Scope and Content Note
The papers of Samuel Cochran Phillips (1921-1990) span the years circa 1929-1990, with the bulk of the items concentrated in the period 1958-1989. Phillips witnessed several of the seminal events of the post-World War II Cold War period, including Soviet consolidation in Europe and American atomic weapons testing in Oceania. He assisted in developing guided missile and other armament technologies and directed the nation's intercontinental ballistic missile and manned lunar landing programs. He ended his career as an executive of TRW Inc., a large defense firm. Phillips's papers are organized into the following series: Personal and Family Papers , United States Air Force , National Aeronautics and Space Administration , Subject File , Classified , and Oversize .
Phillips's papers include correspondence and memoranda, reports, and diaries documenting the competition which characterized relations between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. They are more complete for the latter portion of his career, offering significant detail concerning the Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile system, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) manned lunar landing program, and Phillips's work at TRW Inc., a prominent defense contractor. The papers are less substantial regarding his association with atomic weapons tests at Eniwetok atoll in 1951 and his work establishing the B-52 long-range bomber as a viable armament. They contain almost no information regarding his brief stint as National Security Agency chief. Phillips's “systems management” technique, an administrative hallmark for which he and the programs he administered became well known, figures prominently in the Minuteman and NASA materials.
The papers are chiefly professional in nature, but a Personal and Family Papers series includes material related to general family matters such as finances, homes, hobbies, automobiles, friends, and the marriages of Phillips's daughters. Photographs record the infancies and youths of the daughters as well as other family members and special events. Of particular interest are several oversize electrical and schematic diagrams by Phillips of the family's home in Washington, D. C., illustrating his attention to detail and holistic view of systems and organizations.
Phillips served in the United States Air Force (USAF) until he became a private sector defense official. All papers related to the USAF except those regarding his assignment to NASA appear in the USAF File . Documentation regarding Phillips's role developing early guided missile technology, drone aircraft, F-111 and A-10 combat aircraft, and B-52 long-range bomber aircraft is sparse. Documentation regarding the development and implementation of the Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile is substantial, however, and that regarding the Titan III launch system is only slightly less so. Phillips's post-NASA assignments made use of his management and administrative abilities as he became commander first of the Space and Missile Systems Organization and then of the Air Force Systems Command. The files from these latter assignments are administrative in content, reflecting the nature of his postings. Phillips made extensive use of chronological files consisting of correspondence and memoranda regarding many subjects. Additionally, he kept detailed notes regarding most subjects and often interfiled correspondence or memoranda with these notes.
The NASA File constitutes the bulk of the papers. Phillips directed the Project Apollo (U.S.) component of the manned lunar landing program which was charged with developing the spacecraft to transport astronauts from earth's orbit to the moon. In the early years of the lunar landing endeavor, however, much of the emphasis was on a related component, Saturn Project (U.S.), which involved developing the massive rockets necessary to boost astronauts and their spacecraft into orbit. The NASA File traces the developmental focus as it shifted from Saturn to Apollo. Saturn files detail rocket and launch system components, systems, tests, and flights. Apollo files detail spacecraft components, systems, tests, flights, lunar exploration and operations, and personnel and administrative issues. The files include correspondence with corporate contractors who designed, built, or operated program and hardware components, such as North American Aviation (now Rockwell International) and Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp. (now Northrop Grumman). An Apollo spacecraft test which killed three astronauts in 1967 is extensively documented. Later files from Phillips's role as consultant and advisor to the space agency include a report he authored regarding the efficiency of agency management.
Papers regarding Phillips's association with institutional and nongovernmental organizations make up the Subject File . A major part of this file relates to the administration and activities of TRW Inc., the defense firm which Phillips joined after his retirement from the air force. Two of TRW Inc.'s most lucrative government contracts during the 1980s concerned the United States Dept. of Energy's superconducting super collider project and the United States Dept. of Defense's Strategic Defense Initiative. Many of these files address the administration and conduct of both contracts.