Dr. Jerome Apt Papers and Photographs, c1922-2016

Arrangement

Repository
Heinz History Center
Title
Dr. Jerome Apt Papers and Photographs
Collection Number
MSS 1213
Extent
64 linear feet
Date
c1922-2016
Abstract
As a child growing up during the dawn of the national space program, Pittsburgh native Dr. Jerome "Jay" Apt (b.1949) developed an early passion for physics, flight, and space exploration of which inspired him to seek out a career with NASA.The Dr. Jerome Apt Papers and Photographs documents the professional career and personal life of astronaut Dr. Jay Apt, as well as the respective and combined members of the Apt and Frank families.
Language
The material in this collection is in English.
Author
The guide to this collection was written by Catelyn Cocuzzi.
Publisher
Heinz History Center
Address
1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org

History

Dr. Jerome "Jay" Apt

As a child growing up during the dawn of the national space program, Pittsburgh native, Dr. Jerome "Jay" Apt (b.1949) developed an early passion for physics, flight, and space exploration, which inspired him to seek out a career with NASA. In 1980, Jay Apt joined the staff of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and by 1985 was selected as an astronaut candidate. He completed the program and flew on four missions between 1991 and 1996. After spending several years in Texas while working as an astronaut, Jay resigned from NASA and relocated to Pittsburgh when he was chosen as the new Director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) in 1997. Jay's career brought him back full circle to where he was first introduced to space exploration.

As a child, Jay's interest in science was encouraged by his parents Jerry and Joan Apt. He was given an erector kit, chemistry kit, and electrical kit, took classes at the Buhl Planetarium, and watched the Echo Balloon satellite fly around the world. The budding scientist was also introduced to model rocketry as a young teenager and listened to John Glenn's 1962 Friendship 7 launch on the radio at Shadyside Academy. These moments motivated Jay to study physics in college.

While at Harvard University, Jay worked in the physics department lab during the summer, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Physics in 1972. After receiving the best offer for a graduate assistantship from an atomic physics group at MIT, he chose to study laser physics there and received his Ph.D. in 1976.

After receiving his Ph.D., Jay worked at the Center for Earth and Planetary Physics at Harvard from 1976-1980, doing work for the Pioneer Venus Mission that was set to launch in 1978. Jay also served as the Assistant Director of Harvard's Division of Applied Sciences from 1978-1980. In 1980, he got a position doing planetary research, studying Venus, Mars, and the other outer solar system for NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in California. He eventually became the Science Manager of JPL's Table Mountain Observatory.

When NASA put out a call for civilian astronauts in 1980, Jay applied but was ultimately denied a position in the program and was offered a position in Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center. Jay was finally accepted into the astronaut program in 1985 after applying for the third time.

During the six years between his selection and first flight, Jay was sent on several assignments. He was first assigned to Vandenberg Airforce Base in California where they were planning to launch a shuttle on a southerly trajectory, sending it into polar orbit but that plan was later scrapped. For his second assignment, Jay was sent to Cape Kennedy in Florida. While there, he worked with new payloads to be taken up into space on a shuttle, such as the Gamma Ray Observatory. Jay also helped develop EVA (spacewalk) construction and maintenance techniques for the Space Station and worked as a spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM) for shuttle flights in Mission Control. Then, in April 1989, Jay was assigned to his first space mission, which involved taking the Gamma Ray Observatory into Space. Between 1991 and 1996, Jay flew four space shuttle missions aboard the Shuttles Atlantis and Endeavor.

In 1997, Jay resigned from NASA and returned to Pittsburgh with his wife Ebe Emmons and their children, Rachel and Sarah Apt, to assume his role as director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Tapped as the 11th director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Jay saw this as an opportunity to indulge his interests in both the sciences and education as well as an opportunity to reinvigorate the museum he grew up visiting. Under Jay's directorship, the museum saw once antiquated exhibits become high-tech and user-friendly. He spent three years as director before resigning for other opportunities that eventually led to becoming a professor at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Business and in the CMU Department of Engineering and Public Policy.

