Conrad Albert 'Connie' Lau (February 8, 1921 – April 18, 1964) was an American
aeronautical
Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight–capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. The British Royal Aeronautical Society identifies ...
engineer, inventor, and executive. Lau led or contributed to the development of a number of important aircraft and spacecraft projects.
Early life
Conrad Lau was born on February 8, 1921, in
Port-of-Spain
Port of Spain (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The ...
,
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
, then part of the
British West Indies
The British West Indies (BWI) were colonized British territories in the West Indies: Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Gre ...
, to Mr. and Mrs. Egbert Lau. He had three brothers: Neil, Roy and John.
Lau attended school in Trinidad through his sophomore year at
Queen's Royal College
Queen's Royal College ( St.Clair, Trinidad), referred to for short as QRC, or "The College" by alumni, is a secondary school in Trinidad and Tobago. Originally a boarding school and grammar school, the secular college is selective and noted for ...
, transferring to the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...
in his junior year. Lau received his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1942 and his master's degree in Aeronautical Engineering in 1943.
Career at Chance Vought
Lau joined the
Chance Vought aircraft corporation upon graduation from MIT in 1943. He devoted his entire professional career to the company. He advanced from the position of Junior Aerodynamics Engineer to Director of the US Navy VAL Light Attack Aircraft program.
Lau made significant contributions to the US aircraft programs beginning with the
F4U Corsair
The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contract ...
of World War II.
Crusader aircraft
Continuing with the
F7U Cutlass
The Vought F7U Cutlass is a United States Navy carrier-based jet fighter and fighter-bomber of the early Cold War era. It was a tailless aircraft for which aerodynamic data from projects of the German Arado and Messerschmitt companies, obtaine ...
and the
F8U Crusader
The Vought F-8 Crusader (originally F8U) is a single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based air superiority jet aircraft built by Vought for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps (replacing the Vought F7U Cutlass), and for the Fr ...
aircraft, Lau directed the Vought VAL Light Attack Aircraft Program. The program was Vought's response to the US Navy's request for a light attack aircraft based on an existing design to keep costs down. Vought's design based on the F-8 Crusader won the competition and the
A-7 Corsair II
The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV).
The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design wa ...
was born. The resulting A-7 series aircraft were supplied to both the US Navy and the US Air Force. Lau was one of three people named in US
design patent
In the United States, a design patent is a form of legal protection granted to the ornamental design of an article of manufacture. Design patents are a type of industrial design rights, industrial design right. Ornamental designs of jewelry, furni ...
178,220, for the 'ornamental design' of the Crusader.
Lau was the Chief Project Engineer on the
Vought XF8U-3 Crusader III
The Vought XF8U-3 Crusader III was an aircraft developed by Vought, Chance Vought as a successor to the successful Vought F-8 Crusader program and as a competitor to the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II.Tillman 1990 Though based in spirit on the ...
.
Apollo program
With
Tom Dolan
Thomas Fitzgerald Dolan (born September 15, 1975) is an American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder.
Dolan grew up in Arlington, Virginia. He attended the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, wh ...
,
Lau played a key role in the early mission studies for the
Apollo program. They authored a critical January 1960 study, ''Technical Proposal for Manned Multi Modular Spacecraft (Project MALLAR)'', which outlined
Project MALLAR (Manned Lunar Landing and Return).
This was the first
Lunar Orbit Rendezvous
Lunar orbit rendezvous (LOR) is a process for landing humans on the Moon and returning them to Earth. It was utilized for the Apollo program missions in the 1960s and 1970s. In a LOR mission, a main spacecraft and a smaller lunar lander travel to ...
(LOR) mission profile: the Moon landing would be carried out by the very smallest lander module possible, with the main vehicle for flight to and from the Moon remaining in orbit.
The lander would then take-off from the Moon and rendezvous with the main vehicle before the crew returned to Earth. This was a change from previous '
direct ascent
Direct ascent is a method of landing a spacecraft on the Moon or another planetary surface directly, without first assembling the vehicle in Earth orbit, or carrying a separate landing vehicle into orbit around the target body. It was proposed as ...
' profiles which had landed the main vehicle on the Moon, then required the take-off of a much heavier vehicle. LOR depended on a modular spacecraft concept, as would then be used for Apollo. NASA developed this with
Command
Command may refer to:
Computing
* Command (computing), a statement in a computer language
* COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS
* Command key, a modifier key on Apple Macintosh computer keyboards
...
,
Service
Service may refer to:
Activities
* Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty
* Civil service, the body of employees of a government
* Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a p ...
and
Lunar module
The Apollo Lunar Module (LM ), originally designated the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), was the lunar lander spacecraft that was flown between lunar orbit and the Moon's surface during the United States' Apollo program. It was the first crewed ...
s. This early work by engineers like Lau helped to convince
John Houbolt
John Cornelius Houbolt (April 10, 1919 – April 15, 2014) was an aerospace engineer credited with leading the team behind the lunar orbit rendezvous (LOR) mission mode, a concept that was used to successfully land humans on the Moon and return t ...
and others that LOR was the best way to get to the moon.
Personal life and death
Lau and his wife Nancy Page Lau had three children, Conrad, Jr., Sally and Michael.
He was a charter member of the
Dallas Ski Club
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County wit ...
and the
Dallas Sailing Club
The Dallas Corinthian Yacht Club is a yacht club located in Oak Point, Texas (United States), on the shore of Lewisville Lake.
History
The club was founded as Dallas Sailing Club (DSC) in 1928 on White Rock Lake. When White Rock Lake dried up i ...
. Lau studied music in his spare time and was an accomplished guitar player.
Conrad Lau died of cancer on April 18, 1964.
Memberships
*Associate fellow of the
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of ...
*Advisory member of the NASA Committee on Aerodynamics and Aircraft Design
*Member of
Tau Beta Pi
The Tau Beta Pi Association (commonly Tau Beta Pi, , or TBP) is the oldest engineering honor society and the second oldest collegiate honor society in the United States. It honors engineering students in American universities who have shown a ...
See also
*
Apollo spacecraft feasibility study
The Apollo spacecraft feasibility study was conducted by NASA from July 1960 through May 1961 to investigate preliminary designs for a post- Project Mercury multi-crewed spacecraft to be used for possible space station, circum-lunar, lunar orbita ...
*
Yuri Kondratyuk
Yuri Vasilyevich Kondratyuk (russian: Юрий Васильевич Кондратюк; ukr, Юрій Васильович Кондратюк; 21 June 1897 – February 1942), real name Aleksandr Ignatyevich Shargei (russian: Алекса́нд� ...
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
Conrad Albert "Connie" Lau.Project MALLAR video.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lau, Conrad
1921 births
1964 deaths
American aerospace engineers
Alumni of Queen's Royal College, Trinidad
MIT School of Engineering alumni
Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to the United States
Deaths from cancer in Texas