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Stanford Archives Reference and Research Guide: Stanford in Space

This guide offers an introduction to researching Stanford history using University Archives collection materials and includes instructions for identifying, accessing and working with Special Collections materials.

Stanford in Space

In addition to the general resources shared above, the Archives provides access to many specific archival collections that can aid in your research into research and experimentation on propulsion and space exploration technologies at Stanford:
 

Archival Collections:

  • Gravity Probe B records: Gravity Probe B was a relativity gyroscope experiment funded by NASA and led by the Stanford University Department of Physics, with Lockheed Martin as the primary subcontractor. Mission scientists viewed it as the second gravity experiment in space, following the successful launch of Gravity Probe A (GP-A) in 1976. 
  • Howard Seifert papers: Howard Seifert, an authority on rocket propulsion of space vehicles, was professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford from 1960 to 1976. He also directed the Physical Sciences Laboratory at the United Aircraft Corporation (1960-65) and was president of the American Rocket Society (1960). Before joining the Stanford faculty, he was on the staff at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Space Technology Laboratories and a visiting professor at UCLA.
  • Richard H. Jahns papers: The Jahns papers reflect the breadth of his research and teaching interests, from glacial deposits to seismic hazards. Also included are materials related to his public service and consulting activities with NASA, Atomic Energy Commission, the National Science Foundation, the Stanford University Committee on Earthquake Preparedness, University Committee on Land and Building Development, the California State Seismic Commission, and two field notebooks concerning the granite district of Milford, New Hampshire.
  • Robert T. Jones papers: Robert T. Jones, one of the premier theoretical aerodynamicists of the twentieth century, was a research scientist with NASA, and its predecessor NACA, from 1934 until his retirement in 1982, when he joined the Stanford faculty as a consulting professor in aeronautics. He is best known for developing the theory of swept and delta wings.
  • Robert L. Kovach papers: Robert L. Kovach serves as Emeritus Professor of Geophysics in the School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University. In 1965, Kovach was appointed Assistant Professor of Geophysics at Stanford University, and subsequently began contributing work to the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Program. In 1972, Kovach conducted active seismic and lunar seismic profiling experiments for the Apollo 14, 16 and 17 missions. Professor Kovach received the Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal (ESAM) from NASA in 1973 for his contributions.
  • Robert Hofstadter papers: This collection contains the papers of former Stanford professor and Nobel Prize winning physicist Robert Hofstadter. Included are lab notebooks and research data; lecture notes and teaching materials; writings, drafts, and reprints; grant proposals; incoming and outgoing correspondence; travel and conference papers; legal papers; biographical and personal materials;clippings; photographs; and a small amount of audiovisual material. The papers cover a wide swath of Hofstadter's career, including his student and postgraduate work at Princeton University; wartime positions at The United States National Bureau of Standards and Norden Laboratory; Stanford research including electron scattering and coronary angiography; and his collaboration with NASA personnel on the Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET).
  • Scott Hubbard papers: Hubbard is currently a Professor in Stanford University's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He worked at previous hit NASA next hit for 20 years. He spent time as previous hit NASA's next hit Mars program director and was the director of previous hit NASA's next hit Ames Research Center from 2002-2006. In 2003, he was the previous hit NASA next hit representative on the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB).
  • Stanford University, Department of Physics records: Includes NASA proposals (1973-1985).
  • Stanford University, School of Engineering, Dean's Office records: Contains files on the Guggenheim Aeronautics Laboratory (1926-1954) and the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics (1919-1964). 
  • W. W. Hansen Laboratories of Physics records: Includes contracts, proposals, correspondence, and memoranda from the files of the William W. Hansen Laboratories relating to the construction of the Stanford Linear Accelerator, the development of the Klystron tube, and medical research using linear accelerators.