Jerry and Joan Apt

Jerry Apt (1927-2010) was born in Wilkinsburg, Pa., and was the son of Jerome Apt and Sadie Shapira. He had a sister Marjorie Apt. Jerry Apt attended Carnegie Institute of Technology where he studied engineering, joined the ROTC, and trained as a pilot in the Civilian Pilot Training Program, eventually serving in the Army Corps of Engineers.

Jerry met Joan Frank and the two married on August 10, 1947.

Around 1946, Jerry and Joan moved to Springfield, Massachusetts where he worked as a maintenance and construction engineer at Monsanto Chemical Co., plastics division. The Apts moved back to Pittsburgh in 1949, where Jerry became chief engineer for Mechanical Industries. He founded Industrial Gases Inc. After selling the company in 1966, Jerry formed Industrial Engineering and later served as a senior mechanical engineer and corporate secretary at Concept Engineering Group from 1991 to 2001 before retiring.

A descendent of one of the first Jewish families to permanently settle in Pittsburgh in the nineteenth century, Joan Frank (1927-2019) was born to Cecilia and Robert Frank in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. World-renowned architects Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer designed her childhood home. She attended Winchester Thurston School until 1944, before attending Wheaton College, where she majored in art history.

A contributor to Pittsburgh's local arts and charitable organizations, Joan Apt served on the board of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and co-founded the Pittsburgh Public Theatre, the Pittsburgh CLO, the American Wind Symphony, the Three Rivers Shakespeare Festival, and the Women's Division of the United Jewish Federation.

Scope and Content Notes

The Dr. Jerome Apt Papers and Photographs documents the professional career and personal life of astronaut Dr. Jay Apt, as well as the respective and combined members of the Apt and Frank families. The bulk of the collection documents Apt's NASA career through official astronaut training documents and manuals, mission photographs, film, VHS and cassette tapes, CDs, floppy disks, correspondence, publicity, and ephemera. The collection also highlights Apt's tenure as director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History after leaving NASA and his time as a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. Jay Apt's youth and his love for model rocketry is documented through photographs, model rocketry catalogs, invoices, newsletters, and programs. Jay's education at Shadyside Academy, Harvard University, and MIT is documented through an Alumnus booklet, acceptance packages, certificates, correspondence, directories, invoices, registration receipts, and GRE correspondence and score card.

The Dr. Jerome Apt Papers and Photographs have been arranged into the five series, three of which have been further arranged into subseries.

Arrangement

The Dr. Jerome Apt Papers and Photographs are housed in 53 boxes, 4 oversize folders, and 8 shelf items and have been arranged into the following five series and further arranged into subseries.

  1. Series I: NASA (1982-2007)
  2. Subseries 1: STS-37 Mission (1989-1993)
  3. Subseries 2: STS-47 Mission (1991-1993)
  4. Subseries 3: STS-59 Mission (1982-1997)
  5. Subseries 4: STS-79 Mission (1991-1997)
  6. Subseries 5: General Astronaut and NASA (1976-1999)
  7. Subseries 6: Apollo 11 Mission (1969)
  8. Subseries 7: Mission Photographs and Film (1982-1997)
  9. Subseries 8: Digital Materials (1983-2007)
  10. Series II: Orbit (c1991-1997)
  11. Series III: Carnegie Museum of Natural History (1997-2002)
  12. Series IV: Correspondence (1967-2012)
  13. Subseries 1: NASA (1982-1997)
  14. Subseries 2: HAM (1990-1996)
  15. Subseries 3: CMNH (1997-2000)
  16. Subseries 4: General (1967-2012)
  17. Series V: Apt Family Papers and Photographs (1922-2016)
  18. Subseries 1: Photographs (1923-2003)
  19. Subseries 2: Correspondence (1928-2000)
  20. Subseries 3: Papers (1922-2016)

Conditions Governing Access

Documents with sensitive information have been placed in restricted folders. Redacted copies can be found in the associated folders.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift from Dr. Jerome Apt in 2018. Archives accession 2018.0019

Gift from Dr. Jerome Apt in 2020. Archives accession 2020.0082

Preferred Citation

Dr. Jerome Apt Papers and Photographs, c1922-2016, MSS 1213, Rauh Jewish Archives, Detre Library and Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with the Senator John Heinz History Center. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Library and Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center.

