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Jack McCaine NASA papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS 0045
Finding aid note: Stored offsite at the Library Service Center and require 24-hour notice for retrieval. Please contact the Woodson Research Center at 713-348-2586 or woodson@rice.edu for more information.

Scope and Contents

The Jack McCaine Collection consists of approximately 6.75 linear feet of newspapers, books, magazines, brochures, posters, photographs, certificates, charts, memorabilia, awards and recognitions. There is also approximately .25 linear feet in the vault.

Since most of the material covers the decade of the sixties, when the Space Center was called the Manned Spacecraft Center (the name changing to the Johnson Space Center in 1973), the early name will be used throughout the collection.

Dates

  • 1963 - 1994
  • Majority of material found within 1964 - 1979

Creator

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Access

Stored offsite at the Library Service Center and require 24-hour notice for retrieval. Please contact the Woodson Research Center at 713-348-2586 or woodson@rice.edu for more information.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish from the Jack McCaine Nasa Papers must be obtained from the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library.

Biographical Note

Jack McCaine was born in 1923 in Houston. He attended Texas A&M College prior to WWII and graduated in 1950 from the University of Houston with a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture.

He joined the Spacecraft Center Area Office, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1962. From August 1962 - January 1966, Jack McCaine was employed as project manager for the design and construction of the Mission Control Center, Buildings 30 and 48, and an addition to the Central Heating and Cooling Plant, Building 24 at the Manned Spacecraft Center. This project had an extremely tight schedule, being tied to the space program in progress. This was a first--no one had built a Mission Control Center before. He was project manager for design of Project Engineering Facility, Building 45, which is a seven-story office building. He was also manager for design of Test Operations Support Facility, Building 32A. This was an addition to the large vacuum chamber building.

In addition to the above, he handled specification-writing chores for the Area Office, plus various small projects.

From January 1966 to June 1975, he was an architect, with the Engineering Division, Manned Spacecraft Center, which became the Johnson Space Center in 1973.

Some of the projects that he was responsible for include the design of Engineering Building 17, which is a two-story office building, the design of Systems Integration and Mockup Facility, Building 9a. This is the facility (a large, air conditioned hanger) that contained the full-scale mockup of the Shuttle which visitors were allowed to visit. The West end of the facility contained a large air-bearing floor that was a first-of-its-kind.

Jack McCaine was also Project Manager for various projects such as a proposed addition to Emergency Power Building 48. While in his position, he was responsible for facility preparations for Presidential visits, astronaut returns and other events.

He also handled facility modifications for various exhibits, the museum area of Building 2 and updated and maintained construction guide specifications for JSC.

From June 1975 to December 1979, he served as a General Engineer in the Engineering Division, Nasa, Johnson Space Center. In this capacity, he was Manager of the Construction Services Contract. This contract provided day-to-day, on-site services for modifications to buildings and facilities. This included a work order system handling all types of construction tasks and employing 40 to 60 craftsmen plus superintendents, estimating and accounting support. This effort provided construction services for a wide range of tasks and normally had 200+ tasks in the system at one time.

Extent

7 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract:

Photographs, correspondence, maps, charts, and memorabilia collected by McCaine while employed at Project Manager for the Army Corps of Engineers during the construction of the Manned Space Center (Johnson Space Center), 1962-1964 and while working with NASA, 1964-1979.

Arrangement

This material is arranged in the following series:

Missing Title

  1. Series I: Publications, 1968-1994; 2.25 cu. ft. Boxes 1 - 4-a
  2. Series II: Public Affairs, 1965-1974; 0.5 cu. ft. Box 5
  3. Series III: General Photographs, 1963-1969; 0.75 cu. ft. Box 6
  4. Series IV: Construction of the Manned Spacecraft Center, 1963-1982; 0.5 cu. ft. Box 7
  5. Series V: Awards and Presentations, 1969-1979; 0 .75 cu. ft. Box 8 and Vault
  6. Series VI: Memorabilia, 1969-1979; 0 .25 cu. ft. Box 9 and Vault
  7. Series VII: Oversize, n. d.; 1.75 cu. ft. Box 10 and Drawer 34

Acqusistion Information

The collection was a gift from Jack McCaine to the Woodson Research Center at Rice University on October 15, 1991 with addendums received in 1999, 2000, and 2001.
Title
Guide to Jack McCaine NASA papers, 1963-1994, bulk dates 1964-1979
Status
Completed
Author
Sharon Link
Date
2002
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Woodson Research Center, Rice University, Houston, Texas Repository

Contact:
Fondren Library MS-44, Rice University
6100 Main St.
Houston Texas 77005 USA