James D. Burke

James Donahue Burke (September 18, 1925 – August 19, 2023) was an American lunar settlement and exploration expert. He was known for being the first manager of the Ranger program, and considered one of the pioneers of America's space program.

Early life and career James Donahue Burke was born in Los Angeles County on September 18, 1925. He grew up in Claremont, California and graduated from Webb High School in 1942. Burke returned to Caltech to receive his MSc in aeronautics, before working for JPL in 1949.

In his time at JPL, Burke was the Vega program director,

Technical challenges led to the failure of the first six flights. Following the first five failures, Harris M. Schurmeier became project manager. The ranger program suffered an additional failure before Ranger 7 was successful.

Burke participated in many other lunar, planetary, and astrophysical projects. He was a member of the human-powered flight team that won the Kremer prize.

Outreach and education Burke was a faculty member of the International Space University from 1989.

Burke and his wife Caroline were advisers at the founding conference of the Space Generation Advisory Council during UNISPACE III in Vienna and participated in many Space Generation activities. Burke was an honorary board member of SGAC.

Burke was involved with the Planetary Society from the beginning. He was the technical editor of newsletter, "The Planetary Report" for many years.

Death James Burke died on August 19, 2023, at the age of 97.

Selected publications Burke had over 129 works in 165 publications Burke, J, Brereton, R, Muller, P. 1970," Desert Stream Channels resembling Lunar Sinuous Rilles". In Nature, Vol. 225, 23 March, pp1234–1236, (28 March 1970); doi:10.1038/2251234a0 Burke, J. 1985, "Merits of a Lunar Polar Base Location". In Mendell, W. (Ed.). Lunar Bases and Space Activities of the 21st Century, Lunar and Planetary Institute. Burke, J. 2001, "Moon". In Encyclopædia Britannica, 24th edition. Burke, J. 2008, "Moon". In McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, 10th ed.