John Mengel, Former Director of Tracking and Data Systems Dies

John T. Mengel, Sr., former Director of Tracking and Data Systems at Goddard, died on October 22, 2003, in Davis, California after a long illness. He was 85.

"Jack" Mengel taught physics at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa from 1939 to 1940 and then worked for General Electric for two years as a test engineer for vacuum tubes. Mengel then developed and evaluated special detection devices at the Bureau of Ships were he was employed from 1942 to 1946. He joined the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in 1946 developing rocket telemetry and control systems and later becoming head of the electronic instrument section in 1947. While at NRL he and his team shot the first photo ever taken from space at an altitude greater than 100 miles, using a V-2 rocket acquired from Germany and substituting two aerial cameras for the warhead.

In 1955, Mengel became head of the tracking and guidance branch for the first U.S. space effort, Project Vanguard. He continued the Vanguard project, which developed into a worldwide tracking system, Project Vanguard Minitrack after joining Goddard in 1958. Mengel later retired in 1973. When he retired he moved to Colorado where he lived until 2001 when he moved to Davis, California.

Survivors include his wife of over 60 years, Joan Wilson Loveland of Davis, CA; brother Arthur Clayton Mengel Jr., Ballston Lake, NY; three children: Nancy Mengel Rosen (widow of Stuart) of Denver, CO, Judy Mengel Vulliet (husband: Rick) of Davis, CA, and John Thomas ("Tom") Mengel Jr. (wife: Alida Loinaz) of Centennial, CO; and four grandsons.