Dwight Suiter Documents Lightening/Thunderstorm Research for Space Shuttle Launch Criteria

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10657.1/2805

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    Inventory of Dwight Suiter Documents Lightening/Thunderstorm Research for Space Shuttle Launch Criteria
    (UHCL Archives staff, 2022) JSC History Collection staff
    This subseries consists of collected materials on the effects of lightning on electronic and electrical systems, how lightning affects aircraft, and thus protective measures needed and launch criteria developed concerning the space shuttle. The concern towards thunderstorms in general and lightning in particular was generated by the frequency of both in the vicinity of Kennedy Space Center, and by the numerous lightning strikes near and on Apollo rockets and their launch facilities in the late 1960's and early 1970's. The provenance of this material is Dwight Suiter, who was employed at JSC from 1964-1991 and was a member of the Lightning Committee that investigated the aforementioned phenomena and whose goal was to develop the necessary precautions and procedures for similar occurrences with the space shuttle. Mr. Suiter worked in a number of capacities in the Apollo Spacecraft Program Office, Program Operations Office, Shuttle Office, and Orbiter and GFE Projects Office. The materials received were arranged haphazardly, and while some subject areas were noticed, it was decided that some order needed to be imposed. Various Apollo documents were grouped together at the beginning of the collection, followed by important shuttle papers generated by the Lightning Committee, all arranged chronologically from 1963-1984. Subject areas that were obvious or became obvious during processing were placed next in the collection. They are: 1) Lightning Detection and Ranging (LDAR) papers, 2) Lightning Susceptibility Analysis Summaries, 3) Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) papers, 4) OMS Pod materials, and 5) materials related to Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Each subject area has been arranged chronologically. Various personal papers by Mr. Suiter that did not fit into any particular subject area were placed next, arranged in chronological order. Finally, a large number of articles, papers, and documents related to lightning and its effects were interspersed throughout and are arranged chronologically at the end of the collection.