Byron Gordon MacNabb Personal Papers
Abstract
Byron Gordon MacNabb served in the Navy from 1943 to 1948 as an ordnance officer, including early work in barrage anti-aircraft rockets tested to defend the carrier USS Midway from kamikaze attacks. He worked for Sandia in New Mexico, and then Pullman, directing pioneering research in production and storage of cryogenic liquid hydrogen for the nuclear weapons program. He was hired by Convair in 1953, becoming Operations Manager for the Atlas development flight test program at Cape Canaveral throughout the development and flight career of the Atlas missile. From 1966 to 1975 he worked for General Electric as Manager of Test and Operations for its military space projects.
Dates
- Majority of material found within 1950 - 1980
Biographical / Historical
Byron Gordon MacNabb served in the Navy from 1943 to 1948 as an ordnance officer, including early work in barrage anti-aircraft rockets tested to defend the carrier USS Midway from kamikaze attacks. He worked for Sandia in New Mexico, and then Pullman, directing pioneering research in production and storage of cryogenic liquid hydrogen for the nuclear weapons program. He was hired by Convair in 1953, becoming Operations Manager for the Atlas development flight test program at Cape Canaveral throughout the development and flight career of the Atlas missile. From 1966 to 1975 he worked for General Electric as Manager of Test and Operations for its military space projects.
Extent
2 Cubic Feet (Content notes: The collection contains materials collected by Byron Gordon MacNabb The collection includes documents and photographs. ) : Description: This is a two box collection one measuring 16.25x12.5x10.5” and another measuring 22x15x2”. The collection has been kept in original order. ; This is a two box collection one measuring 16.25x12.5x10.5” and another measuring 22x15x2”
Language of Materials
English
Separated Materials
The following items have been removed from the collection and placed with the Audio/Visual Department of SDASM:
1. Reel: Copy of original recordings from Flight of Friendship 7
2. Reel: Interview with B.G. MacNabb on Apollo 11 & 12 in Montana, W.Y. radio station, John Hansen
3. Reel: MacNabb, 29 April 1961
4. Reel: Space Program; Glenn’s Countdown, not edited by NASA
5. VHS: Moon Shot: The Inside Story of the Apollo Project
6. VHS: Interviews and stories with B.G. MacNabb, 20 July 1994
7. VHS: Towers of Canaveral
8. VHS: Friendship 7
9. VHS: Friendship 7, clips with MacNabb (2)
10. VHS: Happy Birthday B.G. MacNabb, 30/25 yr. Atlas/Centaur celebration + A/C launch
11. VHS: Historical Footage, 25 Oct 1947
12. VHS: Wyoming Centennial, 6 July 1990 (Mother near the end)
13. Beta: Towers of Canaveral
Physical Description
Description: This is a two box collection one measuring 16.25x12.5x10.5” and another measuring 22x15x2”. The collection has been kept in original order.
Content notes: The collection contains materials collected by Byron Gordon MacNabb The collection includes documents and photographs.
Related SDASM Resources: Convair Collection, GD Astronautics Negatives
- Title
- The Descriptive Finding Guide for the Byron McNabb Personal Papers
- Author
- AR
- Date
- 2025
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the San Diego Air and Space Museum Library and Archives Repository
2001 Pan American Plaza, Balboa Park
San Diego 92101 USA US
(619) 234-8291
(619) 233-4525 (Fax)