Bernard Maggin (Bob, to family, friends, and associates) had a lengthy and varied career devoted to aeronautics and space exploration and technology. He made major contributions to advancements in aeronautical engineering, manned space flight and the lunar landing missions.
Bob Maggin was born September 11, 1920 in Detroit, Michigan. He became a flight enthusiast and an aircraft pilot at a very early age. In 1942, he graduated from Wayne State University with one of the University's first degrees awarded for Aeronautical Engineering. He began his career with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) at Langley Field, in Hampton, Virginia. He served in the Army Air Corp during World War II and was assigned to continue his work at NACA with wind tunnel research, aircraft navigation, and guidance systems during the War. After the War, he continued with NACA turning to aerospace technology. At NACA headquarters in Washington D.C., his early work in aerospace involved the Vanguard Rocket system that launched the second US satellite to reach earth's orbit in 1957. In 1958, he worked on the committee that established NASA as the successor organization to NACA. Bob Maggin's NASA career concentrated on manned space flight systems, first with the Mercury and Gemini programs, and then with the design and planning of the Apollo program and its lunar landings. His work at NASA continued with space station development and the Space Shuttle program. Bob Maggin retired from NASA in 1975 after 33 years of service. He continued his work in the aerospace industry for the Department of Transportation and the National Academy of Sciences. After, Bob Maggin remained involved as a long serving member of the Board of Directors of the NASA Alumni League and was active in the League's support for the US aircraft industry. Bob Maggin was also a volunteer at the National Air and Space Museum.