Hometown Connection

I saw how our industry changed the way in which we live

by Michael D.

My hometown has connections to a Martin Marietta plant, which built subassemblies for the main Georgia plant. And so, it was a natural progression that I started my aerospace career in 1958 as a Georgia Tech co-op student with Lockheed-Georgia in Marietta. Five years later, I graduated, having met so many experienced people.

In 1964, I moved to Denver to work for Martin Marietta on the Titan III. After much traveling back and forth to Cape Canaveral, I moved into advanced proposals and worked on the Viking Mars mission. I was involved in the program from conception until the B-Centennial landings of both landers. Boy, was that a ride, working with subcontractors and scientists from everywhere! After the 1976 landings, I worked on Space Shuttle projects until I left aerospace to work at a family business.

Throughout it all, I’ve seen amazing technology changes. I often state that the watch I wear has more memory and power than the first computers that were available in the 1960s. 

I've seen amazing innovation in 50 years!