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Wilson Charles Erwin
Credit - NASA
Charles Erwin "Engine Charlie" Wilson American Manager. Born 18 July 1890. Died 26 September 1961.

Personal: Male. Born in USA.

Secretary of Defense under Eisenhower between 1953 and 1957, an ardent opponent of spaceflight. He had previously run GM, where he coined the phrase "What's good for General Motors is good for the country". Among his decisions was to prevent the Army's Jupiter-C missile putting a satellite into orbit before Sputnik; and favoring the Air Force's Thor missile over the Army's Jupiter (which happened to be built by GM competitor Chrysler).

Bibliography:

  • Launius, Roger D, NASA Chief Historian, NASA History Office Home Page, Web Address when accessed: http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/index.html.
  • Gray, Mike, Angle of Attack: Harrison Storms and the Race to the Moon, Penguin Reprint edition, 1994.
  • Public records,
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