James Slattin Martin Jr.

James Slattin Martin Jr.
Born (1920-06-21)June 21, 1920
Washington, D.C.
Died April 14, 2002(2002-04-14) (aged 81)
Rising Sun, Maryland
Occupation Project manager of the Viking program
Years active 1964–2002


James Slattin Martin Jr. (June 21, 1920 – April 14, 2002) was project manager for the Viking program.[1]

Biography

Martin was born in Washington, D.C. on June 21, 1920. He earned a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Michigan in 1942. He later completed the Harvard Graduate School of Business Middle Management Program. From 1942 to 1964, he worked for Republic Aviation Corporation, assuming greater responsibility first as assistant chief technical engineer, then chief research engineers and, finally, as manager of space systems requirements.[2]

Martin joined NASA’s Langley Research Center in September 1964 as assistant project manager for Lunar Orbiter. The five successful Lunar Orbiter missions provided significant new information about the Moon’s surface and a wealth of photographic detail that stood as the definitive source of lunar surface information for years. In recognition of his contribution to this project, Martin was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1967.[2]

On June 23, 1967, Langley Director Floyd Thompson announced the appointment of James S. Martin, Jr., as manager of the capsule bus system, thereby forming a project management organization to control all Voyager-related activities at Langley. This role migrated to project manager for NASA's Viking Program for landing and orbiting Mars (1975–1982).[3]

As Viking 1 landed on Mars, Martin hung up on a call from President Ford, telling him that he was "busy right now" and to call back in three hours.[4] The President called back three hours later at which time Martin, along with then-NASA Administrator Jim Fletcher, briefed him on the landing.[5]

Martin left NASA in 1976 to become vice president of advanced programs and planning, for Martin Marietta Aerospace, Bethesda, MD.[2] He retired in 1985, but in 2000, NASA called him out of retirement to help restructure the space agency's Mars program after the 1999 failures of the Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander missions.

He died April 14, 2002 after a long battle with cancer.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Saxon, Wolfgang (April 20, 2002). "James Martin Jr., 81, Manager Of Milestone Missions to Mars". New York Times. Retrieved December 9, 2009. James S. Martin Jr., the aeronautical engineer who oversaw the twin missions that produced the first maps and close-up pictures of Mars, died on Sunday in Rising Sun, the small town in far northeastern Maryland where he lived. He was 81. The cause was cancer, said the Langley Research Center, the NASA complex in Hampton, Va., where a quarter-century ago Mr. Martin was project manager for Viking 1 and Viking 2.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Skora, Marny; Gilman, Ivelisse (April 17, 2002). "Mars Viking leader, James S. Martin, Jr., dies" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved September 1, 2016.  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ↑ NASA History SP-4212 On Mars: Exploration of the Red Planet. 1958–1978
  4. ↑ John Newcomb, Call Back Later, Mr. President, http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/video/viking30/index.html
  5. ↑ Gerald R. Ford: Telephone Conversation With National Aeronautics and Space Administration Officials on the Mars Landing of the Viking I Spacecraft
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