Scope and Content Note
The papers of George Edwin Mueller (1918- ) span the years 1876-1997 with the bulk of the material produced during the period 1935-1995. The collection consists chiefly of correspondence, speeches, writings, and printed matter and is arranged in series that, for the most part, chronologically parallel Mueller's career: Family Papers , University of Missouri , Purdue University , Bell Telephone Laboratories , Ohio State University , Space Technology Laboratories , National Aeronautics and Space Administration , General Dynamics Corporation , System Development Corporation , International Academy of Astronautics , Consulting and Professional File , Addition , Oversize , and Classified and Digital Files.
The Family Papers , University of Missouri , and Purdue University series cover Mueller's early life in St. Louis, Missouri, and his advanced education in electrical engineering. Included in the Family Papers is considerable correspondence with immediate family members and other relatives and information about his Mueller and Bosch ancestors. A major portion of the series features material related to Mueller's parents, Edwin Mueller and Ella Bosch Mueller.
The Bell Telephone Laboratories series documents Mueller's pioneering work in millimeter wave research and his contributions to the development of radar technology with research in the measurement of radio energy from the sun, in microwave propagation, and in the design of low-field magnetrons. The series contains laboratory research notes, correspondence, and drafts of Mueller's writings on six millimeter waves and uni-velocity electron stream. Material in the series from Ohio State University , where Mueller taught from 1946 to 1957, focuses on his teaching responsibilities but also includes files pertaining to consulting work with the Ramo-Wooldridge Division of Thompson Ramo Wooldridge, Inc., various research projects, and drafts of writings on dielectric antennae and millimeter waves.
The Space Technology Laboratories series includes correspondence , speeches , and subject files documenting Mueller's research on communication satellites and his administration of the Atlas, Titan, Minuteman, and Thor ballistic missile programs. Reflected in the series as well are his direct involvement in the Pioneer I space probe, the development of space and interplanetary probes such as Explorer VI and Pioneer V, and the establishment of the United States Air Force SPAN Network, the first worldwide system for tracking satellites and deep space probes. Also in the series are copies of Mueller's journal, material on his book, Communication Satellites, coauthored with Eugene R. Spangler, and files relating to Mueller's evolving financial interests.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration series traces Mueller's role as associate administrator for manned space flight from the beginning of Gemini Flight operations in 1963 through the second manned lunar landing in 1969. Especially voluminous are subject files depicting his role as administrator of the Gemini, Apollo/Saturn, Skylab, and Space Shuttle programs; his management of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, Manned Spacecraft Center, and John F. Kennedy Space Center; and his association with aviation and space organizations such as the American Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the International Astronautical Federation. Prominent correspondents include John Leland Atwood, president of the North American Aviation Corporation; Arthur Charles Clarke, president of the Ceylon Astronomical Association; Kurt H. Debus, director of the John F. Kennedy Space Center; William P. Gwinn, president of United Aircraft Corporation; Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey; Raymond Loewy, designer; Congressman George P. Miller; Bernard A. Schreiver, chairman of Schreiver & McKee Associates; Senator Margaret Chase Smith; Congressman Olin E. Teague of Texas; Wernher Von Braun, director of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center; James E. Webb, administrator of NASA; and Edward C. Welsh, executive secretary of the National Aeronautics and Space Council.
Notable in Mueller's files from the General Dynamics Corporation , where he served for eighteen months as senior vice president between 1969 and 1971, are records pertaining to his founding of Sea-Space Symposium with Buzz Aldrin, John L. Galt, Leonard Jaffe, George E. Shipley, Bernard H. White, William M. Zarkowsky, and others having a mutual interest in scuba diving, oceanography, and space exploration. The System Development Corporation series, one of the most voluminous in the collection, features Mueller's role as chairman and president of the company from 1971 to 1985, and his part in guiding the sale of the company to the Burroughs Corporation in 1991. Among the frequent correspondents in this portion of the collection are W. Michael Blumenthal, chairman of Burroughs Corporation; Arthur Charles Clarke, chancellor of the University of Moratuwa, Colombo, Sri Lanka; Jean-Michel Contant, secretary general of Aerospatiale; aviation pioneer James Harold Doolittle and his wife Jo Doolittle; Congressman Robert K. Dornan of California; Raymond and Viola Loewy; Thomas O. Paine, president of Northrop Corporation; Congressman Olin E. Teague; Hélène van Gelder, secretary of the International Astronautical Federation; and Brooks Walker, president of U.S. Leasing International.
