National Air and Space Museum Archives

Charles W. Chillson Collection

Summary

Collection ID:
NASM.XXXX.0008
Creators:
Chillson, Charles W., 1910-
Dates:
1950-1956
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
3.12 Linear feet
3.5 Cubic feet
8 boxes
Repository:
This collection largely documents Chillson's affiliation with the ARS, particularly his presidency in the early 1950s, and includes correspondence with ARS members, aerospace companies, and organizations such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the British Interplanetary Society, the International Astronautical Federation, and the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences. There is also correspondence with Wernher von Braun and Esther C. Goddard. The collection also includes papers presented to or published by the ARS, some diagrams and photographs highlighting rocket plans or capabilities, and some pamphlets and articles on rockets.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This collection largely contains documents of Chillson's affiliation with the American Rocket Society (ARS), particularly his presidency in the early 1950s. The collection includes ARS organizational documents, correspondence regarding arrangements for National and Regional meetings, copies of technical papers presented at conventions and a few photographs. The collection is arranged as follows:

Arrangement

Arrangement
Series I:
ARS National Meetings ARS Regional Meetings Director Correspondence Conventions Meetings Committees
Series II:
Joint Meetings Technical Papers Publications
Each series was listed in chronological order. The ARS Regional Meetings are listed alphabetically by state and then in chronological order.

Biographical/Historical note

Biographical/Historical note
Charles W. Chillson (1910 - ) was an expert in air and rocket propulsion. Chillson received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University in 1931 and went to work in Chemical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology from 1931 until 1936. During those years, Chillson worked with C. K. Greene on a mechanical controllable-pitch propeller which progressed through whirl-testing at the Army Air Force Engineering Division at Wright Field, OH. Chillson then moved to Curtiss-Wright's Curtiss Propeller Division as an engineer and project designer (1936-1940) and was later promoted to chief researcher for the years 1940 to 1947. In 1947, Chillson won the Collier Trophy for his propeller work and became chief engineer of the newly formed Rocket Department at Curtiss-Wright. In 1950, he became program chairman of the American Rocket Society (ARS) Board of Directors and was later elected vice president (1951) and president (1952-1955), before being made a fellow of the ARS in 1956.

Administration

Author
Hank Brown
Processing Information
Finding aid prepared by Hank Brown, 2000.
Finding aid encoded by Elizabeth Bauerle, December 2011.
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
Charles W. Tillson, Gift, 1971, XXXX-0008

Using the Collection

Restictions
No restrictions on access

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Correspondence Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Periodicals Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Manuscripts Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Drawings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Astronautics Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Publications Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jet propulsion Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chillson, Charles W., 1910- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
American Rocket Society Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Goddard, Esther C. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Von Braun, Wernher, 1912-1977 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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