Jim Chamberlin
James A. "Jim" Chamberlin (1915–1981) was a Canadian aerodynamicist who contributed to the design of the Canadian Avro Arrow; and NASA's Gemini spacecraft and the Apollo program. In addition to his pioneering air and space efforts, he is often cited as an example of Canadian brain drain to the U.S.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
James Arthur Chamberlin was born in Kamloops, British Columbia on May 23, 1915. Having maintained a keen interest in model airplanes during high school at the University of Toronto Schools, he took mechanical engineering degrees at the University of Toronto (1936) and Imperial College London (1939).[1]
[edit] Career
Chamberlin began his engineering career with the British aircraft company (and later ejection seat manufacturers) Martin-Baker before returning to Canada, where he worked on the production of the British Avro Anson by Federal Aircraft Ltd. in Montreal (1940–1941), on training and anti-submarine aircraft as chief engineer at Clarke Ruse Aircraft in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia (1941–1942), and on the Norseman as research engineer at Noorduyn Aircraft in Montreal.[2]
In 1945, Chamberlin joined Avro Aircraft Ltd. in Toronto, the Canadian subsidiary of the British Avro itself part of the Hawker Siddeley Group, where Chamberlin was chief aerodynamicist on the C-102 Jetliner and CF-100 "Canuck" jet interceptor and, later, chief of technical design for the CF-105 Avro Arrow jet interceptor, generating many of the ideas that would make the design famous.[3]
Following the Canadian government's cancellation of the Avro Arrow project in 1959, Chamberlin led a team of 25 engineers from Avro who joined NASA's Space Task Group. This group eventually grew to 32 former Avro engineers who joined NASA and become emblematic of what many Canadians viewed as a brain drain to the United States. As head of engineering for Project Mercury, chief designer and NASA's first Project Manager for the Gemini spacecraft built by McDonnell Aircraft, and then troubleshooter on Apollo, Chamberlin played an instrumental role in creating and implementing the first three generations of American crewed spacecraft. .[4]
While designing the Gemini spacecraft in 1961, Chamberlin proposed that Gemini be paired with a “bug” that would land a single astronaut on the Moon. Chamberlin had been impressed with NASA engineer John Houbolt’s advocacy of Lunar orbit rendezvous as the method to go to the Moon. Although Chamberlin’s idea of flying Gemini to the Moon was rejected, it helped lead NASA to its decision in 1962 to use Lunar Orbit Rendezvous in the Apollo program, which involved using the Lunar Module (LM) to descend to the lunar surface.[5]
Chamberlin was described by space historian David Baker as “probably one of the most brilliant men ever to work for NASA.”[6] Chamberlin left NASA in 1970 to join McDonnell Douglas Astronautics, where he prepared an ultimately unsuccessful space shuttle bid before becoming technical director for the company's facility at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, a position he held until his death on March 8, 1981. He and his wife had a son and a daughter.[7]
[edit] Honours
NASA awarded Chamberlin its Exceptional Scientific Achievement, Exceptional Service and Exceptional Engineering Achievement medals. He was inducted into Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame in 2001.[8]
[edit] References
- Notes
- ^ http://history.nasa.gov/chamberlin.html
- ^ http://history.nasa.gov/chamberlin.html
- ^ Chris Gainor. Arrows to the Moon: Avro's Engineers and the Space Race. Burlington, Ontario: Apogee Books, 2001. pp. 19-33.
- ^ Chris Gainor. Arrows to the Moon: Avro's Engineers and the Space Race. Burlington, Ontario: Apogee Books, 2001.
- ^ James R. Hansen (December 1995). "Enchanted Rendezvous: John Houbolt and the Genesis of the Lunar-Orbit Rendezvous Concept". Monographs in Aerospace History Series #4. http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19960014824_1996007704.pdf. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
- ^ David Baker. “The History of Manned Space Flight.” New York: Crown Publishers, 1982. p. 182.
- ^ http://history.nasa.gov/chamberlin.html
- ^ http://history.nasa.gov/chamberlin.html
- Bibliography
- Gainor, Chris. Arrows to the Moon: Avro's Engineers and the Space Race. Burlington, Ontario: Apogee Books, 2001, ISBN 1-896522-83-1.
- Stewart, Greig. Shutting Down the National Dream: A.V. Roe and the Tragedy of the Avro Arrow. Toronto: McGraw-Hill-Ryerson, 1991.
- Hacker, Barton, and James Grimwood. On the Shoulders of Titans: A History of Project Gemini. Washington, D.C.: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1977.
- Whitcomb, Randall. Avro Aircraft and Cold War Aviation. St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell, 2002; also available through Arrow Recovery Canada.
