Wed, Mar 02, 2011
Honored For McDonnell Douglas Work On Mercury Spacecraft
An IEEE Milestone award in Electrical Engineering and Computing
from the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
has been presented to Boeing in recognition of the company's work
on the Mercury spacecraft.
Mercury Capsules Being Assembled
Photo Provided By Boeing
The Mercury spacecraft, America’s first manned space
vehicle, was designed, developed and built by McDonnell Douglas
Aircraft, which is a Boeing heritage company, in St. Louis. A total
of 20 Mercury spacecraft were delivered to NASA, six of which
carried astronauts into space between 1961 and 1963. John Glenn
piloted Friendship 7 in the first U.S. human orbital flight on Feb.
20, 1962.
"We are truly honored to receive this recognition and pay
tribute to the engineers who worked on the Mercury spacecraft,"
said Dennis Muilenburg, president and CEO, Boeing Defense, Space
& Security. "They helped set a strong foundation on which
America's space program continues to grow and thrive. Boeing and
our heritage companies have supported human space exploration from
the beginning, and our talented, innovative engineers and other
employees will continue to build upon this legacy for many years to
come."
The award cites electrical and electronic systems invented by
McDonnell Douglas Aircraft engineers that made the Mercury flights
and future space flights possible. Among the engineers' key
contributions were navigation and control instruments, autopilot,
rate stabilization and control, and fly-by-wire systems.
The IEEE Milestones in Electrical Engineering and Computing
program honors significant technical achievements that occurred at
least 25 years ago in technology areas associated with IEEE. To
date, more than 100 Milestones have been approved and dedicated
around the world. This award also recognizes technological
innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity. IEEE is the
world's largest technical professional association.
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