{"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967","next":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026page=2","last":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026page=2"},"meta":{"pages":{"current_page":1,"next_page":2,"prev_page":null,"total_pages":2,"limit_value":10,"offset_value":0,"total_count":15,"first_page?":true,"last_page?":false}},"data":[{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"Correspondence about IRLS research","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09","ref_ssm":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09"],"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02","parent_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02","parent_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials"],"text":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials","Correspondence about IRLS research"],"title_filing_ssi":"Correspondence about IRLS research","title_ssm":["Correspondence about IRLS research"],"title_tesim":["Correspondence about IRLS research"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1965-1973"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1965/1973"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Correspondence about IRLS research"],"component_level_isim":[2],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"collection_ssim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":5,"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"sort_isi":65,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"date_range_isim":[1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973],"_nest_path_":"/components#1/components#8","timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:19:56.471Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VT/repositories_2_resources_1429.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, Papers","title_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"title_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1960-1994, n.d."],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1960-1994, n.d."],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Ms.1986.003"],"text":["Ms.1986.003","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees","The collection is open for research.","Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online.","The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. ","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. ","Her career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. ","Townsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015.","The guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).","The processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023."," Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the   National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)  from 2022 to 2024.","The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. ","The colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,  contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. ","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. ","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. ","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,   encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. ","The following are common acronyms found in the collection: NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center IRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system SAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru TIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites APT - Automatic Picture Transmission","The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments.","Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015","The materials in the collection are in English and French."],"unitid_tesim":["Ms.1986.003"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"collection_title_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"collection_ssim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"creator_ssm":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creator_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creators_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"acqinfo_ssim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers were donated to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at the Special Collections and University Archives in 1986 and 2005. An addition was donated in 2015."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["4.6 Cubic Feet 7 boxes and 1 oversize folder"],"extent_tesim":["4.6 Cubic Feet 7 boxes and 1 oversize folder"],"date_range_isim":[1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research."],"altformavail_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/collections/show/119\"\u003eSome of this collection has been digitized and is available online.\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"altformavail_heading_ssm":["Existence and Location of Copies"],"altformavail_tesim":["Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries C: Materials for the NASA Film \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eBeyond Our Sun\u003c/title\u003e by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. \u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. ","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. "],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eHer career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eTownsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. ","Her career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. ","Townsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (\u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\"\u003ehttps://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["Rights Statement for Archival Description"],"odd_tesim":["The guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ )."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eResearchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, Ms1986-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, Ms1986-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg width=\"200\" align=\"left\" src=\"https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/files/original/a2eeb5148408709c99f3e268e1177900.jpg\"\u003e Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.archives.gov/nhprc\"\u003e National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)\u003c/a\u003e from 2022 to 2024.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["The processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023."," Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the   National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)  from 2022 to 2024."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,\u003c/emph\u003e contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries C: Materials for the NASA Film \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eBeyond Our Sun\u003c/title\u003e by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,\u003c/emph\u003e  encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003clist\u003e\n\u003chead\u003eThe following are common acronyms found in the collection:\u003c/head\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eNASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eGSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eIRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eSAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eTIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eAPT - Automatic Picture Transmission\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003c/list\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. ","The colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,  contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. ","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. ","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. ","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,   encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. ","The following are common acronyms found in the collection: NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center IRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system SAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru TIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites APT - Automatic Picture Transmission"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eReproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuareproduction\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuareproduction\u003c/a\u003e. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuapublication\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuapublication\u003c/a\u003e. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_d783d9c0057b8a96d225807f9bf6ea24\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments."],"names_coll_ssim":["United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration"],"persname_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"language_ssim":["The materials in the collection are in English and French."],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":142,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:19:56.471Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09"}},{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09_c05","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"Correspondence about NIMBUS II and ESSA-2 satellites and APT with Carlos Bettencourt Faria in Angola","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09_c05#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09_c05","ref_ssm":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09_c05"],"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09_c05","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09","parent_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09","parent_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02","viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02","viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials","Correspondence about IRLS research"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials","Correspondence about IRLS research"],"text":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials","Correspondence about IRLS research","Correspondence about NIMBUS II and ESSA-2 satellites and APT with Carlos Bettencourt Faria in Angola","box 1","folder 58"],"title_filing_ssi":"Correspondence about NIMBUS II and ESSA-2 satellites and APT with Carlos Bettencourt Faria in Angola","title_ssm":["Correspondence about NIMBUS II and ESSA-2 satellites and APT with Carlos Bettencourt Faria in Angola"],"title_tesim":["Correspondence about NIMBUS II and ESSA-2 satellites and APT with Carlos Bettencourt Faria in Angola"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["May 1966-Nov 1973"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1966/1973"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Correspondence about NIMBUS II and ESSA-2 satellites and APT with Carlos Bettencourt Faria in Angola"],"component_level_isim":[3],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"collection_ssim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"sort_isi":70,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"date_range_isim":[1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973],"containers_ssim":["box 1","folder 58"],"_nest_path_":"/components#1/components#8/components#4","timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:19:56.471Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VT/repositories_2_resources_1429.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, Papers","title_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"title_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1960-1994, n.d."],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1960-1994, n.d."],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Ms.1986.003"],"text":["Ms.1986.003","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees","The collection is open for research.","Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online.","The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. ","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. ","Her career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. ","Townsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015.","The guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).","The processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023."," Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the   National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)  from 2022 to 2024.","The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. ","The colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,  contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. ","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. ","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. ","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,   encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. ","The following are common acronyms found in the collection: NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center IRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system SAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru TIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites APT - Automatic Picture Transmission","The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments.","Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015","The materials in the collection are in English and French."],"unitid_tesim":["Ms.1986.003"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"collection_title_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"collection_ssim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"creator_ssm":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creator_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creators_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"acqinfo_ssim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers were donated to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at the Special Collections and University Archives in 1986 and 2005. An addition was donated in 2015."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["4.6 Cubic Feet 7 boxes and 1 oversize folder"],"extent_tesim":["4.6 Cubic Feet 7 boxes and 1 oversize folder"],"date_range_isim":[1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research."],"altformavail_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/collections/show/119\"\u003eSome of this collection has been digitized and is available online.\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"altformavail_heading_ssm":["Existence and Location of Copies"],"altformavail_tesim":["Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries C: Materials for the NASA Film \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eBeyond Our Sun\u003c/title\u003e by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. \u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. ","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. "],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eHer career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eTownsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. ","Her career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. ","Townsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (\u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\"\u003ehttps://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["Rights Statement for Archival Description"],"odd_tesim":["The guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ )."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eResearchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, Ms1986-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, Ms1986-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg width=\"200\" align=\"left\" src=\"https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/files/original/a2eeb5148408709c99f3e268e1177900.jpg\"\u003e Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.archives.gov/nhprc\"\u003e National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)\u003c/a\u003e from 2022 to 2024.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["The processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023."," Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the   National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)  from 2022 to 2024."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,\u003c/emph\u003e contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries C: Materials for the NASA Film \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eBeyond Our Sun\u003c/title\u003e by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,\u003c/emph\u003e  encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003clist\u003e\n\u003chead\u003eThe following are common acronyms found in the collection:\u003c/head\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eNASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eGSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eIRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eSAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eTIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eAPT - Automatic Picture Transmission\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003c/list\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. ","The colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,  contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. ","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. ","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. ","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,   encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. ","The following are common acronyms found in the collection: NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center IRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system SAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru TIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites APT - Automatic Picture Transmission"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eReproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuareproduction\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuareproduction\u003c/a\u003e. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuapublication\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuapublication\u003c/a\u003e. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_d783d9c0057b8a96d225807f9bf6ea24\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments."],"names_coll_ssim":["United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration"],"persname_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"language_ssim":["The materials in the collection are in English and French."],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":142,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:19:56.471Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09_c05"}},{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c15","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"Draft copy of The Small Astronomy Satellite (SAS) Program by M.R. Townsend (GSFC, NASA G-901)","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c15#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c15","ref_ssm":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c15"],"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c15","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02","parent_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02","parent_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials"],"text":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials","Draft copy of The Small Astronomy Satellite (SAS) Program by M.R. Townsend (GSFC, NASA G-901)","box 1","folder 64"],"title_filing_ssi":"Draft copy of  The Small Astronomy Satellite (SAS) Program  by M.R. Townsend (GSFC, NASA G-901)","title_ssm":["Draft copy of The Small Astronomy Satellite (SAS) Program by M.R. Townsend (GSFC, NASA G-901)"],"title_tesim":["Draft copy of The Small Astronomy Satellite (SAS) Program by M.R. Townsend (GSFC, NASA G-901)"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["c.1967"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1967"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Draft copy of The Small Astronomy Satellite (SAS) Program by M.R. Townsend (GSFC, NASA G-901)"],"component_level_isim":[2],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"collection_ssim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"sort_isi":76,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"date_range_isim":[1967],"containers_ssim":["box 1","folder 64"],"_nest_path_":"/components#1/components#14","timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:19:56.471Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VT/repositories_2_resources_1429.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, Papers","title_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"title_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1960-1994, n.d."],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1960-1994, n.d."],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Ms.1986.003"],"text":["Ms.1986.003","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees","The collection is open for research.","Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online.","The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. ","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. ","Her career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. ","Townsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015.","The guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).","The processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023."," Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the   National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)  from 2022 to 2024.","The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. ","The colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,  contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. ","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. ","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. ","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,   encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. ","The following are common acronyms found in the collection: NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center IRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system SAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru TIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites APT - Automatic Picture Transmission","The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments.","Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015","The materials in the collection are in English and French."],"unitid_tesim":["Ms.1986.003"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"collection_title_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"collection_ssim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"creator_ssm":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creator_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creators_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"acqinfo_ssim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers were donated to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at the Special Collections and University Archives in 1986 and 2005. An addition was donated in 2015."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["4.6 Cubic Feet 7 boxes and 1 oversize folder"],"extent_tesim":["4.6 Cubic Feet 7 boxes and 1 oversize folder"],"date_range_isim":[1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research."],"altformavail_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/collections/show/119\"\u003eSome of this collection has been digitized and is available online.\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"altformavail_heading_ssm":["Existence and Location of Copies"],"altformavail_tesim":["Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries C: Materials for the NASA Film \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eBeyond Our Sun\u003c/title\u003e by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. \u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. ","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. "],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eHer career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eTownsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. ","Her career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. ","Townsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (\u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\"\u003ehttps://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["Rights Statement for Archival Description"],"odd_tesim":["The guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ )."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eResearchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, Ms1986-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, Ms1986-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg width=\"200\" align=\"left\" src=\"https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/files/original/a2eeb5148408709c99f3e268e1177900.jpg\"\u003e Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.archives.gov/nhprc\"\u003e National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)\u003c/a\u003e from 2022 to 2024.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["The processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023."," Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the   National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)  from 2022 to 2024."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,\u003c/emph\u003e contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries C: Materials for the NASA Film \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eBeyond Our Sun\u003c/title\u003e by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,\u003c/emph\u003e  encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003clist\u003e\n\u003chead\u003eThe following are common acronyms found in the collection:\u003c/head\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eNASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eGSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eIRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eSAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eTIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eAPT - Automatic Picture Transmission\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003c/list\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. ","The colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,  contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. ","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. ","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. ","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,   encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. ","The following are common acronyms found in the collection: NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center IRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system SAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru TIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites APT - Automatic Picture Transmission"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eReproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuareproduction\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuareproduction\u003c/a\u003e. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuapublication\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuapublication\u003c/a\u003e. