[vii] This monograph represents a first attempt at sketching the evolution and history of NASA sounding rockets. If it seems to be a Goddard Space Flight Center story, that is because NASA's sounding rocket program has been directed from that Center. The study is complicated by the great abundance of different vehicles, different governmental and private organizations, and by the many hundreds of NASA launchings since 1958. The author will be very happy to hear of any errors, omissions, or misconceptions. Original measurements were in the English system.
The author wishes to acknowledge the help of the following people in preparing this short history of sounding rockets: Alfred Rosenthal, Goddard Historian and monitor of this project, and Karl R. Medrow, Eleanor C. Pressly, George E. MacVeigh, Jon Busse, and Norman Peterson, all of the Goddard Sounding Rocket Branch. In addition, William R. Witt, of the Goddard International Programs Office, and Lloyd E. Jones, Jr., Headquarters Office of International Affairs, have helped relate NASA's extensive cooperative programs. At the Goddard Library, C. DeMoss and staff helped materially in researching this monograph. Joseph Robbins, Wallops Station Historical Monitor, and E. C. Draley, at Langley Research Center, provided information about the early NACA work at Wallops. R. Cargill Hall, Jet Propulsion Laboratory Historian, submitted valuable information on the early days at Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. John R. Holtz, at NASA Headquarters, contributed considerable information on sounding rocket development trends and overall NASA philosophy. In addition to the above individuals, Joseph A. Shortal, Eugene M. Emme, Frank W. Anderson, Jr., John E. Naugle, Leonard Jaffe, and J. Allen Crocker also reviewed the Comment Edition.