“To Be Sure You Will KnowWhat I'm Saying…”

HOW MANY KINDS OF RADIO existed in 1959? People listened to AM and FM. Radar had been around since World War II. “UHF” and “VHF” were terms understood by few outside of scientific circles. “TV,” although gaining popularity, was primitive. (Remember black-&-white TV?)

How many forms of radio components could the casual observer squeeze into a Mercury capsule that was no larger than a very small car?

Fortunately, NASA found engineers such as NORMAN BECKEL, and instructed him – and them – to load the capsule with at least seven radio transmitters and receivers. The move to miniaturize was ON!

Beckel was ready for the job. After graduating from Penn State (E.E., 1958), he spent the first two of his McDonnell-Douglas years preparing the F4H Phantom for flight. In February 1959, M-D assigned him to the new Mercury Manned Space Program, where he would work in the Spacecraft Communication Systems Group.

After a few months with Team Beckel on the job, the Mercury capsules were crammed with HF and UHF transceivers, UHF, S- and C-Band radar beacons, a recovery beacon, intercom and supporting antenna systems to name only a few – and the first capsule was still months from launch.

“I served as the McDonnell-Douglas communications engineer in the blockhouse for astronauts Shepard and Glenn,” said Beckel in February.

True to form, after Mercury Beckel returned to St. Louis and immediately re-started the process, this time with Project: Gemini in his role as lead communications engineer. During the Beckel years, there were no significant communication problems with Mercury nor Gemini.

Much of Beckel’s post-Gemini career involved him in classified programs, among them Gemini B and the Hexagon spy satellite. His work on the Tomahawk cruise missile rounded out his thirty-seven years with M-D. He retired in 1994 as a subcontract manager with Project: Tomahawk.