Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Special Collections, University Libraries (0434)
Newman Library
Virginia Tech
P.O. Box 90001
560 Drillfield Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24062-9001
Contact for questions and access:
Phone: (540) 231-6308
Fax: (540) 231-3694
Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Preferred citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, Ms1986-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Summary

Extent:
4.6 Cubic Feet 7 boxes and 1 oversize folder
Creator:
Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015
Abstract:
Marjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments.
Language:
The materials in the collection are in English and French.
Preferred citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, Ms1986-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments.

The colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:

Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved.

Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments.

Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups.

Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film Beyond Our Sun by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.

Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together.

The following are common acronyms found in the collection:
  • NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  • GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center
  • IRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system
  • SAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru
  • TIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites
  • APT - Automatic Picture Transmission

Biographical / historical:

Marjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951.

Her career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities.

Townsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences.

Marjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015.

Acquisition information:
The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers were donated to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at the Special Collections and University Archives in 1986 and 2005. An addition was donated in 2015.
Processing information:

The processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023.

Arrangement:

The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA.

Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.

Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.

Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.

Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film Beyond Our Sun by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.

Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard