SLAS Regular Meeting
May 16
7:30 pm

Rendezvous In Space: Building The Gemini Spacecraft

by

Nelson Weber
Aerospace Engineer, retired
McDonnell Corporation

Ten successful manned Gemini spacecraft, each with two astronauts aboard, were launched by NASA between March 1965 and November 1966. The Gemini missions played a major part of the race to the Moon that culminated in six successful Apollo lunar landing missions during 1969 to 1972. The Gemini spacecraft were designed to develop U.S. capability for longer duration spaceflight, rendezvous and docking in orbit, and safe and precise re-entry on the return from orbit. They were built by the Saint Louis-based McDonnell Corporation.

Nelson Weber worked on the fuel cell system, which provided the electrical power for the spacecraft. He was part of the engineering team that designed and perfected this first maneuverable spacecraft of the NASA fleet. Mr. Weber also worked with the Skylab orbiting spacelab program, after the conclusion of the lunar landings. He will relate, from an insider?s point of view, what it was like to be in the middle of the Space Race. Mr. Weber retired from McDonnell Douglas in 1994 to become a consultant for aerospace engineering projects of commercial and military industry.

Full Biography for Nelson Weber

Background:
Over 45 years of engineering experience in design, manufacturing, and management, including introducing and implementing ‘new’ techniques.

Key Skills:
·Design For Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) implementation – via training and workshops.
·Design for Six Sigma Manufacturing techniques.
·Design for Servicing techniques.
·Implementing new ways of doing business.
·Using the ‘Team Approach’ by forming and leading design teams.
·Conceptual design.
·Process and Product improvement
·Key Characteristics.
·Benchmarking
·Process Capability
·Facilitating ‘Brainstorming’ Sessions
·Using Non-Traditional Costing Techniques

Education, Achievements:
·BSME, University of Missouri
·Licensed Professional Engineer – States of Missouri and Illinois.
·Authored, presented, and published numerous papers on Design-For-Manufacturing-And-Assembly.

Summary:

Nelson Weber is recognized nationally and internationally as a leader on implementation of Design For Manufacturing & Assembly (DFMA), having provided many lectures to various industries, organizations, and universities on this subject. He has authored articles and been the subject of numerous published articles about DFMA.

Nelson has led hundreds of people through Design For Manufacturing & Assembly (DFMA) workshops, and provided training to thousands of people on the principles and benefits of applying DFMA to product designs. Participants were designers, managers, manufacturers, tooling, analysts, from prime contractors and suppliers. Participants were from diverse products (mechanical, fluid, electrical, and electronics products). DFMA has been applied to many products in the commercial and military industry.

His “we can do it” approach has resulted in hundreds of improved designs to reduce costs, reduce cycle time, reduce servicing time, reduce weight, and improve product quality.

Nelson Weber’s design change initiatives have resulted in over a billion dollars of product cost reduction spread over many industries as of 2006.

Meeting Agenda

Elections - Nominations

President - John Newcomer
Vice President - Joe Bohannon
Treasurer - Jerry Loethen
Secretary - Rich Heuermann
Hospitality - Joe McHugh
Bored Member at Large - Cook Feldman

MSRAL - June 21, St. Charles Community College

Campout With the Stars - June 27-29

Phoenix Lander Party - May 26

Year of Astronomy Workshops - May 31-June 1

Star Parties

Star-B-Q