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_d783d9c0057b8a96d225807f9bf6ea24\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments."],"names_coll_ssim":["United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration"],"persname_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"language_ssim":["The materials in the collection are in English and French."],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":142,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:19:56.471Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c15"}},{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c08","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"GSFC Statement of Work and Specification for the X-Ray Explorer (SAS-A) Satellite Experiment","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c08#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c08","ref_ssm":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c08"],"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c08","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02","parent_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02","parent_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials"],"text":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials","GSFC Statement of Work and Specification for the X-Ray Explorer (SAS-A) Satellite Experiment","box 1","folder 53"],"title_filing_ssi":"GSFC Statement of Work and Specification for the X-Ray Explorer (SAS-A) Satellite Experiment","title_ssm":["GSFC Statement of Work and Specification for the X-Ray Explorer (SAS-A) Satellite Experiment"],"title_tesim":["GSFC Statement of Work and Specification for the X-Ray Explorer (SAS-A) Satellite Experiment"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["June 1967"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1967"],"normalized_title_ssm":["GSFC Statement of Work and Specification for the X-Ray Explorer (SAS-A) Satellite Experiment"],"component_level_isim":[2],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"collection_ssim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"sort_isi":64,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"date_range_isim":[1967],"containers_ssim":["box 1","folder 53"],"_nest_path_":"/components#1/components#7","timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:19:56.471Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VT/repositories_2_resources_1429.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, Papers","title_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"title_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1960-1994, n.d."],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1960-1994, n.d."],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Ms.1986.003"],"text":["Ms.1986.003","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees","The collection is open for research.","Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online.","The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. ","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. ","Her career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. ","Townsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015.","The guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).","The processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023."," Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the   National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)  from 2022 to 2024.","The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. ","The colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,  contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. ","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. ","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. ","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,   encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. ","The following are common acronyms found in the collection: NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center IRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system SAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru TIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites APT - Automatic Picture Transmission","The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments.","Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015","The materials in the collection are in English and French."],"unitid_tesim":["Ms.1986.003"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"collection_title_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"collection_ssim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"creator_ssm":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creator_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creators_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"acqinfo_ssim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers were donated to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at the Special Collections and University Archives in 1986 and 2005. An addition was donated in 2015."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["4.6 Cubic Feet 7 boxes and 1 oversize folder"],"extent_tesim":["4.6 Cubic Feet 7 boxes and 1 oversize folder"],"date_range_isim":[1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research."],"altformavail_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/collections/show/119\"\u003eSome of this collection has been digitized and is available online.\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"altformavail_heading_ssm":["Existence and Location of Copies"],"altformavail_tesim":["Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries C: Materials for the NASA Film \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eBeyond Our Sun\u003c/title\u003e by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. \u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. ","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. "],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eHer career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eTownsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. ","Her career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. ","Townsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (\u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\"\u003ehttps://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["Rights Statement for Archival Description"],"odd_tesim":["The guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ )."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eResearchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, Ms1986-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, Ms1986-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg width=\"200\" align=\"left\" src=\"https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/files/original/a2eeb5148408709c99f3e268e1177900.jpg\"\u003e Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.archives.gov/nhprc\"\u003e National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)\u003c/a\u003e from 2022 to 2024.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["The processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023."," Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the   National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)  from 2022 to 2024."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,\u003c/emph\u003e contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries C: Materials for the NASA Film \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eBeyond Our Sun\u003c/title\u003e by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,\u003c/emph\u003e  encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003clist\u003e\n\u003chead\u003eThe following are common acronyms found in the collection:\u003c/head\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eNASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eGSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eIRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eSAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eTIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eAPT - Automatic Picture Transmission\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003c/list\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. ","The colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,  contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. ","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. ","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. ","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,   encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. ","The following are common acronyms found in the collection: NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center IRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system SAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru TIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites APT - Automatic Picture Transmission"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eReproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuareproduction\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuareproduction\u003c/a\u003e. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuapublication\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuapublication\u003c/a\u003e. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_d783d9c0057b8a96d225807f9bf6ea24\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments."],"names_coll_ssim":["United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration"],"persname_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"language_ssim":["The materials in the collection are in English and French."],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":142,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:19:56.471Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c08"}},{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09_c03","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"International","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09_c03#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09_c03","ref_ssm":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09_c03"],"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09_c03","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09","parent_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09","parent_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02","viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02","viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials","Correspondence about IRLS research"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials","Correspondence about IRLS research"],"text":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials","Correspondence about IRLS research","International","box 1","folder 56"],"title_filing_ssi":"International","title_ssm":["International"],"title_tesim":["International"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["Nov 1965 - Feb 1968"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1965/1968"],"normalized_title_ssm":["International"],"component_level_isim":[3],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"collection_ssim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"sort_isi":68,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"date_range_isim":[1965,1966,1967,1968],"containers_ssim":["box 1","folder 56"],"_nest_path_":"/components#1/components#8/components#2","timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:19:56.471Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VT/repositories_2_resources_1429.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, Papers","title_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"title_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1960-1994, n.d."],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1960-1994, n.d."],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Ms.1986.003"],"text":["Ms.1986.003","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees","The collection is open for research.","Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online.","The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. ","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. ","Her career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. ","Townsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015.","The guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).","The processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023."," Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the   National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)  from 2022 to 2024.","The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. ","The colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,  contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. ","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. ","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. ","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,   encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. ","The following are common acronyms found in the collection: NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center IRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system SAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru TIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites APT - Automatic Picture Transmission","The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments.","Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015","The materials in the collection are in English and French."],"unitid_tesim":["Ms.1986.003"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"collection_title_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"collection_ssim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"creator_ssm":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creator_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creators_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"acqinfo_ssim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers were donated to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at the Special Collections and University Archives in 1986 and 2005. An addition was donated in 2015."