Related Materials

Frank Family Papers, MSS 474

Lehman Family Papers, MSS 1018

Separated Materials

To the museum collection:

Space Pilots by Willy Levy, 2018.27.1

Shirt, polo (STS-37), 2018.27.2

Shirt, polo (STS-47), 2018.27.3

Rule slide with leather case, 2018.27.4 a,b

Set, flatware, 2018.28.5 a-e

Packet (Russian food-Stetusta Dessert), 2018.27.6

Packet (Russian food-sweet almonds), 2018.27.7

Packet (Russian food-enriched wheat bread), 2018.27.8

Packet (Russian food-peach black currant juice), 2018.27.9 a,b

Bottle, Toilet (no-rinse shampoo), 2018.27.10 a,b

Bottle, Toilet (Dial deodorant), 2018.27.11 a,b

Comb, Hair, 2018.27.12

Hairbrush, 2018.27.13

Clipper, Nail, 2018.27.14

Lipstick (Chapstick), 2018.27.15 a,b

Clip, 2018.27.16

Clip, 2018.27.17

Product, Oral Care (toothpaste), 2018.27.18 a,b

Toothbrush, 2018.27.19

Eyeglasses (with case and retainer), 2018.27.20 a-c

Badge, Identification (NASA Civilian Astronaut Wings Badge), 2018.27.21

Patch, Insignia (STS-59), 2018.27.22

Packet (Beef Jerky), 2018.27.23

Packet (Beef Jerky), 2018.27.24

Medal, Commemorative (STS-37), 2018.27.25 a-g

Medal, Commemorative (STS-47), 2018.27.26 a-j

Medal, Commemorative (STS-59), 2018.27.27 a-g

Medal, Commemorative (STS-79), 2018.27.28 a-h

Badge, Identification (NASA retired employee badge), 2018.27.29

Pass (Apollo 11 press pass), 2018.27.30

Card, Membership (Association of Space Explorers), 2018.27.31

Badge, Identification (NASA and Johnson Space Center), 2018.27.32 a,b

Banner (Welcome Home Jay), 2018.27.33

Suite, Fliers (T38 flight suit), 2018.27.34

Boot (T38 flight boots), 2018.27.35 a,b

Shirt, Polo (STS-79), 2018.28.36

Turtleneck (STS-59), 2018.27.37

Plate, Commemorative (STS-79), 2018.27.38

Can, Beer (Sapporo Beer), 2018.27.39

Mold, Casting (STS-37 commemorative medallion casting mold), 2018.27.40

Commemorative (Space-J Frog Embryology Experiment), 2018.27.41 a,b

Set, Flatware (STS-37), 2018.27.42 a-e

Set, Flatware (STS-47), 2018.27.43 a-e

Set, Flatware (STS-59), 2018.27.44 a-e

Patch, Insignia (STS-59), 2018.27.45

Patch, Insignia (STS-37), 2018.27.46

Badge, Identification (NASA), 2018.27.47

Eyeglasses (with case), 2018.27.48 a,b

Eyeglasses (with case), 2018.27.49 a,b

Eyeglasses (with case), 2018.27.50 a,b

Lipstick (Chapstick), 2018.27.51 a,b

Lipstick (Chapstick), 2018.27.52 a,b Container, Medicine (Cepacol throat lozenges), 2018.27.53 Container, Medicine (Antacid tablets), 2018.27.54

Bottle, Toilet (no-rinse shampoo), 2018.24.55 a,b

Toothbrush, 2018.27.56

Comb, Hair, 2018.27.57

Bottle, Toilet (Dial deodorant), 2018.27.58 a,b

Medal, Commemorative (NASA Exceptional Service Medal), 2018.27.59 a-h

Medal, Commemorative (NASA Exceptional Service Medal), 2018.27.60 a-f

Medal, Commemorative (NASA Distinguished Service Medal), 2018.27.61 a-i

Matchbook (containing 20 matches), 2018.27.62

Matchbook (containing 20 matches), 2018.27.63 Matchbook (containing 18 matches), 2018.27.64

