Jesco Hans Heinrich Max Freiherr von Puttkamer () was a German-American

aerospace engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

, senior manager at

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, succeedi ...

, and a pulp

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

writer. He was an advocate of

human space exploration Human spaceflight (also referred to as manned spaceflight or crewed spaceflight) is spaceflight with a crew or passengers aboard a spacecraft, often with the spacecraft being operated directly by the onboard human crew. Spacecraft can also b ...

, and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (

SETI The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is a collective term for scientific searches for intelligent extraterrestrial life, for example, monitoring electromagnetic radiation for signs of transmissions from civilizations on other p ...

). While at NASA, he served as the program manager in charge of long-range planning of deep space crewed activities (flights beyond Earth orbit). He was regarded as an expert on the

Russian space program The State Space Corporation "Roscosmos" (russian: Государственная корпорация по космической деятельности «Роскосмос»), commonly known simply as Roscosmos (russian: Роскосмос) ...

. Puttkamer assisted with daily on-orbit operations at NASA from 2009 until 2012. His was given the nickname ''Jessie'' by

DeForest Kelley Jackson DeForest Kelley (January 20, 1920 – June 11, 1999), known to colleagues as "Dee", was an American actor, screenwriter, poet, and singer. He was known for his roles in Westerns and as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy of the in the televisi ...

, whom Puttkammer called ''Dee''. He died of a sudden flu-like illness on 27 December 2012.

Early life

He was born, in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

, to the German noble Puttkamer family with the titular rank of baron (). According to family tradition, each firstborn Puttkamer son is given the forename Jesco. Puttkamer finished high school in

Konstanz Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was ...

, and studied

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, ...

at the ''Technische Hochschule'' (

RWTH Aachen University RWTH Aachen University (), also known as North Rhine-Westphalia Technical University of Aachen, Rhine-Westphalia Technical University of Aachen, Technical University of Aachen, University of Aachen, or ''Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hoch ...

) in Aachen.

Career

In 1962, Puttkamer left Germany for the United States, where he was recruited into

Wernher von Braun Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun ( , ; 23 March 191216 June 1977) was a German and American aerospace engineer and space architect. He was a member of the Nazi Party and Allgemeine SS, as well as the leading figure in the develop ...

's rocket team at the

Marshall Space Flight Center The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), located in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama ( Huntsville postal address), is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. As the largest NASA center, MSFC's first ...

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...

. He was a senior engineer on the Apollo program. His supervisor at Marshall was Ernst Geissler. He was granted

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

citizenship in 1967. Puttkammer was a consultant and technical advisor for '' Star Trek: The Motion Picture'' (1979), contributing the hypothetical theory behind the

faster-than-light Faster-than-light (also FTL, superluminal or supercausal) travel and communication are the conjectural propagation of matter or information faster than the speed of light (). The special theory of relativity implies that only particles with zero ...

space

warp drive A warp drive or a drive enabling space warp is a fictional superluminal spacecraft propulsion system in many science fiction works, most notably ''Star Trek'', and a subject of ongoing physics research. The general concept of "warp drive" was i ...

, and the wormhole effect featured in the film. From 1985 to 2000, he lectured at FH Aachen as an

Honorary Professor Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...

. In 1995, Puttkamer was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Philosophy by

Saarland University Saarland University (german: Universität des Saarlandes, ) is a public research university located in Saarbrücken, the capital of the German state of Saarland. It was founded in 1948 in Homburg in co-operation with France and is organized in si ...

for his pioneering contributions to the understanding of space flight. He was a frequent consultant to President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

during the implementation of the president's

Vision for Space Exploration Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...

. Puttkamer said that among his most treasured achievements at NASA were: his contributions to the Apollo program; the

lunar landing A Moon landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. This includes both crewed and robotic missions. The first human-made object to touch the Moon was the Soviet Union's Luna 2, on 13 September 1959. The United St ...

in 1969, which fulfilled President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

's mandate; and recovering America's experimental space station

Skylab Skylab was the first United States space station, launched by NASA, occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. It was operated by three separate three-astronaut crews: Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and Skylab 4. Major operation ...

after its disastrous launch into orbit on 14 May 1973. He often spoke of "rescuing" the backup

from being scrapped, so it could be publicly displayed in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. An interview of Puttkamer by Jörg Weigand was published in ''

Perry Rhodan ''Perry Rhodan'' is a West German/German space opera franchise, named after its hero. It commenced in 1961 and has been ongoing for decades, written by an ever-changing team of authors. Having sold approximately two billion copies (in novella f ...

,'' Issue 2302. He was a guest on

ZDF ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...

's ''Nachtstudio'' in 2009. The episode, hosted by Volker Panzer, titled "Moonstruck", was a retrospective on German contributions to space exploration, and focused heavily on the Apollo moon landing.

Writing

Puttkamer was the author of more than a dozen books on space flight. He also wrote many

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

which were published by German

pulp magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazin ...

s, notably Pabel's ''Utopia Sonderband'' (with volume #3 renamed to ''Utopia SF Magazin'') (1956–57) and Moewig's ''

Terra Terra may often refer to: * Terra (mythology), primeval Roman goddess * An alternate name for planet Earth, as well as the Latin name for the planet Terra may also refer to: Geography Astronomy * Terra (satellite), a multi-national NASA scienti ...

