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Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:
Herbert G. Dean

On March 23, 1993, Mr. Speakman retired from the Federal Civil Service as a supervisory research physicist. He spent his entire 35 year career working at the U.S. Air Force Armstrong Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
From 1967 until his retirement, Mr. Speakman conducted and directed theoretical and experimental research on noise and sonic boom phenomena resulting from military aircraft operations. These studies included defining the fundamental noise characteristics of all active types of Air Force and navy aircraft during flight and ground runup operations in and round airbases as well as while flying on low altitude training routes and in special use military operating areas. The data base, predictive models and specialized instrumentation resulting from this work formed the basis for the Department of Defense to successfully perform aircraft noise related compatible land use planning, develop Environmental Impact Statements, defend against litigation, and respond to Congressional and White House inquiries.
In earlier years, prior to its cancellation by President Kennedy, Mr. Speakman worked on health physics problems associated with the design and operation of a Nuclear Powered Aircraft proposed for the Air Force. To determine the composition of the Van Allen radiation belts and its potentially hazardous effect on astronauts flying in low polar orbit, he designed and fabricated eleven passive experimental packages that were successfully launched and recovered during the Discoverer program. In addition, he directed research to define the personnel radiation shielding requirements for safe manned space flight. This effort included development of an instrumented satellite launched in 1964 and operated for thirteen months to provide a space and solar flare radiation data base which aided the engineering design of subsequent manned space vehicles.
Throughout his career, Mr. Speakman actively participated on various national and international standards committees such as the American Acoustical Society and the International Civil Aviation Organization. In addition he was technical lead in Air Force and Department of Defense inter-agency aircraft noise related matters with the Federal Aviation Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency. He authored over thirty technical reports, journal articles and reference documents.