Axel Roth

Axel Roth

Axel's spaceflight history begins with his father, Ludwig "Rote" Roth, who worked on the V2 program at Peenemünde. Following several relocations over the course of the war, the family would be split, then reunited in El Paso, Texas. The family would come to Huntsville in 1950, with Ludwig continuing to work under Wernher von Braun until 1956 (at which point he would work at various other companies). Axel began his college studies at the University of Alabama, but would move to Auburn for co-op opportunities, recieving his degree in aeronautical engineering in 1959, and joining Marshall in 1960 (in the Structures and Mechanics Laboratory). Axel recalls his early roles with the Apollo project, including working with the crew safety board, and performing structural analysis. Around 1966, he would transfer to the Technical Systems office, remaining for a few years- then joining the Central Systems engineering laboratory following a major MSFC reorganization (approximately in 1969), then working on engineering and experiments for Skylab. Following Skylab, he hit a "down period" until the Spacelab project, where he served as a structure systems engineer. Axel recounts his unique experiences with the latter in-depth, such as the experience of group collaboration on the projects' many components,and applying to be a payload operations director. He would go on to work on the Space Station project; following Challenger, he would move on to work as the chief engineer of Spacelab. Around 1989, he would be selected as the Space Station deputy chief engineer, and would also work in program development, as well as serving on the flight program directorate. Eventually, Axel would retire in 2004; he reflects that he wouldn't change anything about his career.

University of Alabama in Huntsville Archives and Special Collections, Huntsville, Alabama

02/01/2007

This material may be protected under U. S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code) which governs the making of photocopies or reproductions of copyrighted materials. You may use the digitized material for private study, scholarship, or research. Though the University of Alabama in Huntsville Archives and Special Collections has physical ownership of the material in its collections, in some cases we may not own the copyright to the material. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in our collections.

.MP4

en

Interviews

Video

Axel Roth (Space History Interviews).mp4

Lundquist, Charles

Roth, Axel

1:44:56