Portal:Space exploration/Biography/Week 33 2007

Louis G. Dunn (No image available) (1908-1979) was a South African-born engineer who played a key role in the development of early American missiles and launch vehicles.

Dunn earned a B.S. (1936), two M.S.s—in mechanical engineering (1937) and aeronautical engineering (1938)—and a Ph.D. (1940) from the California Institute of Technology, and then joined the faculty there. He became an assistant director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in 1945 and then served as director (1947-1954), presiding over JPL’s early rocketry program which led to the development of the Sergeant missile. Besides the Atlas (built by General Dynamics), he played a key role in developing the Thor (McDonnell Douglas), Titan, and Minuteman missiles (Martin Marietta).

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