Mary Sherman Morgan

Mary Sherman Morgan (November 4, 1921 – August 4, 2004) was an American rocket fuel scientist credited with the invention of the liquid fuel Hydyne in 1957, which powered the Jupiter-C rocket that boosted the United States' first satellite, Explorer 1. She hadn't attended any form of schooling until 9 years of age. In 1939, she graduated as her high school's valedictorian. From these accolades, she was awarded a scholarship for college. She then enrolled at DeSales College in Toledo, Ohio, as a chemistry major.

While working at North American Aviation, she met her future husband, George Richard "Red" Morgan, a Mechanical Engineer who had graduated from Caltech. Together, they had four children – George, Stephen, Monica, and Karen. and Hydyne subsequently powered three Jupiter C nose cone test flights.

In 1957, the Soviet Union and the United States had set a goal of placing satellites into Earth orbit as part of a worldwide scientific celebration, known as the International Geophysical Year. In this endeavor, the United States' effort was called Project Vanguard.

Proposed fuel name As Hydyne-LOX (liquid oxygen) was the fuel combination used for the Redstone rocket, Morgan whimsically suggested naming her new fuel formulation "Bagel", since the rocket's propellant combination would then be called Bagel and Lox.