Wilson, Donald E.

Administrative and Biographical History

Donald E. Wilson began his career at the NASA Ames Research Center as a member of the Entry Simulation Team (Code ESB) in 1962. From 1963 to 1971, Wilson worked in the Materials Research Branch (Code SVM) of the Vehicle and Environment Division (Code SV) under the Astronautics Directorate (Code S). It was renamed the Materials Science Branch (Code STS) and reassigned to the Thermo- and Gas-Dynamics Division (Code ST) in 1972, when the Vehicle and Environment Division, which had supported the Apollo missions, was eliminated. During the course of his materials science research, Wilson co-authored technical reports on the thermal analysis of polymeric materials, as well as a study on low temperature cooling techniques.

In August 1972, NASA headquarters chartered Ames with the lead center responsibility for the remote sensing aircraft program. The Applications Aircraft Support Program Office (AASPO), managed by Edward W. Gomersall, was established in December 1972 to provide aerial support for earth observation satellites, remote sensing applications, and damage assessments. The AASPO fleet included two U-2 aircraft, which were made available for research purposes by the U.S. Air Force and arrived at Ames in 1971. (The civilian version of U-2 aircraft was named ER-2 for earth resources.) Wilson was assigned to the Evaluation and Analysis section of the AASPO, also known as the Applications Aircraft and Future Programs Office. In 1974, Wilson assumed the role of Technical Assistant with the Thermo- and Gas-Dynamics Division.

In 1976, Wilson was assigned to the User Applications Branch (Code SEA) of the Airborne Missions and Applications Division (Code SE), headed by Dale R. Lumb. The branch was renamed the Technical Applications Branch in 1979. Ames hosted the Western Regional Remote Sensing Conference in 1979 and 1981 to aid in the transfer of operational capabilities for the utilization of remote sensing technology for earth resource management among state and local governments, private industry, and universities.

In 1979, Carter’s Presidential Directive 54 initiated the transfer of Landsat operations from NASA to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Two years later, President Reagan proposed the termination of all regional commissions, as well as reduced funding to technology transfer programs, which accelerated the commercialization of satellite operations. In response, Ames underwent a major reorganization in 1984 in which the Airborne and Missions Applications Division was removed. Wilson was transferred to the Medium Altitude Missions Branch (Code OMM) in the Science and Applications Aircraft Division (Code OM) under the Director of Flight Operations and retired on April 22, 1988.

Landsat The Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS), renamed Landsat in 1975, was equipped with remote sensors, including high resolution multispectral scanner systems (MSS), return beam vidicon (RBV) imaging systems (used on Landsat 1, 2 and 3), and thematic mapper instruments (first used on Landsat 4), designed to acquire data to categorize Earth’s surface. The first satellite, ERTS-1, was launched in 1972, and Landsat 4 was launched in 1982. Landsat is the longest running enterprise for the acquisition of imagery of the earth from space.

From the guide to the Donald E. Wilson Earth Resources Survey Program Papers, 1972-1983, (Ames Research Center, )