Science Sunday!
Today’s video is another long one, but it is Sunday. This popped up in my recommendations totally at random.
“The American Rocketeer”, a documentary about the life of Frank Malina (born in Texas, mech engineering grad from Texas A&M).
Why is he significant? He was one of the pioneering figures in American rocket development: protege of Theodore von Kármán, one of the members of the “Suicide Squad” (other members included Jack Parsons and Qian Xuesen), second director of JPL, and artist.
Bonus: This is a lot shorter, and might be interesting to people who want to know a little more about Jack Parsons: “Jack Parsons: ‘Sex Magic’, Drugs, and Rocket Science”.
I’ve read Strange Angel: The Otherworldly Life of Rocket Scientist John Whiteside Parsons (affiliate link), but I’m thinking I need to look up some of the other books on the early days of JPL, rocketry, and the personalities involved. Thread Of The Silkworm might be a good start…