Also in the System Development Corporation series are speeches and writings , as well as extensive files documenting Mueller's administration of the company, continued affiliation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, his personal investments, and membership in professional organizations, especially the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the International Astronautical Federation. Mueller was a founder of the American Institute of Wine & Food in 1982, and information on that venture can also be found in this series.
The International Academy of Astronautics series documents Mueller's presidency of that organization from 1982 to 1995. During his tenure as president, the academy established independence from its parent organization, the International Astronautical Federation, and Mueller continued his lifetime goal of fostering international cooperation in the exploration of the solar system. Correspondence and reports reflect the work of the academy's board of trustees and committees, its involvement with other national and international space organizations, and the founding of the International Space Exploration Institute, whose creation Mueller proposed. Also prominent are files from the academy's twenty-fifth anniversary history project in 1985. Principal correspondents include Alvaro Azcarraga, president of the International Astronautical Federation; Leonard J. Carter, president of the British Interplanetary Society; Roger Chevalier, vice president of Aerospatiale and president of the International Astronautical Federation; Jean-Michel Contant, secretary general of Aerospatiale and president of International Astronautical Federation; C. deJager, professor at the Astronomical Institute, Utrecht, the Netherlands, and president of the Committee on Space Research; Charles Stark Draper, founder of the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory; Frederick C. Durant, assistant director of the National Air and Space Museum; Eilene Marie Slack Galloway, consultant and president of the Theodore von Kármán Memorial Foundation; Jerry Grey, vice president of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and president of the International Astronautical Federation; James J. Harford, executive director of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics; Luigi G. Napolitano, professor at the University of Naples; Leonid Ivanovich Sedov, head ofthe Soviet delegation to the International Astronautical Federation; Arthur L. Slotkin, of the International Academy of Astronautics; and Michael I. Yarymovych, vice president of Rockwell International.
The Consulting and Professional File focuses on Mueller's consulting work, financial investments, and professional memberships following his retirement from the Burroughs Corporation in 1983. Featured are various projects and activities related to the George E. Mueller Corporation, an aerospace consulting business he founded in 1984, as well as Mueller's interest in developing and selling jojoba oil from a plantation he purchased and operated in Arizona. Notable topics include Mueller's continuing association with aeronautic and space organizations, his work as president of Next Peripherals and chief executive officer of the Kistler Aerospace Corporation, and his ties to the Ocean Corporation, the University of California at Santa Barbara, the National Board of the Smithsonian Associates, and the Original Computer Camp and Laguna Blanca School, both of Santa Barbara, California. Among the personal activities sketched in the series are sailing, snow skiing, and scuba diving.
The Addition consists of the following ten subseries that parallel Mueller's career and and usually relate to similarly named series in the main body of these papers: University of Missouri, Missouri School of Mines, Rolla, Mo.; Bell Laboratories; Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio; Space Technology Laboratories; National Aeromautics and Space Administration; System Development Corporation; Interviews of Mueller by the National Air and Space Museum; Kistler Aerospace Corporation; and a Miscellany; and. The bulk of the Addition consists of the Kistler Aerospace Corporation subseries. This part of Mueller's career, a ten year committment after his time at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is documented by only a single folder in the main body of these papers. The subseries documents Mueller's service as president and chief operating officer of Kistler Aerospace, which was in the business of developing the first generation of commercal reuasable space rockets. Also unique to the Addition are in depth interviews of Mueller by officials of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum over a three-year period.