Willson Hunter
Willson Hunter was the NASA Senior Scientific Representative in Australia at the time of AO5. Dr. Willson Hunter was the NASA Senior Scientific Representative in Australia at the time of AO5. In 1945 Willson was in charge of the Icing research in the Wind Tunnels and Flight Division of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronatics (NACA) at the Lewis Laboratory in Cleveland Ohio. (NACA become the National Aeronatics and Space Administration, NASA.) He also worked for B. F. Goodrich and Co. of icing problems in aircraft. Willson rose through the ranks and was a senior manager in the 1960s, prior to being appointed as NASA's representative in Australia. Willson was responsible for all NASA's tracking stations and operations in Australia and he played critical parts in the successful reception of signals from the manned Apollo flights at Honeysuckle Creek, Parkes Radio Telescope and Tidbinbilla. Willson's contribution to AO5 in encouraging us, opening doors, greasing the wheels in NASA will probably never be fully known. He also became a mentor and friend to us. Vale, Willson. |