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["4.6 Cubic Feet 7 boxes and 1 oversize folder"],"extent_tesim":["4.6 Cubic Feet 7 boxes and 1 oversize folder"],"date_range_isim":[1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research."],"altformavail_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/collections/show/119\"\u003eSome of this collection has been digitized and is available online.\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"altformavail_heading_ssm":["Existence and Location of Copies"],"altformavail_tesim":["Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries C: Materials for the NASA Film \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eBeyond Our Sun\u003c/title\u003e by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. \u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. ","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. "],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eHer career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eTownsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. ","Her career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. ","Townsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (\u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\"\u003ehttps://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["Rights Statement for Archival Description"],"odd_tesim":["The guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ )."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eResearchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, Ms1986-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, Ms1986-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg width=\"200\" align=\"left\" src=\"https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/files/original/a2eeb5148408709c99f3e268e1177900.jpg\"\u003e Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.archives.gov/nhprc\"\u003e National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)\u003c/a\u003e from 2022 to 2024.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["The processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023."," Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the   National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)  from 2022 to 2024."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,\u003c/emph\u003e contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries C: Materials for the NASA Film \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eBeyond Our Sun\u003c/title\u003e by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,\u003c/emph\u003e  encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003clist\u003e\n\u003chead\u003eThe following are common acronyms found in the collection:\u003c/head\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eNASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eGSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eIRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eSAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eTIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eAPT - Automatic Picture Transmission\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003c/list\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. ","The colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,  contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. ","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. ","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. ","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,   encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. ","The following are common acronyms found in the collection: NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center IRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system SAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru TIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites APT - Automatic Picture Transmission"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eReproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuareproduction\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuareproduction\u003c/a\u003e. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuapublication\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuapublication\u003c/a\u003e. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_d783d9c0057b8a96d225807f9bf6ea24\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments."],"names_coll_ssim":["United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration"],"persname_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"language_ssim":["The materials in the collection are in English and French."],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":142,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:19:56.471Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09_c03"}},{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09_c01","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"IRLS on NIMBUS B - Participation","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09_c01#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09_c01","ref_ssm":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09_c01"],"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09_c01","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09","parent_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09","parent_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02","viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02","viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials","Correspondence about IRLS research"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials","Correspondence about IRLS research"],"text":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials","Correspondence about IRLS research","IRLS on NIMBUS B - Participation","box 1","folder 54"],"title_filing_ssi":"IRLS on NIMBUS B - Participation","title_ssm":["IRLS on NIMBUS B - Participation"],"title_tesim":["IRLS on NIMBUS B - Participation"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["July 1965-July 1967"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1965/1967"],"normalized_title_ssm":["IRLS on NIMBUS B - Participation"],"component_level_isim":[3],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"collection_ssim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"sort_isi":66,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"date_range_isim":[1965,1966,1967],"containers_ssim":["box 1","folder 54"],"_nest_path_":"/components#1/components#8/components#0","timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:19:56.471Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VT/repositories_2_resources_1429.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, Papers","title_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"title_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1960-1994, n.d."],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1960-1994, n.d."],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Ms.1986.003"],"text":["Ms.1986.003","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees","The collection is open for research.","Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online.","The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. ","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. ","Her career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. ","Townsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015.","The guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).","The processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023."," Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the   National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)  from 2022 to 2024.","The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. ","The colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,  contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. ","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. ","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. ","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,   encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. ","The following are common acronyms found in the collection: NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center IRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system SAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru TIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites APT - Automatic Picture Transmission","The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments.","Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015","The materials in the collection are in English and French."],"unitid_tesim":["Ms.1986.003"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"collection_title_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"collection_ssim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"creator_ssm":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creator_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creators_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"acqinfo_ssim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers were donated to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at the Special Collections and University Archives in 1986 and 2005. An addition was donated in 2015."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["4.6 Cubic Feet 7 boxes and 1 oversize folder"],"extent_tesim":["4.6 Cubic Feet 7 boxes and 1 oversize folder"],"date_range_isim":[1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research."],"altformavail_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/collections/show/119\"\u003eSome of this collection has been digitized and is available online.\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"altformavail_heading_ssm":["Existence and Location of Copies"],"altformavail_tesim":["Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries C: Materials for the NASA Film \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eBeyond Our Sun\u003c/title\u003e by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. \u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. ","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. "],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eHer career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eTownsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. ","Her career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. ","Townsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (\u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\"\u003ehttps://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["Rights Statement for Archival Description"],"odd_tesim":["The guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ )."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eResearchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, Ms1986-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, Ms1986-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg width=\"200\" align=\"left\" src=\"https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/files/original/a2eeb5148408709c99f3e268e1177900.jpg\"\u003e Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.archives.gov/nhprc\"\u003e National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)\u003c/a\u003e from 2022 to 2024.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["The processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023."," Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the   National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)  from 2022 to 2024."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,\u003c/emph\u003e contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries C: Materials for the NASA Film \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eBeyond Our Sun\u003c/title\u003e by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,\u003c/emph\u003e  encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003clist\u003e\n\u003chead\u003eThe following are common acronyms found in the collection:\u003c/head\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eNASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eGSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eIRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eSAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eTIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eAPT - Automatic Picture Transmission\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003c/list\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. ","The colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,  contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. ","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. ","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. ","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,   encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. ","The following are common acronyms found in the collection: NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center IRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system SAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru TIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites APT - Automatic Picture Transmission"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eReproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuareproduction\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuareproduction\u003c/a\u003e. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuapublication\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuapublication\u003c/a\u003e. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_d783d9c0057b8a96d225807f9bf6ea24\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments."],"names_coll_ssim":["United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration"],"persname_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"language_ssim":["The materials in the collection are in English and French."],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":142,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:19:56.471Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c09_c01"}},{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","type":"collection","attributes":{"title":"Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","creator":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429#creator","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015","label":"Creator"}},"abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"Marjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments.","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VT/repositories_2_resources_1429.