PROGRAMS:

COMPANIES:

• NASA

LOCATIONS:

• Langley, VA
• Houston, TX
• Washington, DC

POSITIONS:

• Manager, Gemini Program Office (1963-1966)
• Deputy Associate Administrator, OMSF (1968-1971)
• Associate Administrator, Office of Applications (1971-1976)

COMMENTS:

NASA JOHNSON SPACE CENTER ORAL H ISTORY PROJECT
BIOGRAPHICAL D ATA SHEET
NAME: Charles W. Mathews
O RAL H ISTORY: 1 May 1998
25 February 1999
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND:
BS in Aeronautical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY (1942)
PRE-NASA E XPERIENCE:
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory,
Langley Field, VA (1943-1958)
• Aeronautical Engineer (1943-1947)
• Assistant Head, Stability and Control Section, Flight Research Division (1947-1958)
NASA EXPERIENCE:
NASA Space Task Group, Langley Field, VA (1958-1962)
• Aeronautical Research Scientist, Stability and Control (1958-1959)
• Chief, Operations Division (1959-1962)
NASA Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, TX
• Chief, Spacecraft Technology Division (1962-1963)
• Deputy Assistant Director, Engineering and Development (1963)
• Manager, Gemini Program Office (1963-1966)
NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC (1966-1976)
• Director, Apollo Applications Program, Office of Manned Space Flight (OMSF)
(1966-1968)
• Deputy Associate Administrator, OMSF (1968-1971)
• Associate Administrator, Office of Applications (1971-1976)
• Retired (1976)
POST-NASA E XPERIENCE:
NASA Alumni League
• President
AWARDS & CITATIONS :
• Associate Member, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
• NASA Exceptional Service Award, 1965
• Selected “Man-of-the Year,” 1964-1965, of the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics, Houston Chapter, 1965
• National Space Club Astronautics Engineer Award, 1966
• NASA Distinguished Service Medal, 1966
Johnson Space Center Oral History Project Charles W. Mathews
• NASA Distinguished Service Medal, 1969
SELECT PUBLICATIONS & PATENTS :
J. R. Thompson and C. W. Mathews. “Drag Measurements at Transonic Speeds on a Freely
Falling Body.” NACA Advisory Conference Report. L5E03. May 1945.
C. W. Mathews and J. R. Thompson. “Comparative Drag Measurements at Transonic Speeds of
Straight and Sweptback NACA 65-009 Airfoils Mounted on a Freely Falling Body.”
NACA Memorandum Report L5G23a, July 1945. Released in 1949 as TR 988.
Charles W. Mathews. “The Space Shuttle and Its Uses.” Aeronautical Journal 76 (January 1972):
19-25.
Charles W. Mathews. “American Space Station Activities.” Aeronautical Journal 76 (February
1972): 83-96.
REFERENCES :
Charles W. Mathews NASA Biographical Data Sheet (October 1967), Charles W. Mathews
Biographical File, History Collection, Scientific and Technical Information Center, NASA
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX.
Adam Bernstein, “Charles Mathews, 80; Held Top NASA Posts [obituary],” Washington
Post, 28 September 2001, B07.
BIOGRAPHICAL DATA SHEET CREATED: 1 OCTOBER 1997