HERBERT S. BROWNSTEIN
Nominators' Statement:
We nominate our father, Herbert S. Brownstein, for inclusion in the National Aviation and Space Exploration Wall of Honor. Dad was born in 1920 and grew up during the early days of flight. As outlined in his biosketch below, Dad's professional life has been intertwined with many significant events in the history of flight, from service in the Army Air Corps during World War II, to air and space-related R&D in the 1950s and 1960s, to serving as a member of the Launch Operations Team for the Apollo 11 mission. His professional career has continued into the 21st century, now as a volunteer research assistant at the National Air and Space Museum.
We also honor Dad's unflagging enthusiasm and encouragement to us as we have pursued our own careers.
Barry and Scott Brownstein
Mr. Brownstein spent more than three and a half decades in aeronautics and astronautics in the Federal Service. First in the U.S. Air Forces and its predecessor organizations, he took part in research and development activities as a civilian flight test engineer *nd. subsequently as a research project engineer. He was transferred to the National Aeronautics And Space Administration as a bioengineer in the Office of Manned Space Flight where he was Assistant to the Director of Space Medicine.
In his career as a flight test engineer, he designed and tested methods for installing experimental electronic equipment into operational military aircraft so that flight tests of the installation could be accomplished safely. He accompanied these experimental aircraft in subsequent test flights to evaluate the aircraft's performance under test conditions.
Mr. Brownstein subsequently transferred to the research and development laboratories where he was appointed the U.S Air Force project manager of a program to determine and define the biological effects of microwave radiation.
At NASA, as the assistant to the Director Of Space Medicine, he was responsible for monitoring the bioengineering activities of the manned space development centers to assure the compatibility of efforts in support of the Gemini and Apollo operational programs. These efforts involved development of environmental control systems, space suits, and related crew support systems. Mr. Brownstein also provided technical support to the Launch Site Medical Operations Office and to the Directors of the Gemini and Apollo programs and he was a member of the Launch Operations Team for a number of manned space flights including Apollo 11, the first lunar landing. His contributions also included the development of revised health related procedures for handling lunar surface samples.
Following retirement from Federal Service he has served twenty years as a volunteer research assistant in the Aeronautics Department of the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum. He has developed and documented the histories of several World War Two aircraft in the museum's collection.
PUBLICATIONS:
"Odyssey of a B-17 The Swoose" published by Smithsonian Institution Press, Copyright 1993.
AWARDS:
NASA Exceptional Service Medal U.S.A.F. Superior Performance Award Apollo Achievement Award NASA Outstanding Performance Award NASA Sustained Superior Performance Award
Skylab Achievement Award.