Exploring the Unknown - NASA's History Office

Ralph Braibanti joined the Department of State in 1972 and held a number of assignments related to Latin
American and East Asian affairs before joining the State Department’s Bureau of Oceans and International
Environmental and Scientific Affairs in 1985. He currently serves as director of that bureau’s space and advanced
technology staff. See biographical sketch provided by Ralph Braibanti, NASA Historical Reference Collection.
Zbigniew Brzezinski (1928– ) served as the President Carter’s national security advisor from 1977 to 1981. See
Who’s Who in America 1996.
George E. Brown, Jr. (1920– ) (D–CA), served in the House of Representatives from January 3, 1963, to January
3, 1971, and then again from January 3, 1973, to the present. He chaired the House Committee on Science,
Space, and Technology for a number of years and currently is its ranking minority member. See Biographical
Directory of the American Congress, 1774–1996 (Alexandria, VA: CQ Staff Directories, Inc., 1997).
Ronald Brown (1941–1996) served as secretary of commerce from 1993 until his death in a plane crash. See
Who’s Who in America 1996.
David K. Bruce (1898–1977) was one of the most notable diplomats of the twentieth century. He served in World
War I, and he was admitted to the Maryland bar in 1921 before turning his attention to farming in 1928. In 1941,
he helped organize the Office of Strategic Services and later became the director of the economic cooperation
mission, charged with the task of administering the Marshall Plan. He served in several coveted ambassadorial
posts, most notably France (1948–1952), West Germany (1957–1959), Great Britain (1961–1969), and NATO
(1974–1976). He was also a representative to the Vietnam Peace Conference in Paris (1970–1971) and was liaison
officer to Communist China from 1973 to 1974. See “Bruce, David K.,” in John S. Bowman, ed., The Cambridge
Dictionary of American Biography (Cambridge, Eng.: The Cambridge University Press, 1995).
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William Casey (1913–1987) served as chief of secret intelligence in Europe for the Office of Strategic Services
during World War II. After the war, he became a wealthy businessman. From 1971 to 1975, he served successively
as the chair of the Security and Exchange Commission, as under secretary of state for economic affairs, and as
head of the Export-Import Bank. He also served on the Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board under President
Ford. He was President Reagan’s first presidential campaign manager and then served as Reagan’s director of
central intelligence until his death at the height of the Iran-Contra scandal. See “Casey, William,” biographical
file, NASA Historical Reference Collection.
Emanuel Celler (1888–1981) (D–NY) graduated from Columbia Law School in 1912 and immediately began
practicing law in New York City. During World War I, he served as an appeal agent on the draft board. Following
the war, he made a successful run for the House of Representatives in 1923 and served as a Democratic until
1973, for a time as chair of the powerful Judiciary Committee. Following his defeat in 1973, he joined a commission
to revise the federal appellate court system and, in 1975, returned to his law practice. See “Celler,
Emanuel,” in Bowman, The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography.
Arthur C. Clarke (1917– ), one of the most well-known science fiction authors, has also been an eloquent writer
on behalf of the exploration of space. In 1945, before the invention of the transistor, Clarke wrote an article
in Wireless World describing the possibility of a geosynchronous orbit and the development of communications
relays by satellite. He also wrote several novels, the most known being 2001: A Space Odyssey, based on a screenplay
of the same name that he prepared for director Stanley Kubrick. The movie is still one of the most realistic
depictions of the rigors of spaceflight ever filmed. See “Clarke, A.C.,” biographical file, NASA Historical
Reference Collection.
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