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, Papers","title_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"title_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1960-1994, n.d."],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1960-1994, n.d."],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Ms.1986.003"],"text":["Ms.1986.003","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees","The collection is open for research.","Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online.","The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. ","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. ","Her career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. ","Townsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015.","The guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).","The processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023."," Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the   National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)  from 2022 to 2024.","The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. ","The colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,  contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. ","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. ","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. ","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,   encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. ","The following are common acronyms found in the collection: NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center IRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system SAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru TIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites APT - Automatic Picture Transmission","The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments.","Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015","The materials in the collection are in English and French."],"unitid_tesim":["Ms.1986.003"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"collection_title_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"collection_ssim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"creator_ssm":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creator_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creators_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"acqinfo_ssim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers were donated to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at the Special Collections and University Archives in 1986 and 2005. An addition was donated in 2015."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["4.6 Cubic Feet 7 boxes and 1 oversize folder"],"extent_tesim":["4.6 Cubic Feet 7 boxes and 1 oversize folder"],"date_range_isim":[1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research."],"altformavail_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/collections/show/119\"\u003eSome of this collection has been digitized and is available online.\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"altformavail_heading_ssm":["Existence and Location of Copies"],"altformavail_tesim":["Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries C: Materials for the NASA Film \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eBeyond Our Sun\u003c/title\u003e by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. \u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. ","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. "],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eHer career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eTownsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. ","Her career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. ","Townsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (\u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\"\u003ehttps://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["Rights Statement for Archival Description"],"odd_tesim":["The guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ )."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eResearchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, Ms1986-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, Ms1986-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg width=\"200\" align=\"left\" src=\"https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/files/original/a2eeb5148408709c99f3e268e1177900.jpg\"\u003e Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.archives.gov/nhprc\"\u003e National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)\u003c/a\u003e from 2022 to 2024.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["The processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023."," Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the   National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)  from 2022 to 2024."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,\u003c/emph\u003e contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries C: Materials for the NASA Film \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eBeyond Our Sun\u003c/title\u003e by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,\u003c/emph\u003e  encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003clist\u003e\n\u003chead\u003eThe following are common acronyms found in the collection:\u003c/head\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eNASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eGSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eIRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eSAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eTIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eAPT - Automatic Picture Transmission\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003c/list\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. ","The colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,  contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. ","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. ","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. ","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,   encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. ","The following are common acronyms found in the collection: NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center IRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system SAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru TIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites APT - Automatic Picture Transmission"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eReproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuareproduction\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuareproduction\u003c/a\u003e. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuapublication\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuapublication\u003c/a\u003e. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_d783d9c0057b8a96d225807f9bf6ea24\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments."],"names_coll_ssim":["United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration"],"persname_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"language_ssim":["The materials in the collection are in English and French."],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":142,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:19:56.471Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VT/repositories_2_resources_1429.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, Papers","title_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"title_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1960-1994, n.d."],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1960-1994, n.d."],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Ms.1986.003"],"text":["Ms.1986.003","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees","The collection is open for research.","Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online.","The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. ","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. ","Her career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. ","Townsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015.","The guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).","The processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023."," Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the   National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)  from 2022 to 2024.","The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. ","The colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,  contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. ","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. ","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. ","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,   encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. ","The following are common acronyms found in the collection: NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center IRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system SAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru TIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites APT - Automatic Picture Transmission","The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments.","Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015","The materials in the collection are in English and French."],"unitid_tesim":["Ms.1986.003"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"collection_title_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"collection_ssim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"creator_ssm":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creator_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creators_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"acqinfo_ssim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers were donated to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at the Special Collections and University Archives in 1986 and 2005. An addition was donated in 2015."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["4.6 Cubic Feet 7 boxes and 1 oversize folder"],"extent_tesim":["4.6 Cubic Feet 7 boxes and 1 oversize folder"],"date_range_isim":[1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research."],"altformavail_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/collections/show/119\"\u003eSome of this collection has been digitized and is available online.\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"altformavail_heading_ssm":["Existence and Location of Copies"],"altformavail_tesim":["Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries C: Materials for the NASA Film \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eBeyond Our Sun\u003c/title\u003e by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. \u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. ","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. "],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eHer career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eTownsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. ","Her career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. ","Townsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (\u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\"\u003ehttps://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["Rights Statement for Archival Description"],"odd_tesim":["The guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ )."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eResearchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, Ms1986-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, Ms1986-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg width=\"200\" align=\"left\" src=\"https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/files/original/a2eeb5148408709c99f3e268e1177900.jpg\"\u003e Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.archives.gov/nhprc\"\u003e National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)\u003c/a\u003e from 2022 to 2024.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["The processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023."," Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the   National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)  from 2022 to 2024."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,\u003c/emph\u003e contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries C: Materials for the NASA Film \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eBeyond Our Sun\u003c/title\u003e by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,\u003c/emph\u003e  encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003clist\u003e\n\u003chead\u003eThe following are common acronyms found in the collection:\u003c/head\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eNASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eGSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eIRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eSAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eTIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eAPT - Automatic Picture Transmission\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003c/list\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. ","The colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,  contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. ","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. ","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. ","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,   encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. ","The following are common acronyms found in the collection: NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center IRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system SAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru TIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites APT - Automatic Picture Transmission"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eReproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuareproduction\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuareproduction\u003c/a\u003e. