Preparing for the Space Age: The History of Project EMILY
- Paper number
IAC-06-E4.1.04
- Author
Dr. L. Parker Temple, The Aerospace Corporation, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Peter L. Portanova, The Aerospace Corporation, United States
- Year
2006
- Abstract
Key Words: Thor, England, Jupiter, missiles, Cold War, concurrency Project EMILY was the deployment of US intermediate range ballistic missiles (Thors) in England. This deployment and the whole development of the Thor missiles was conducted under the utmost schedule pressure during the Cold War, motivated by fears that the Soviet Union would develop similar missiles faster than the United States could develop its intercontinental ballistic missiles. The risks accepted by the United States and England using an acquisition process known as “concurrency” are described in this paper, as are the consequences for the fielding and operation of completely new, unprecedented weapons requiring high reliability. Described by one of the key engineers who made Project EMILY a success, and blazed many of the trails making the initial squadrons of Thors operational, this paper provides unique insights into the history of the Thor deployment, what it took to make them operational, and the lessons learned that carried forward to a career in other space programs.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-06-E4.1.04.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.