William Leavitt
Recent stories by William Leavitt
How USAF’s Missile Program Helped the Nation off the Pad
As NASA came into being, with a strong need for large-scale program know-how, it was the Air Force, fr
Mixed Hopes for the Military Space Mission
Under the pressures of congressional restiveness over the high costs and marginal military significanc
Last Flight for Frank Lahm
The earnest young cavalryman, who saw the potential of the Wright brothers' flying contraption, was hi
Toward New Horizons: Theodore von Kármán, In Memoriam
The life of the remarkable genius of aerospace, warm-hearted, brilliant Theodore von Kármán, came to a
A New Look at the US Space Effort
It is nearly two years since the unnerving day the Russians caught us with our technological pants down. In the twenty-three months that have elapsed since Sputnik I went into orbit, we have gone through — emotionally and politically —...
Blueprint for Tomorrow’s Spacecrews
By Late summer, on the dry and sun-baked terrain of Edwards AFB on Southern California’s Mojave Desert, a precisely chosen group of Air Force pioneers is schedules to enter the world’s first pre-spaceflight training program. Selected for their superior mental...