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuapublication\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuapublication\u003c/a\u003e. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_d783d9c0057b8a96d225807f9bf6ea24\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments."],"names_coll_ssim":["United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration"],"persname_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"language_ssim":["The materials in the collection are in English and French."],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":142,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:19:56.471Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429"}},{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c10","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"Publicity folder with clippings and articles about IRLS on NIMBUS 3","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c10#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c10","ref_ssm":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c10"],"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c10","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02","parent_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02","parent_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials"],"text":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials","Publicity folder with clippings and articles about IRLS on NIMBUS 3","box 1","folder 59"],"title_filing_ssi":"Publicity folder with clippings and articles about IRLS on NIMBUS 3","title_ssm":["Publicity folder with clippings and articles about IRLS on NIMBUS 3"],"title_tesim":["Publicity folder with clippings and articles about IRLS on NIMBUS 3"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1966-1968"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1966/1968"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Publicity folder with clippings and articles about IRLS on NIMBUS 3"],"component_level_isim":[2],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"collection_ssim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"sort_isi":71,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"date_range_isim":[1966,1967,1968],"containers_ssim":["box 1","folder 59"],"_nest_path_":"/components#1/components#9","timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:19:56.471Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VT/repositories_2_resources_1429.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, Papers","title_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"title_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1960-1994, n.d."],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1960-1994, n.d."],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Ms.1986.003"],"text":["Ms.1986.003","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees","The collection is open for research.","Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online.","The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. ","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. ","Her career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. ","Townsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015.","The guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).","The processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023."," Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the   National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)  from 2022 to 2024.","The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. ","The colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,  contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. ","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. ","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. ","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,   encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. ","The following are common acronyms found in the collection: NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center IRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system SAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru TIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites APT - Automatic Picture Transmission","The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments.","Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015","The materials in the collection are in English and French."],"unitid_tesim":["Ms.1986.003"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"collection_title_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"collection_ssim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"creator_ssm":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creator_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creators_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"acqinfo_ssim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers were donated to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at the Special Collections and University Archives in 1986 and 2005. An addition was donated in 2015."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["4.6 Cubic Feet 7 boxes and 1 oversize folder"],"extent_tesim":["4.6 Cubic Feet 7 boxes and 1 oversize folder"],"date_range_isim":[1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research."],"altformavail_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/collections/show/119\"\u003eSome of this collection has been digitized and is available online.\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"altformavail_heading_ssm":["Existence and Location of Copies"],"altformavail_tesim":["Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries C: Materials for the NASA Film \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eBeyond Our Sun\u003c/title\u003e by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. \u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. ","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. "],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eHer career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eTownsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. ","Her career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. ","Townsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (\u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\"\u003ehttps://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["Rights Statement for Archival Description"],"odd_tesim":["The guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ )."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eResearchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, Ms1986-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, Ms1986-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg width=\"200\" align=\"left\" src=\"https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/files/original/a2eeb5148408709c99f3e268e1177900.jpg\"\u003e Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.archives.gov/nhprc\"\u003e National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)\u003c/a\u003e from 2022 to 2024.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["The processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023."," Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the   National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)  from 2022 to 2024."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,\u003c/emph\u003e contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries C: Materials for the NASA Film \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eBeyond Our Sun\u003c/title\u003e by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,\u003c/emph\u003e  encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003clist\u003e\n\u003chead\u003eThe following are common acronyms found in the collection:\u003c/head\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eNASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eGSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eIRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eSAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eTIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eAPT - Automatic Picture Transmission\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003c/list\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. ","The colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,  contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. ","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. ","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. ","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,   encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. ","The following are common acronyms found in the collection: NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center IRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system SAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru TIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites APT - Automatic Picture Transmission"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eReproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuareproduction\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuareproduction\u003c/a\u003e. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuapublication\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuapublication\u003c/a\u003e. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_d783d9c0057b8a96d225807f9bf6ea24\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments."],"names_coll_ssim":["United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration"],"persname_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"language_ssim":["The materials in the collection are in English and French."],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":142,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:19:56.471Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02_c10"}},{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02","type":"Series","attributes":{"title":"Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02","ref_ssm":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02"],"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","parent_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","parent_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"text":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials"],"title_filing_ssi":"Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials","title_ssm":["Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials"],"title_tesim":["Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1961-1994, n.d."],"normalized_date_ssm":["1961/1994"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials"],"component_level_isim":[1],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"collection_ssim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":56,"level_ssm":["Series"],"level_ssim":["Series"],"sort_isi":43,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"date_range_isim":[1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994],"_nest_path_":"/components#1","timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:19:56.471Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VT/repositories_2_resources_1429.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, Papers","title_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"title_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1960-1994, n.d."],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1960-1994, n.d."],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Ms.1986.003"],"text":["Ms.1986.003","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees","The collection is open for research.","Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online.","The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. ","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. ","Her career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. ","Townsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015.","The guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).","The processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023."," Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the   National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)  from 2022 to 2024.","The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. ","The colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,  contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. ","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. ","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. ","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,   encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. ","The following are common acronyms found in the collection: NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center IRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system SAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru TIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites APT - Automatic Picture Transmission","The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments.","Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015","The materials in the collection are in English and French."],"unitid_tesim":["Ms.1986.003"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"collection_title_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"collection_ssim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"creator_ssm":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creator_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creators_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"acqinfo_ssim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers were donated to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at the Special Collections and University Archives in 1986 and 2005. An addition was donated in 2015."