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This collection is a complete set of copies of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Archives microfilm reel 10-3, which represents Dr. Homer Stewart's file on the so-called 'Stewart Committee.' This Committee was established during the summer of 1955 by Donald Quarles, Assistant Secretary of Defense, as the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Special Capabilities with the specific task of picking between three contending proposals for the first US satellite. The committee chose the Naval Research Laboratory's Vanguard proposal to be the first American satellite project and after their decision, they continued in an advisory capacity regarding the project.
NASM.1998.0010
Stewart, Homer
1955-1958
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, transfer, 1997, 1998-0010, Public Domain
0.45 Cubic feet ((1 legal document box))
National Air and Space Museum Archives
This collection includes Stewart's accumulated files covering the Committee's activities from Fall 1955 until its termination in May 1958, after the launch of the first US satellite. These papers give useful insights into the secret deliberations on the progress of selecting the Vanguard proposal and highlights the considerable problems of that satellite project.
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Artificial satellites
Rockets (Aeronautics)
Astronautics
Project Vanguard
Astronautics and state
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Reports