Robert Kenneth Alexander Sr.

Foil: 64 Panel: 4 Column: 4 Line: 80

Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:
James Gough

Bob Alexander has had a remarkable and notable career as an Aerospace Engineer culminating in being the Designer and Engineering Manager of the Hubble Space Telescope .

His aerospace career began with being a Draftsman at Piasecki Helicopters in 1952. In 1953 he became a Draftsman and then Design Engineer with Lockheed Aircraft Company. He began his Lockheed career by designing interior equipment for the Super Constellation. He then worked with Weber Aircraft Corporation as a Design Engineer working on the Convair 880 interiors and the Lockheed Electra interiors. In 1958 he returned to Lockheed as a Design Engineer working on the design of spacecraft handling equipment. From 1964 to 1987 he worked to become an Engineering Manager at Lockheed. During that time he designed several spacecraft that were classified Secret. He also worked on the forward ramp of the C-5A Galaxy cargo plane. His final assignment and favorite job was to design and manage the construction of the Hubble Space Telescope structure and mechanism. This included the In Orbit Crew provisions that allowed the HST to be worked on in space. Without these provisions, which allow crew access to the interior of the telescope, no repairs would have been possible including repair of the faulty mirror.

Bob currently works as a Docent at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington, where he tells his stories about the Hubble and the Space Shuttle.