Jet Propulsion Laboratory. University of California. Search this
Names:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory. University of California. Search this
United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Search this
Extent:
32 Cubic feet (71 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Publications
Place:
Outer space -- Exploration
Date:
1947-1980
bulk 1960-1974
Summary:
This collection consists of publications issued by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory documenting JPL's work in jet and rocket propulsion, launch vehicle development, and planetary reconnaissance. Most of the material relates to work performed under NASA auspices, but significant material from Army- and Air Force-related research is also included.
Scope and Content Note:
This collection consists of reports published by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and gathered by the staff of the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) from a variety of sources. The reports cover a broad range of subjects investigated at JPL over the period 1947-1980, with the bulk of the material from the NASA era, 1960-1974. This collection is in no way a complete set of all JPL publications, even for the document series represented. Following the transfer of the Bellcomm Inc. Technical Library Collection (now National Air and Space Archives Accession XXXX-0093) to the NASM in the early 1970s, Museum staff attempted to flesh out the JPL Publications Collection with materials from Bellcomm. Those items which could be positively identified as coming from the Bellcomm Collection (approximately 5½ cubic feet of material) were returned to that collection during processing.
JPL publications were numbered consecutively in series based on the contract under which the work was performed. A typical publication number would be "PR 4-112," in which "PR" is an abbreviation for "Progress Report," "4" is the contract-based numerical prefix (4- was assigned to work performed under Ordnance Dept contract W-04-200-ORD-445), and "112" indicates the 112th publication of this kind issued under this contract. With the transfer of JPL to NASA control and the large number of reports expected under NASA contract, numerical prefixes were assigned to different types of publications, for instance 32- for Technical Reports, 33- for Technical Memoranda, and so forth.
JPL compiled subject bibliographies for work done under NASA contracts (primarily contracts NASw-6 and NAS7-100) and published these in the 39- series of documents, a partial set of which is contained within this collection. Further subject reference to JPL reports is available in Aeronautical Information: Abstracts, also published by JPL. A partial set of the abstracts is contained in the Bellcomm Collection.
Series Organization:
The publications in this collection are arranged by report number and type.
Series 15: External Publications (1959; -- 4 items -- )
Series 16: Miscellaneous Publications (1973; -- 2 items -- )
Historical Note:
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) was established at the California Institute of Technology as the Guggenheim Analytical Laboratory in 1936 to investigate a variety of aeronautics-related topics. By the end of World War II the work at JPL, as it was then known, concentrated primarily on jet and rocket propulsion research under the auspices of the United States Army. JPL was transferred from Army to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) control on the establishment of the latter in 1958. Under NASA auspices, JPL research expanded into trajectory analysis, planetary reconnaissance, and space communications.
Citations:
All publications are listed in the format:
Number. Title (Author; Journal, Date).
Example:
TR 32-1221. Reaction of O(1D) with H2 and the Reactions of H and OH with Ozone (DeMore; Journal of Chemical Physics, 15 Oct 1967)
Titles appear as shown on the title page of the document. The last name(s) of the author(s) are listed in the order given; the full name or initials are listed in the Author Index of this finding aid. A journal title only appears when the material was originally published as a periodical or scientific journal article and that information appears on the
document. All publication dates are shown in day-month-year order. The document type is shown as an abbreviation preceding the document number:
TR 32-1225. Sampling of Planetary Surface Solids for Unmanned In Situ Geological and
Biological Analysis: Strategy, Principles, and Instrument Requirements (Nash)
Collection Creator:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory. University of California. Search this
Container:
Box 37, Folder 14
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
15 November 1967
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Citation:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory Publications Collection, Acc. XXXX.0612, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
TR 32-1226. (Journal of Geophysical Research)(1). Spectral Reflectance 0.4 and 2.0 Microns of Silicate Rock Powders (Adams and
Filice); (2). Lunar Surface Composition and Particle Size: Implications from Laboratory and
Lunar Spectral Reflectance Data (...
Collection Creator:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory. University of California. Search this
Container:
Box 37, Folder 15
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
15 November 1967
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Citation:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory Publications Collection, Acc. XXXX.0612, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