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["4.6 Cubic Feet 7 boxes and 1 oversize folder"],"extent_tesim":["4.6 Cubic Feet 7 boxes and 1 oversize folder"],"date_range_isim":[1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research."],"altformavail_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/collections/show/119\"\u003eSome of this collection has been digitized and is available online.\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"altformavail_heading_ssm":["Existence and Location of Copies"],"altformavail_tesim":["Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries C: Materials for the NASA Film \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eBeyond Our Sun\u003c/title\u003e by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. \u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. ","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. "],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eHer career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eTownsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. ","Her career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. ","Townsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (\u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\"\u003ehttps://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["Rights Statement for Archival Description"],"odd_tesim":["The guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ )."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eResearchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, Ms1986-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, Ms1986-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg width=\"200\" align=\"left\" src=\"https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/files/original/a2eeb5148408709c99f3e268e1177900.jpg\"\u003e Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.archives.gov/nhprc\"\u003e National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)\u003c/a\u003e from 2022 to 2024.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["The processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023."," Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the   National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)  from 2022 to 2024."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,\u003c/emph\u003e contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries C: Materials for the NASA Film \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eBeyond Our Sun\u003c/title\u003e by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,\u003c/emph\u003e  encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003clist\u003e\n\u003chead\u003eThe following are common acronyms found in the collection:\u003c/head\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eNASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eGSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eIRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eSAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eTIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eAPT - Automatic Picture Transmission\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003c/list\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. ","The colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,  contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. ","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. ","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. ","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,   encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. ","The following are common acronyms found in the collection: NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center IRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system SAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru TIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites APT - Automatic Picture Transmission"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eReproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuareproduction\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuareproduction\u003c/a\u003e. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuapublication\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuapublication\u003c/a\u003e. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_d783d9c0057b8a96d225807f9bf6ea24\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments."],"names_coll_ssim":["United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration"],"persname_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"language_ssim":["The materials in the collection are in English and French."],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":142,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:19:56.471Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c02"}},{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c01","type":"Series","attributes":{"title":"Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c01#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c01","ref_ssm":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c01"],"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c01","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","parent_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","parent_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"text":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film"],"title_filing_ssi":"Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film","title_ssm":["Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film"],"title_tesim":["Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1960-1985, n.d."],"normalized_date_ssm":["1960/1985"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film"],"component_level_isim":[1],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"collection_ssim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":3,"level_ssm":["Series"],"level_ssim":["Series"],"sort_isi":1,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"date_range_isim":[1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985],"_nest_path_":"/components#0","timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:19:56.471Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","ead_ssi":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_root_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","_nest_parent_":"viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VT/repositories_2_resources_1429.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, Papers","title_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"title_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1960-1994, n.d."],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1960-1994, n.d."],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["Ms.1986.003"],"text":["Ms.1986.003","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees","The collection is open for research.","Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online.","The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. ","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. ","Her career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. ","Townsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015.","The guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).","The processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023."," Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the   National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)  from 2022 to 2024.","The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. ","The colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,  contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. ","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. ","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. ","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,   encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. ","The following are common acronyms found in the collection: NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center IRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system SAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru TIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites APT - Automatic Picture Transmission","The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments.","Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015","The materials in the collection are in English and French."],"unitid_tesim":["Ms.1986.003"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"collection_title_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"collection_ssim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"creator_ssm":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creator_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"creators_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"acqinfo_ssim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers were donated to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at the Special Collections and University Archives in 1986 and 2005. An addition was donated in 2015."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","Science and Technology","Women -- History","Aerospace engineers","United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["4.6 Cubic Feet 7 boxes and 1 oversize folder"],"extent_tesim":["4.6 Cubic Feet 7 boxes and 1 oversize folder"],"date_range_isim":[1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research."],"altformavail_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/collections/show/119\"\u003eSome of this collection has been digitized and is available online.\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"altformavail_heading_ssm":["Existence and Location of Copies"],"altformavail_tesim":["Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries C: Materials for the NASA Film \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eBeyond Our Sun\u003c/title\u003e by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. \u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers are arranged in two series. There are areas of overlap between these two series, especially in regards to NASA. ","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d., is divided into subseries by subject.","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., which is in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., is divided by subject and arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end.","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d., is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together and undated materials at the end. "],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eHer career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eTownsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend, born in 1930, entered George Washington University engineering program at the age of 15. She took classes part time and worked full time after her marriage to doctor Charles Townsend in 1948, and was the first woman to earn an engineering degree at GWU, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. ","Her career began with eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked on sonar research. In 1959 she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked until 1980. Noted for her project management skills, Townsend oversaw three satellite launches from foreign locations. She was project manager for all three Small Astronomy Satellites (1966-1975) and for the Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976). She was granted a patent for a digital telemetry system that was aboard the NIMBUS satellite. Her last five years at NASA included responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. After her retirement, Townsend worked for private aerospace companies and provided consulting services to NASA and other aerospace entities. ","Townsend was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1971 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1980. She was also named Knight of the Italian Republic Order in 1972. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and served as a chair of the Washington chapter. She also served as chairman of the National Capital Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences. ","Marjorie Rhodes Townsend died in 2015."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (\u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\"\u003ehttps://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["Rights Statement for Archival Description"],"odd_tesim":["The guide to the  Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ )."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eResearchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, Ms1986-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, Ms1986-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg width=\"200\" align=\"left\" src=\"https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/files/original/a2eeb5148408709c99f3e268e1177900.jpg\"\u003e Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.archives.gov/nhprc\"\u003e National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)\u003c/a\u003e from 2022 to 2024.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["The processing, arrangement and description of the Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers began in December 2005 and was completed in March 2006. An addition was integrated and the description updated in June 2023."," Part of the processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, \"Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech,\" funded by the   National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)  from 2022 to 2024."