten Rocketeer|journal=IEEE Spectrum|date=August 2014|page=56|url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-history/space-age/frank-malina-americas-forgotten-rocketeer|accessdate=4 March 2018}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=February 2013}} Malina's passing interest in the Communist Party and labor activism while he was a graduate student in the 1930s had also attracted the attention of the FBI.<ref name=jpl>{{cite web|url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/jplhistory/learnmore/lm-malina.php|title=Frank Malina, JPL Director, 1944 - 1946|publisher=JPL |
During 1947, with rocket research in high gear, Malina's demanding travel and administrative schedule, along with a dislike of so much rocketry research being devoted to weapons systems and not scientific research, caused him to re-evaluate his career and leave Aerojet.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Johnson|first1=James L.|title=America's Forgotten Rocketeer|journal=IEEE Spectrum|date=August 2014|page=56|url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-history/space-age/frank-malina-americas-forgotten-rocketeer|accessdate=4 March 2018}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=February 2013}} Malina's passing interest in the Communist Party and labor activism while he was a graduate student in the 1930s had also attracted the attention of the FBI.<ref name=jpl>{{cite web|url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/jplhistory/learnmore/lm-malina.php|title=Frank Malina, JPL Director, 1944 - 1946|publisher=JPL}}</ref> |
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In 1952, at the height of the [[Red Scare]], Malina was indicted for having failed to list his Communist Party membership on an old security questionnaire from Caltech. He was declared a fugitive, to be arrested if and when he returned to the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanscientist.org/bookshelf/pub/the-three-rocketeers|title=Review of "The Three Rocketeers"}}</ref> |
He moved to France and joined the fledgling [[United Nations]] as secretariat of the [[United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization]] (UNESCO) under [[Julian Huxley]]. In 1951, Malina became head of UNESCO's division of scientific research. Two years later, Malina left UNESCO to pursue an interest in [[kinetic art]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=McCray|first1=W. Patrick|title=Rocketeer Frank Molina's Life as an Artist|url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/geek-life/history/rocketeer-frank-malinas-life-as-an-artist|website=IEEE Spectrum|date=February 1, 2016|accessdate=4 March 2018}}</ref>[[File:Leonardolowres.jpg|thumb|Leonardo journal, founded by Frank Malina]]In 1952, at the height of the [[Red Scare]], Malina was indicted for having failed to list his Communist Party membership on an old security questionnaire from Caltech. He was declared a fugitive, to be arrested if and when he returned to the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanscientist.org/bookshelf/pub/the-three-rocketeers|title=Review of "The Three Rocketeers"}}</ref> |
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In 1968 in Paris<ref>[http://www.leonardo.info/leoinfo.html Origin of ''Leonardo'' journal] at its official website</ref> he founded ''[[Leonardo (journal)|Leonardo]]'', an international [[peer-review]]ed [[research journal]] that featured articles written by artists on their own work, and focused on the interactions between the contemporary arts with the sciences and new technologies. The ''Leonardo'' journal is still published {{as of|2018|lc=y}} as a project of [[Leonardo/ISAST]], the International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology. |
In 1968 in Paris<ref>[http://www.leonardo.info/leoinfo.html Origin of ''Leonardo'' journal] at its official website</ref> he founded ''[[Leonardo (journal)|Leonardo]]'', an international [[peer-review]]ed [[research journal]] that featured articles written by artists on their own work, and focused on the interactions between the contemporary arts with the sciences and new technologies. The ''Leonardo'' journal is still published {{as of|2018|lc=y}} as a project of [[Leonardo/ISAST]], the International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology. |
Revision as of 21:41, 17 May 2018
Frank Joseph Malina (October 2, 1912 – November 9, 1981) was an American aeronautical engineer and painter, especially known for becoming both a pioneer in the art world and the realm of scientific engineering.
Early life
Malina was born in Brenham, Texas. His father came from Bohemia. Frank's formal education began with a degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University in 1934.
In 1935, while a graduate student at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Malina persuaded Professor of Aeronautics Theodore von Kármán to allow him to pursue studies into rocketry and rocket propulsion. The formal goal was development of a sounding rocket.
Malina and five associates (including Jack Parsons) became known at Caltech as the "Suicide Squad" because of their dangerous experiments (and failures) when testing rocket motor designs.
Malina's group was forced to move their operations away from the main Caltech campus into the more remote Arroyo Seco. This site and the research Malina was conducting would later become the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Malina served as the second Director of JPL.[1]
In 1939, the Société astronomique de France (French Astronomical Society) awarded Malina the Prix d'Astronautique for his contribution to the study of interplanetary travel and astronautics.
Career
In 1942, von Kármán, Malina and three other students started the Aerojet Corporation.
By late 1945, Malina's rockets had outgrown the facility at Arroyo Seco, and his tests were moved to White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Here, the project's WAC Corporal sounding rocket was the first U.S. rocket to break the 50-mile altitude mark, becoming the first sounding rocket to reach space.[2]
During 1947, with rocket research in high gear, Malina's demanding travel and administrative schedule, along with a dislike of so much rocketry research being devoted to weapons systems and not scientific research, caused him to re-evaluate his career and leave Aerojet.[3][citation needed] Malina's passing interest in the Communist Party and labor activism while he was a graduate student in the 1930s had also attracted the attention of the FBI.[4]
He moved to France and joined the fledgling United Nations as secretariat of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) under Julian Huxley. In 1951, Malina became head of UNESCO's division of scientific research. Two years later, Malina left UNESCO to pursue an interest in kinetic art.[5]
In 1952, at the height of the Red Scare, Malina was indicted for having failed to list his Communist Party membership on an old security questionnaire from Caltech. He was declared a fugitive, to be arrested if and when he returned to the United States.[6]
In 1968 in Paris[7] he founded Leonardo, an international peer-reviewed research journal that featured articles written by artists on their own work, and focused on the interactions between the contemporary arts with the sciences and new technologies. The Leonardo journal is still published as of 2018[update] as a project of Leonardo/ISAST, the International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology.
Death and family
Frank Malina died in 1981 in Boulogne-Billancourt, near Paris, France. His widow Marjorie Duckworth Malina died in 2006. Their sons Roger and Alan Malina live and work in France and Portugal, respectively.
See also
- Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory
- Qian Xuesen (H.S. Tsien)
References and notes
- ^ "Early History". JPL.
- ^ The U.S. at the time used a definition of space as beginning at 50 miles' altitude, instead what would become the international standard 100 kilometers (62 miles). See Kármán line.
- ^ Johnson, James L. (August 2014). "America's Forgotten Rocketeer". IEEE Spectrum: 56. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
- ^ "Frank Malina, JPL Director, 1944 - 1946". JPL.
- ^ McCray, W. Patrick (February 1, 2016). "Rocketeer Frank Molina's Life as an Artist". IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
- ^ "Review of "The Three Rocketeers"".
- ^ Origin of Leonardo journal at its official website
External links
- "Malina, Frank Joseph". American National Biography.
- 'Frank Malina On Line Archive'
- Biography at the Wayback Machine (archived March 5, 2005)
- Frank Malina timeline
- Leonardo Journal
- JPL history
- MG Lord (2005). Astro Turf: The Private Life of Rocket Science. New York: Walker & Company. ISBN 0-8027-1427-7. Includes a detailed account of Malina's post-JPL life, by a scholar who had access to his FBI file
- "Propulsion" –– The documentary, Huffington Post