Collections : [UCF Special Collections]

The Scott H. Simpkinson collection, 1943-1989 contains the materials Simpkinson collected during his tenure as an engineer for NASA. Materials are largely produced by NASA, and include information about the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Viking missions, as well as the Space Shuttle program. The collection also includes materials produced by outside engineering firms and Simpkinson's personal effects. These materials consist of reports, publications, photographs, and objects. This collection provides insight into the early days of NASA, key missions, and the career of Scott Simpkinson. Scott H. Simpkinson was born on August 24, 1919, in Piqua, Ohio. Simpkinson graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1943 and was subsequently employed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), then the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), as an engineer from the 1950s until his retirement in the early 1980s. Simpkinson worked on the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Viking missions, as well as the Space Shuttle. Scott Simpkinson died on August 8, 1996.

The Wagar Space collection, 1944-1986 represents the interests of Commander Howard Wagar, from the 1940s to the 1980s. His main collecting interest was the space program, for which he collected periodicals, newspaper clippings, public relations materials, photographs, and prints. Subjects include the Apollo missions, the lunar module landing, the Skylab and Viking projects, Mars, the Russian Space Program, and astronauts. The collection also includes information about events such as the post World War II atomic bomb tests, the rise of Fidel Castro to power in Cuba, and the assassination of U.S President John F. Kennedy. This collection provides insight into International space program activities. Commander Howard Wagar was born in Fairmont, Minnesota in 1906. He moved to New Jersey in the 1920s, where he worked for WAAM radio station in Newark. He received his radio operators liscense in 1928 and worked as an operator for the merchant marines in various radio stations. Wagar joined the Navy in 1943, where he served until 1966, advancing to the rank of Commander. In the Navy, Wagar participated in sensitive Navy missions, including the Bikini Atoll atomic bomb tests, the Atlas Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Project, and the Apollo Space Project.