'' and ''Terra Astra'' (1960–61). His stories have been reprinted frequently since. He also published several serialized essays from 1964 to 1969 for a number of German magazines. His stories, originally published in ''Utopia SF Magazin'', were collected in ''Elektronengehirne, Wurmlöcher und Weltmodelle'' (December 1985) along with six new stories. The collection was released as part of the ''Utopia Classics'' series. The story "The Sleeping God" was collected in the anthology '' Star Trek: The New Voyages 2'', along with an introduction by Puttkamer where he explains science fiction, like ''Star Trek'', humanizes space, making it "more understandable for the young in mind." His German-language memoir and essay of the

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, a ...

lunar landing, "Apollo 11: Ausflug in die Mondwelt," was reissued in a Chinese translation in 1982, in Beijing. A revised edition of the essay was included in his book, ''Abenteuer Apollo 11'', released on the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission.

Awards and honors

* Puttkamer was awarded with numerous accolades while at NASA, among them the Exceptional Service Medal (2004), for outstanding services by a civilian, followed by the NASA Honor Award, for advancing American-Russian cooperation in space flight, in 2007. * In December 2008, Puttkamer was honored with the "

Distinguished German-American of the Year The German-American Heritage Foundation of the USA (GAHFUSA) is a national non-profit organization that promotes the German language, culture, and heritage in the United States and works toward preserving the history of Americans of German ancest ...

" award by the German-American Heritage Foundation of the USA (GAHF). * Asteroid

266725 Vonputtkamer __NOTOC__ Year 667 ( DCLXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 667 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar ...

, discovered by

Matthias Busch This is a list of minor-planet discoverers credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of one or several minor planets (such as near-Earth and main-belt asteroids, Jupiter trojans and distant objects). , the discovery of 612,011 nu ...

and

Rainer Kresken This is a list of minor-planet discoverers credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of one or several minor planets (such as near-Earth and main-belt asteroids, Jupiter trojans and distant objects). , the discovery of 612,011 nu ...

at the ESA Optical Ground Station in 2009, was named in his honor. The official was published by the

Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Function ...

on 12 October 2011 ().

Bibliography

The following bibliography is incomplete:

Novels and novellas

* ''Der Unheimliche vom anderen Stern'' (June 1958), Pabel. Originally published by Dörnersche Verlagsgesellschaft (1957). * ''Das unsterbliche Universum'' (24 June 1960), with

Clark Darlton Walter Ernsting (13 June 1920 – 15 January 2005) was a German science fiction and fantasy author who mainly published under the pseudonym Clark Darlton. He grew up in Koblenz and was drafted into the German Wehrmacht shortly after the begin ...

, ''Terra Astra'' #123 (Moewig). Originally published by Belowa (1959). * ''Galaxis ahoi!'' (12 August 1960), ''Terra'' #131 (Moewig). Originally published by Dörnersche Verlagsgesellschaft (1959). * ''Das Zeit-Manuskript'' (15 September 1961), ''Terra'' #191 (Moewig). Originally published by Balowa (1960). * ''Die Reise des schlafenden Gottes'' (19 February 1960), ''Terra Sonderband'' #25 (Moewig). * ''Die sechste Phase'' (27 October 1961), ''Terra'' #197 (Moewig). Originally published by Belowa (1961). * ''Elektronengehirne, Wurmlöcher und Weltmodelle'' (December 1985), Jesco von Puttkamer, ''Utopia Classics'' #84 (Moewig) .

Short fiction

* "Der integrierende Faktor" (1956) ''Utopia Sonderband'' #2 (Pabel). * "Zu jung für die Ewigkeit" (1956) ''Utopia Science Fiction Magazin'' #3 (Pabel). * "Wer zuletzt lacht" (1956), ''Utopia Science Fiction Magazin'' #4 (Pabel). * "Heldentod" (September 1956) ''Utopia Science Fiction Magazin'' #9 (Pabel). * "The Sleeping God," '' Star Trek: The New Voyages 2'' (January 1978),

Sondra Marshak Sondra Marshak (née Hassan; born June 15, 1942) is an American science-fiction writer. She is most well known for her work co-written with Myrna Culbreath. She was a co-writer of ''Star Trek Lives!'' (1975), with Jacqueline Lichtenberg, and tele ...

and

Myrna Culbreath Myrna Lou Culbreath (born September 1, 1938) is an American science fiction writer and editor, most well known for the ''Star Trek'' tie-in novels and anthologies cowritten with Sondra Marshak. Culbreath was a founding editor of the libertarian e ...

, eds.,

Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. ...

. * "Am Ende der Zukunft," ''Beteigeuze'' (June 1981), Thomas Le Blanc, ed., ''Goldmann SF #23385'' ( Goldmann) . * "Danke für den Tip!," ''Science Fiction Almanach 1983'' (December 1982), H. J. Alpers, ed., ''Moewig SF #3603'' (Moewig) . * "Bestimmung," ''Elektronengehirne, Wurmlöcher und Weltmodelle'' (December 1985), Jesco von Puttkamer, ed., ''Utopia Classics #84''

Nonfiction

* ''Apollo 8, Aufbruch ins All'' (1969), Heyne (Heyne Sachbuch #130). * ''Jahrtausendprojekt Mars: Chance und Schicksal der Menschheit'' (1996), Langen-Müller . * ''Abenteuer Apollo 11: von der Mondlandung zur Erkundung des Mars'' (22 June 2009), Herbig .

References

External links

*
Homepage des Verbandes des Geschlechtes v.Puttkamer
(in German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Puttkamer, Jesco von Jesco Rocket scientists">Puttkamer family">Jesco Rocket scientists NASA people German aerospace engineers German emigrants to the United States Engineers from Leipzig RWTH Aachen University alumni American aerospace engineers 1933 births 2012 deaths Star Trek fiction writers German science fiction writers German science writers Apollo program People with acquired American citizenship