Jim Chamberlin | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Chamberlin in the Gemini Project Manager's Office, Houston, 1962 | |
| Born | (1915-05-23)May 23, 1915 Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada |
| Died | March 8, 1981(1981-03-08) (aged 65) Webster, Texas, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Toronto,Imperial College London |
| Known for | Avro Arrow,Project Gemini |
| Spouse | Ella Chamberlin |
| Awards | ESAM NASA Exceptional Service Medal NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Aerospace engineering |
| Institutions | |
James Arthur Chamberlin (May 23, 1915 – March 8, 1981) was a Canadian engineer who contributed to the design of the CanadianAvro Arrow,NASA'sGemini spacecraft and theApollo program. In addition to his pioneering air and space efforts, he is often cited as an example of Canadianbrain drain to the U.S. In the early 1960s, he was one of the key people that proposed and moved thatLunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR) was the best option for landing a crew on the Moon, the method eventually used on Apollo lunar landing missions. He left NASA in 1970 and worked forMcDonnell Douglas, in their Houston offices, until his death in 1981.
Chamberlin was born inKamloops,British Columbia on May 23, 1915, the son of Walter A. Chamberlin and Theresa Goldie. His father was an English-born architect, who was killed at theBattle of Vimy Ridge while serving with theRoyal Regiment of Canadian Artillery. His mother, a sister ofWilliam Goldie, moved toToronto following her husband's death and was later remarried.[1] Chamberlin subsequently attended high school at theUniversity of Toronto Schools. Having maintained a keen interest in aircraft from a young age, he built original design model airplanes in his adolescent years, at one point winning a model aircraft contest organized byThe Mail and Empire.[2] Chamberlin later took mechanical engineering degrees at theUniversity of Toronto (1936) andImperial College London (1939).[3]
Chamberlin began his engineering career with the British aircraft company (and later ejection seat manufacturers)Martin-Baker before returning to Canada.[4] He worked on the production of the BritishAvro Anson at Federal Aircraft Ltd. inMontreal (1940–1941), and later, on training and anti-submarine aircraft as chief engineer at Clarke Ruse Aircraft inDartmouth, Nova Scotia (1941–1942). His longest tenure began as a research engineer (1942–1945) atNoorduyn Aircraft in Montreal, working on theNorseman and serving in this position until the end of theSecond World War.[3]
In February 1946, Chamberlin joinedAvro Aircraft Ltd. inToronto, the Canadian subsidiary of the BritishAvro, itself part of theHawker Siddeley Group, where he was chief aerodynamicist on theC102 Jetliner andCF-100 Canuck jet interceptor. Later, as chief of technical design for the CF-105Avro Arrow jet interceptor, he generated many of the ideas that would make the design famous.[5] According toCanada's Aviation Hall of Fame, it was under Chamberlin's leadership that the Arrow's technical design team conducted engineering research and applied development techniques that were "a generation or more ahead of those used by other aircraft companies" at the time.[2]
Following the Canadian government's cancellation of the Avro Arrow project in 1959, Chamberlin led a team of 25 engineers from Avro who joinedNASA'sSpace Task Group. This group eventually grew to 32 former Avro engineers, collectively known as the "Avro Group", who joined NASA and become emblematic of what many Canadians viewed as abrain drain to the United States.[4]
As head of engineering forProject Mercury, chief designer and NASA's first Project Manager for the Gemini spacecraft built byMcDonnell Aircraft, and then troubleshooter on Apollo, Chamberlin played an instrumental role in creating and implementing the first three generations of American crewed spacecraft.[5]
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 engineerJohn Houbolt's advocacy ofLunar 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 theLunar Module (LM) to descend to the lunar surface.[6]
Chamberlin was described by space historian David Baker as "probably one of the most brilliant men ever to work for NASA."[7]Chamberlin left NASA in 1970 to joinMcDonnell Douglas Astronautics, where he prepared an ultimately unsuccessful space shuttle bid before becoming technical director for the company's facility at theJohnson Space Center inHouston, a position he held until his death on March 8, 1981. He and his wife had a son and a daughter.[3]
NASA awarded Chamberlin its Exceptional Scientific Achievement, Exceptional Service and Exceptional Engineering Achievement medals. Chamberlin was a Professional Engineer of the Province of Ontario, a member of the Institute of Aeronautical Scientists and an Associate Fellow of the Canadian Aeronautical Institute.[3] Theminor planet14148 Jimchamberlin, discovered atKitt Peak National Observatory in 1998, is named in his honor.[8] In 2001, he was inducted intoCanada's Aviation Hall of Fame.[9] In 2019,Canada Post issued stamps commemorating Canadian contributions to theApollo 11 mission which included Chamberlin's likeness.[10]
In the 1997CBC miniseriesThe Arrow, Chamberlin is played by actorAidan Devine.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theNational Aeronautics and Space Administration.