Jack James

Jack N. James (center), JPL's Mariner 4 Project Manager, with a group in the White House presenting the spacecraft's famous picture Number 11 of Mars to US President Lyndon B. Johnson (center right) in July 1965.

Jack Norval James (November 22, 1920 – August 7, 2001) was a US rocket engineer who worked for over 35 years at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, USA. His work as a Project Manager for NASA's Mariner program in the 1960s included the first planetary flyby (of Venus) and first photographs by a space probe of Mars. He received commendations for his work from several US Presidents, and his awards include the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal (1965) and the Stuart Ballantine Medal (1967).

Early life Jack Norval James was born on November 22, 1920, in Dallas, Texas, growing up in Oak Cliff, Dallas, where he graduated from Sunset High School in 1937. He studied at the Southern Methodist University, graduating in electrical engineering in 1942. Following apprentice work at the General Electric Company,

JPL career During his early years at the JPL, James worked on the MGM-5 Corporal and MGM-29 Sergeant guided missiles. As the work at the JPL changed from military rockets to spacecraft, he worked on the Pioneer 4 lunar probe and other missions.

For his work on the Mariner program, James was presented with a public service award from NASA, and received awards from Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.

James and his JPL colleague Robert J. Parks were presented with the Stuart Ballantine Medal (Engineering) from the Franklin Institute in 1967 for their: "Application of electromagnetic communication to the first successful reconnaissance of Mars by the Mariner IV". He was elected a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, By the time of his retirement on January 1, 1987, James had held several positions as an assistant laboratory director (ALD) at the JPL, including leading its technical divisions from 1967 to 1972. In 2011, James was included in the Southern Methodist University's list of History Makers as part of their centennial celebrations.