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This collection is composed of Krafft Ehricke's files including Ehricke's published and unpublished papers as well as papers and works by others that Ehricke gathered, presumably as reference material.

Identifier

NASM.2003.0025

Creator

Ehricke, Krafft, 1917-1984

Date

1949-1984

Provenance

Ingeborg M. Ehricke, Gift, 2003

Extent

124.9 Cubic feet

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of Krafft Ehricke's writings and interviews spanning 1949-1984 and items gathered by Ehricke as reference material for his various writing projects. The files on his writings include handwritten manuscripts, typed drafts, publication proofs, and/or final published versions and reprints, and in some cases include correspondences or other documents relating to publication. The collection also includes original paste-up versions of graphics created by or for Ehricke to illustrate his writings. The reference material includes technical reports, scientific papers, and newspaper and magazine articles gathered by Ehricke during his career.

Arrangement note

The collection remained in the possession Ehricke's family for nearly two decades after his death and apparently was largely unorganized prior to processing. The material has been arranged in five series, with oversized materials filed at the end of the collection in series order by size. Series I. Writings (Boxes 1-80) – copies of papers, articles, and lectures by Ehricke, including a mix of manuscript (MS), typescript (TS), paste-up, and published copies. Reports written by Ehricke as part of a study conducted as part of his professional duties are filed in Series IV as part of the "Studies and Projects" section of each subject group (see below). The materials are organized chronologically with different versions of the same work filed together by date of publication (if published) or completion. Ehricke rarely labeled MS or TS pages by title, generally wrote on the similar topics, and often cut finished text blocks or figures from one paper to use in another, a process he referred to cannibalization. As a result, although efforts have been made to organize loose MS and TS pages by their final works these assignments must be considered tentative and some pages have been left unassigned due to lack of sufficient information. Series II. Graphics (Boxes 81-94) – copies of original and paste-up graphics (charts, graphs, illustrations) designed or created by Ehricke. Because these materials were mainly found in their original folders, they have been filed consistent with their original labeling. As a result they fall into groups roughly corresponding to Ehricke's tenures at General Dynamics, North American Rockwell, and Space Global. Series III. Company Files (Boxes 94-104) – files and materials relating to business activities at the various companies for which Ehricke worked, organized by company in chronological order of Ehricke's tenure. Within each company, materials are organized by named files (filed alphabetically) and proposals and related material (filed chronologically). The proposals filed in this series represent studies or programs for which no other documentation exists in the collection. Series IV. Reference Files (Boxes 104-253) – files and documents arranged by broad subject areas, based upon the subject organization for Ehricke's existing lecture transparencies. Within each subject area files are organized into three groups: named files (arranged alphabetically); studies (arranged chronologically by the start of the study); and other reports (arranged chronologically). Named files usually contain a variety of papers, reports, and articles and sometimes include items written by Ehricke. Studies often include correspondence, papers, or reports by Ehricke in addition to documents by other members of the study team; items by Ehricke have been filed in this series, rather than in Series I to preserve the context in which they were created and used. Other reports are generally filed chronologically by date of publication unless it could be clearly established that Ehricke acquired the material significantly later than its publication date (for instance: in cases where order forms attached to document bundles show that Ehricke had requested copies of the documents a decade after they were published). The subject areas are: Subseries 2. General (Boxes 104-108) 3. Vehicle Technology (Boxes 108-154) 4. Planets and Planetary Missions (Box 154-203) 5. Transportation Systems (Boxes 204-208) 6. Space Habitation and Human Factors (Boxes 208-219) 7. Space and Lunar Industry (Boxes 219-229) 8. Earth / Resources / Open World Synthesis (Boxes 229-234) 9. Energy (Boxes 234-249) 10. Space Light (Boxes 249-250) 11. Information Services (Boxes 250-253) Unfortunately, there is significant overlap between these subject areas, especially between subseries 2, 3, 4, and 5; subseries 5, 6, and 9; and subseries 7, 8, and 9. Researchers are cautioned to examine several subject areas. Series V. Miscellaneous Personal and Posthumous Materials (Boxes 253-254) – files and documents not otherwise related to Ehricke's research and writing or which post-date his death.

Rights

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.

Restrictions

No restrictions on access.

Citation

Krafft A. Ehricke Papers, Accession 2003-0025, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Topics

Rocket engines
V-2 rocket
Interplanetary voyages
Space stations
Centaur Rocket
Launch vehicles (Astronautics)
Space scientists
Space colonies
Space industrialization

Type

Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Notes
Papers, technical
Audiotapes
Sketches
Vhs (videotape format)
Photographic prints
Illustrations
Videotapes
Articles
Newspaper clippings