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,\u003c/emph\u003e contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSubseries C: Materials for the NASA Film \u003ctitle render=\"italic\"\u003eBeyond Our Sun\u003c/title\u003e by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,\u003c/emph\u003e  encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\u003clist\u003e\n\u003chead\u003eThe following are common acronyms found in the collection:\u003c/head\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eNASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eGSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eIRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eSAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eTIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003citem\u003eAPT - Automatic Picture Transmission\u003c/item\u003e\n\u003c/list\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on Townsend's professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and her later consulting work. The bulk includes correspondence with scientists, notes from staff meetings, documentation about the NASA projects she worked on, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also drafts of speeches (mostly to engineering, student, and women's professional groups) and newspaper and magazine articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments. ","The colleciton is divided into the following series and subseries:","Series I: Personal Data, Presentations, and NASA Film, 1960-1985, n.d.,  contains three subseries of records documenting Townsend's accomplishments, her presentations given to professional, civic, and student groups, and script drafts for a film about space in which she was involved. ","Subseries A: Personal Data, 1965-1985, n.d., contains her curriculum vitae and photos and clippings about her accomplishments. ","Subseries B: Presentations for NASA and for the Public, 1960-1983, n.d., contains correspondence and notes or entire texts of presentations that she presented at engineering conferences, science lectures, student classes, and meetings of womens' professional groups. ","Subseries C: Materials for the NASA Film  Beyond Our Sun  by John Larry Washburn, 1969-1972, includes four drafts of the script for the educational film made for NASA by Washburn. The collection is in chronological order.","Series II: NASA and Spacecraft Materials, 1961-1994, n.d.,   encompasses materials from her work at NASA and some consulting work thereafter. It is arranged in chronological order, with a few exceptions to keep related project materials together. ","The following are common acronyms found in the collection: NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center IRLS - Interrogation, Recording and Location System, the first space data collection system SAS - acronym for all three Small Astronomy Satellites, known as A, B, and C, and the first of which was called Uhuru TIROS - Television InfraRed Observation Satellites APT - Automatic Picture Transmission"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eReproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuareproduction\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuareproduction\u003c/a\u003e. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/scuapublication\"\u003ehttp://bit.ly/scuapublication\u003c/a\u003e. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. ","Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form:  http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form:  http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_d783d9c0057b8a96d225807f9bf6ea24\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eMarjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["Marjorie Rhodes Townsend (1930-2015) was the first women to earn an engineering degree at George Washington University, receiving her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1951. After eight years at the Naval Research Laboratory, she moved to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, where she worked until 1980. Townsend was project manager for three Small Astronomy Satellites (SAS, 1966-1975) and for Applications Explorer Missions (1975-1976), and later had responsibility for all advanced mission planning for future scientific and applications satellites as well as NOAA's meteorological satellites. Townsend's papers, 1960-1994, n.d., focus on her professional career in aerospace engineering at NASA and include some of her later consulting work, mainly consisting of correspondence, meeting notes, project documents, and publications that Townsend wrote or that relate to her work. There are also materials about her numerous speaking engagements and articles about Townsend's professional accomplishments."],"names_coll_ssim":["United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"names_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"corpname_ssim":["Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration"],"persname_ssim":["Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015"],"language_ssim":["The materials in the collection are in English and French."],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":142,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-21T02:19:56.471Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_1429_c01"}}],"included":[{"type":"facet","id":"repository_ssim","attributes":{"label":"Repository","items":[{"attributes":{"label":"Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University","value":"Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University","hits":15},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026f%5Brepository%5D%5B%5D=Virginia+Polytechnic+Institute+and+State+University"}}]},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/facet/repository_ssim.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967"}},{"type":"facet","id":"collection_ssim","attributes":{"label":"Collection","items":[{"attributes":{"label":"Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","value":"Marjorie Rhodes Townsend Papers","hits":15},"links":{"remove":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967"}}]},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/facet/collection_ssim.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967"}},{"type":"facet","id":"date_range_isim","attributes":{"label":"Date range","items":[{"attributes":{"label":"1960","value":"1960","hits":3},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1960"}},{"attributes":{"label":"1961","value":"1961","hits":4},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1961"}},{"attributes":{"label":"1962","value":"1962","hits":4},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1962"}},{"attributes":{"label":"1963","value":"1963","hits":4},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1963"}},{"attributes":{"label":"1964","value":"1964","hits":4},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1964"}},{"attributes":{"label":"1965","value":"1965","hits":8},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1965"}},{"attributes":{"label":"1966","value":"1966","hits":11},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1966"}},{"attributes":{"label":"1967","value":"1967","hits":15},"links":{"remove":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967"}},{"attributes":{"label":"1968","value":"1968","hits":9},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1968"}},{"attributes":{"label":"1969","value":"1969","hits":7},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1969"}},{"attributes":{"label":"1970","value":"1970","hits":7},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1970"}}]},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/facet/date_range_isim.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967"}},{"type":"facet","id":"creator_ssim","attributes":{"label":"Creator","items":[{"attributes":{"label":"Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015","value":"Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bcreators%5D%5B%5D=Townsend%2C+Marjorie+Rhodes%2C+1930-2015\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967"}}]},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/facet/creator_ssim.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967"}},{"type":"facet","id":"names_ssim","attributes":{"label":"Names","items":[{"attributes":{"label":"Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","value":"Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026f%5Bnames%5D%5B%5D=Special+Collections+and+University+Archives%2C+Virginia+Tech"}},{"attributes":{"label":"Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015","value":"Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes, 1930-2015","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026f%5Bnames%5D%5B%5D=Townsend%2C+Marjorie+Rhodes%2C+1930-2015"}},{"attributes":{"label":"United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","value":"United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026f%5Bnames%5D%5B%5D=United+States.+National+Aeronautics+and+Space+Administration"}}]},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/facet/names_ssim.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967"}},{"type":"facet","id":"access_subjects_ssim","attributes":{"label":"Subjects","items":[{"attributes":{"label":"Aerospace engineers","value":"Aerospace engineers","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Baccess_subjects%5D%5B%5D=Aerospace+engineers\u0026f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967"}},{"attributes":{"label":"Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","value":"Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Baccess_subjects%5D%5B%5D=Archives+of+American+Aerospace+Exploration+%28AAAE%29\u0026f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967"}},{"attributes":{"label":"Science and Technology","value":"Science and Technology","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Baccess_subjects%5D%5B%5D=Science+and+Technology\u0026f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967"}},{"attributes":{"label":"United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees","value":"United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Baccess_subjects%5D%5B%5D=United+States+--+National+Aeronautics+and+Space+Administration+--+Officials+and+employees\u0026f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967"}},{"attributes":{"label":"Women -- History","value":"Women -- History","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Baccess_subjects%5D%5B%5D=Women+--+History\u0026f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967"}}]},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/facet/access_subjects_ssim.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967"}},{"type":"facet","id":"level_ssim","attributes":{"label":"Level","items":[{"attributes":{"label":"Collection","value":"Collection","hits":1},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=Collection"}},{"attributes":{"label":"File","value":"File","hits":10},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=File"}},{"attributes":{"label":"Series","value":"Series","hits":2},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=Series"}},{"attributes":{"label":"Subseries","value":"Subseries","hits":2},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=Subseries"}}]},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/facet/level_ssim.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967"}},{"type":"search_field","id":"all_fields","attributes":{"label":"All Fields"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026search_field=all_fields"}},{"type":"search_field","id":"keyword","attributes":{"label":"Keyword"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026search_field=keyword"}},{"type":"search_field","id":"name","attributes":{"label":"Name"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026search_field=name"}},{"type":"search_field","id":"place","attributes":{"label":"Place"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026search_field=place"}},{"type":"search_field","id":"subject","attributes":{"label":"Subject"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026search_field=subject"}},{"type":"search_field","id":"title","attributes":{"label":"Title"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026search_field=title"}},{"type":"search_field","id":"container","attributes":{"label":"Container"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026search_field=container"}},{"type":"search_field","id":"identifier","attributes":{"label":"Identifier"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026search_field=identifier"}},{"type":"sort","id":"score desc, title_sort asc","attributes":{"label":"relevance"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026sort=score+desc%2C+title_sort+asc"}},{"type":"sort","id":"date_sort asc","attributes":{"label":"date (ascending)"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026sort=date_sort+asc"}},{"type":"sort","id":"date_sort desc","attributes":{"label":"date (descending)"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026sort=date_sort+desc"}},{"type":"sort","id":"creator_sort asc","attributes":{"label":"creator (A-Z)"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026sort=creator_sort+asc"}},{"type":"sort","id":"creator_sort desc","attributes":{"label":"creator (Z-A)"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026sort=creator_sort+desc"}},{"type":"sort","id":"title_sort asc","attributes":{"label":"title (A-Z)"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026sort=title_sort+asc"}},{"type":"sort","id":"title_sort desc","attributes":{"label":"title (Z-A)"},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=Marjorie+Rhodes+Townsend+Papers\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1967\u0026sort=title_sort+desc"}}]}