Letter from General Ben I. Funk to Dr. Calvin D. Fowler (May 14, 1963)
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from General Ben I. Funk to Dr. Calvin D. Fowler (May 14, 1963)
Alternative Title
Letter from Gen. Funk to Dr. Fowler (May 14, 1963)
Subject
Cape Canaveral (Fla.)
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (Fla.)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (U.S.)
NASA
Air Force
Project Mercury (U.S.)
Description
After the successful completion of the final manned Mercury-Atlas flight (MA-9), General Ben I. Funk (b. 1913), who was the U.S. Air Force general in charge of manned rocket development, sent this letter of commendation to Dr. Calvin D. Fowler, who was the manager and the Launch Conductor for Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 (LC-14) on the final three Project Mercury flights. Dr. Fowler was tasked with pushing the button in the blockhouse to initiate the rocket's ignition. He was also responsible for the rocket's preparation and safety. Astronauts Scott Carpenter (1925-2013), Wally Schirra (1923-2007), and Gordon Cooper (1927-2004) successfully completed their missions because of Dr. Fowler's General Dynamics/Astronautics team preparation.
Creator
Funk, Ben Ivan
Source
Original 1-page typewritten letter from Ben I. Funk to Dr. Calvin D. Fowler, May 14, 1963: Private Collection of Dr. Calvin D. Fowler.
Date Created
1963-05-14
Is Format Of
Digital reproduction of original letter from Ben I. Funk to Dr. Calvin D. Fowler, May 14, 1963.
Is Part Of
Dr. Calvin Fowler Collection, Florida Space Coast History Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.
Format
image/jpg
Extent
140 KB
Medium
1-page typewritten letter on Headquarters Space Systems Division, Air Force Systems Command, United States Air Force letterhead
Language
eng
Type
Text
Coverage
Space Systems Division Headquarters, Air Force Systems Command, United States Air Force, El Segundo, California
General Dynamics/Astronautics, Cocoa Beach, Florida
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14, Cape Canaveral, Florida
Accrual Method
Donation
Mediator
History Teacher
Civics/Government Teacher
Geography Teacher
Provenance
Originally created by Ben I. Funk and owned by Dr. Calvin D. Fowler.
Rights Holder
Copyright to this resource is held by Dr. Calvin D. Fowler and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.
Contributing Project
Curator
Michlowitz, Robert
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
External Reference
"Project Mercury Overview." John F. Kennedy Space Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/history/mercury/mercury-overview.htm.
Document Item Type Metadata
Original Format
1-page typewritten letter on Headquarters Space Systems Division, Air Force Systems Command, United States Air Force letterhead
Collection
Citation
Funk, Ben Ivan, “Letter from General Ben I. Funk to Dr. Calvin D. Fowler (May 14, 1963),” RICHES, accessed May 29, 2024, https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/items/show/4975.