Donald D. Viele Lunar Orbiter Collection

Title

Donald D. Viele Lunar Orbiter Collection

Description

The Donald Viele Lunar Orbiter Collection contains two hundred and sixty-nine (269) photographs and numerous documents primarily relating to the construction, launch, and mission of the five Lunar Orbiters. Some of the materials relate to the Viking Program and the Minuteman Missile launch, but the bulk of the collection relates to the Lunar Orbiter. The collection spans from 1950-2016.

Series I, Lunar Orbiter, features photographs transmitted to Earth from the Lunar Orbiter, technical documents about the Orbiter’s construction, the NASA request for proposals for the Agena Class Lunar Orbiter Project, and a DVD featuring the 2016 reunion of the crew who worked on the program. Photographs are primarily in black-and-white and include images of the moon taken by the Lunar Orbiter, as well as images of the build and equipment used. These photographs range in size from 4x6" to 21x41". Posters are also included in the series. These posters primarily feature enlarged moon scenes. They also include promotions for the Lunar Orbiter Missions and project history information.

Series II, Viking Satellite, contains the official Landing System and Project Integration technical proposal.

Series III, Minuteman Missile, includes meeting documents and photographs of the instrumentation used in developing the missiles.

Series IV, General, includes items relating to Viele's career at Boeing that could not be attributed to one specific program. This includes a record produced by National Geographic magazine titled “Sounds of the Space Age,” employment forms for Viele, and a set of illustrations featuring Air Force planes. The bulk of the series consists of research files and publications organized chronologically, featuring articles originally published in National Geographic, as well as symposium papers by academic institutions such as the American Geophysical Union and the Langley Research Center, and technical reports by NASA, Boeing, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the American Astronautical Society. This also includes Donald Viele's articles for Scientific American.

Digitized Materials: A selection of materials from Series I (Lunar Orbiter), Series III (Minutman), and Series IV (General) have been digitized from this collection.

Please note that materials on TMOF: Digital Collections are presented as historical objects and are unaltered and uncensored. See our Disclaimers and Policies page for more information.

Date

1950-2016 (bulk dates 1960 – 1970)

Creator

Viele, Donald D.

Language

All materials are in English.

Rights Holder

The Museum of Flight Archives

Rights

Permission to publish material from the Donald D. Viele Lunar Orbiter Collection must be obtained from The Museum of Flight Archives.

Bibliographic Citation

The Donald D. Viele Lunar Orbiter Collection/The Museum of Flight

Identifier

2017-11-06

Collection Organization

Collection Items

[Supervisor history form for Donald D. Viele]
Supervisor history form for Donald D. Viele, prepared by The Boeing Company, November 25, 1968. Records employee data about Viele, including his assignments, duties, immediate supervisors, educational background, and professional goals. Seven (7)…

[Memorandum regarding preliminary trajectory characteristics for Surveyor Mission B]
Memorandum to V. C. Clarke, Jr. and T. H. Thornton, Jr. from W. J. O'Neil, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, April 18, 1966. Forwards information related to preliminary trajectory characteristics for Surveyor Mission B. Ten (10) pages.

The possible contribution of Lunar Orbiter A and B sites on Apollo launch window during 1968 [Report]
Report titled "The possible contribution of Lunar Orbiter A and B sites on Apollo launch window during 1968," likely prepared by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, circa 1966. Twenty-six (26) typed pages.

[Lunar Orbiter V evaluation report]
Report titled "Lunar Orbiter V evaluation report," circa December 1967. Includes a cover letter to U. Liddel, Chairman of the Mission V Planning Group, from Farouk El-Baz of Bellcom, Inc. and D. E. Wilhelms of the United States Geological Survey,…

[Program Study Authorization for Lunar Orbiter program]
Program Study Authorization document (PSA 63-64) authorizing the Lunar Orbiter program, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, September 3, 1963. Outlines various components of the project, including scope, background, ground rules,…

The Lunar Orbiter: A Radio-Controlled Camera [Booklet]
Booklet titled "The Lunar Orbiter: A Radio-Controlled Camera," produced by The Boeing Company and NASA Langley Research Center, circa 1960s. Includes information, illustrations, and diagrams related to the Lunar Orbiter camera system. Sixteen (16)…

Lunar Orbiter: Mission A [Booklet]
Booklet titled "Lunar Orbiter: Mission A," circa 1960s. Includes information, illustrations, and diagrams related to the Lunar Orbiter program. Eighteen (18) pages.

[View of Moon's surface]
Composite photograph of the Moon's surface, taken on one of the Lunar Orbiter missions, circa 1960s.

[View of Moon's surface]
Composite photograph of the Moon's surface, taken on one of the Lunar Orbiter missions, circa 1960s. Inscription on verso: "2B 16473-1."

[View of Moon's surface]
Composite photograph of the Moon's surface, taken on one of the Lunar Orbiter missions, circa 1960s. Inscription on verso: "IV 162. 3 of 3."
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