Norman L. Crabill (born October 28, 1926) is a retired

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

engineer. An employee of NASA since its creation in 1958, Crabill was originally employed by its predecessor

National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its assets ...

, or NACA. Over the course of his nearly 40-year career, he was recognized for numerous achievements. Crabill has written 43 publications. He was inducted into the Virginia Aviation Hall of Fame in 2003.

Education and career

Crabill earned a Bachelor of Aeronautical Engineering Degree from

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution ...

in 1949 and a Master of Aeronautical Engineering Degree from the University of Virginia in 1957. He started his professional career with NACA in 1949 at Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory working in the Pilotless Aircraft Research Division, or PARD, for the

, or NACA. He continued to work at the Langley Research Center when NACA became the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...

. He retired from NASA in 1986.

Accomplishments

Crabill had a distinguished and accomplished career as a lead engineer at NASA. He performed supersonic and transonic flight tests of aircraft configurations, and the preorbital flight tests of ECHO I and II satellites using rocket test vehicles from the 1940s through the 1960s. NASA Langley developed the world’s first communication satellite, a 100-foot inflatable balloon called Echo. Acting as a passive reflector, In 1960, Echo relayed signals around of the earth, providing the first instantaneous worldwide communications. During the early Apollo landings

Lunar Orbiter Program The Lunar Orbiter program was a series of five uncrewed lunar orbiter missions launched by the United States from 1966 through 1967. Intended to help select Apollo landing sites by mapping the Moon's surface, they provided the first photographs ...

, Crabill was head of mission integration, responsible for the overall mission design. He also selected the original sites to be photographed on the Moon. After the Lunar Orbiter program, the Viking Project made history when it became the first U.S. mission to land a spacecraft safely on the surface of Mars and return images of the surface, with Crabill serving as the Mission Analysis and Design Manager. After Viking, Crabill initiated a project to use airliner

flight recorder A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to as a "black box", an outdated name which has b ...

magnetic tapes to derive statistical measurements. Crabill also developed and managed the Langley Storm Hazards Program. In this program, he researched the effects of heavy precipitation, wind shear, turbulence, and lightning on aircraft, and devised standards for the prediction, detection, operating procedures, and design criteria in response to these weather incidents.

Patents

Crabill holds patents for a rocket vehicle control system and an automated weather system for pilots.

Awards and honors

In 2001, Crabill was honored with the Virginia Aeronautical Historical Society Judge Spain Leadership Award, and in 2008 he was inducted into Virginia Aeronautical Historical Society's Hall of Fame. In 2003, he was inducted into the Virginia Aviation Hall of Fame in 2003. As chairman of the historical marker committee of the Virginia Aeronautical Historical Society, Crabill's historical research led to the recognition of

Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perform ...

as Virginia's oldest continuously operating airfield, and was responsible for it gaining statewide acknowledgement on highway markers and in a ceremony. In 2003, Crabill's company, ViGYAN, Inc. was given the 100 Award by ''

R&D Magazine Advantage Business Marketing (ABM) was a private American digital marketing and information services company owned by the venture capital firm Owner Resource Group. The company was founded in 2006 and was based in Rockaway, New Jersey, United Stat ...

'' for its Pilot Weather Advisor System. Crabill invented the system.(2003) "ViGYAN Wins R&D 100 Award"
Researcher News
', NASA.

Bibliography

Crabill wrote dozens of publications. They included the following. * ''Virginia Airports: A Historical Survey of Airports and Aviation from the Earliest Days.'' with Vera Foster Rollo, Ph.D. *
Virginia Aviation History Project Report
, Virginia Aviation History Project.
"The NACA Wallops Experience 1945-1950"
Virginia Aviation History Project.
"South Norfolk Airport"
Virginia Aviation History Project.
"The NASA F53"
Virginia Aviation History Project.
"Jim Hall: From Cubs to Mosquitoes to NACA and NASA"
Virginia Aviation History Project. * ''Lift, Drag, Static Stability, and Buffet Boundaries of a Model of the McDonnell F3h-1N Airplane at Mach Numbers from 0.40 to 1.27, Ted No. NACA de 351.'' (2013) BiblioGov. * ''Pilot's Automated Weather Support System (PAWSS) Concepts Demonstration Project. Phase 1. Pilot's Weather Information Requirements and Implications for Weather Data Systems Design''. (1991).

External links

* (January 2012)
Normal L. Crabill Resume
" NASA. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
"Norm Crabill"
a feature video about Crabill by the Virginia Aviation Historical Society.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crabill, Norman 1926 births Living people Scientists from Washington, D.C. American aerospace engineers Catholic University of America alumni University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni NASA people