Bill Barnes

Bill Barnes

Bill grew up in a two room house in Tennessee. He received a BS from the University of Tennessee in Agricultural Engineering. He worked for Ford Motor Company and the US Army before moving to Huntsville. He started working for Thiokol in 1959 as a Program Manager. He retired in 1995 when the Huntsville division closed down. Bill shared his knowledge of Thiokol. He spoke about the companies start in 1926, making sealants for gas tanks for the US military's aircraft in WWII, and working in Rocket Propulsion. He spoke about Thiokol starting work in rocketry in 1947 and working with solid propulsion rockets in 1949. Bill shared information about the TX-58, X-17, TX-33, XM-20 and TX 77. He shared information about the Hermes Motor, Falcon air-to-air missile, Minuteman motor development, Scout Vehicles, Little Joe, Caster 1, 2, and 4, and rocket motor configurations. He summarized by saying that over 2300 motors were produced for launch vehicles in Huntsville and that those motors assisted in the launching of satellites used for communication, weather, and geo-positioning.

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

2017-03

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Interviews

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Lundquist, Charles

Barnes, Bill

1:14:44