Button, Insignia (NASA LDEF), 2018.27.65

Nameplate, 2018.27.66

Nameplate, 2018.27.67

Nameplate, 2018.27.68

Nameplate, 2018.27.69

Sticker (Pioneer Venus '78), 2018.27.70

Sticker (Pioneer Venus '78), 2018.27.71

Sticker (Pioneer Venus '78), 2018.27.72

Sticker (STS-135), 2018.27.73

Sticker (Earth Radiation Budget Satellite), 2018.27.74

Badge, Identification (STS-135), 2018.27.75

Button, Insignia (launch guest), 2018.27.76

Badge, Identification (NARAM-50) 2018.27.77

Badge, Identification (Out of Air Badge), 2018.27.78

Badge, Identification (STS-3 News Media badge), 2018.27.79

Card, Identification (Physiological Training certification card), 2018.27.80

Badge, Identification (NASA name badge), 2018.27.81

Card, Identification (NASA medical certification for spaceflight I.D. card), 2018.27.82

Badge, Identification (Lyndon B. Space Center name badge), 2018.27.83

Badge, Identification (STS-107 memorial service badge), 2018.27.84

Badge, Identification (STS-59 launch guest badge), 2018.27.85

Badge, Identification (Gamma Ray Observatory name badge), 2018.27.86

Patch, Insignia (SAREX Patch), 2018.27.87

Sticker (NAR in Space-AptLoft), 2018.27.88

Sticker (NAR in Space-AptLoft), 2018.27.89

Key, Chain (Mamoru Mohri commemorative keychain), 2018.27.90 a-c

Button, Insignia (STS-37), 2018.27.91

Button, Insignia (STS-37), 2018.27.92

Coin, Commemorative (STS-59), 2018.27.93

Coin, Commemorative (STS-59), 2018.27.94

Patch, Insignia (STS-37), 2018.27.95

Patch, Insignia (Kennedy Space Center), 2018.27.96

Plaque, Award (Flight Achievement Ward Plaque), 2018.27.97

Plaque, Award (Flight Achievement Ward Plaque), 2018.27.98 a,b

Plaque (NAR), 2018.27.99

Tube (Two Russian food tubes with carrying pouch), 2018.27.100 a-c

Filter, Camera (orange plastic camera filter), 2018.27.101

Filter, Camera (blue plastic camera filter), 2018.27.102

Filter, Camera (blue plastic camera filter), 2018.27.103

Filter, Camera (yellow plastic camera filter), 2018.27.104

Filter, Camera (teal plastic camera filter), 2018.27.105

Filter, Camera (red plastic camera filter), 2018.27.106

Eyeglasses (with case), 2018.27.107 a,b

Eyeglasses (with case), 2018.27.108 a,b

Eyeglasses (with case), 2018.27.109 a,b

Eyeglasses (with case and retainer), 2018.27.110 a-c

Eyeglasses (with case), 2018.27.111 a,b

Notebook (Harvard), 2018.27.112 a-d

Notebook (J. Apt), 2018.27.113 a-q

Clipboard (with fourteen sheets of flight information and checklists), 2018.27.114 a-o

Bottle (William Frank and Sons), 2018.27.115

Jar, Preserving (William Frank and Sons), 2018.27.116

Jar, Preserving (William Frank and Sons), 2018.27.117

Jar, Preserving (William Frank and Sons), 2018.27.118

Jar, Preserving (William Frank and Sons), 2018.27.119

Flask (William Frank and Sons), 2018.27.120

Flask (William Frank and Sons), 2018.27.121

Flask (William Frank and Sons), 2018.27.122

Flask (William Frank and Sons), 2018.27.123 Bear, Teddy, 2010.41.3

Processing Information

Preliminary rehousing by Josh Leib in 2019.

Processing by Catelyn Cocuzzi on 12/17/2020

Subjects

    Personal Names

    • Lehman, Ellen, b.1944.

    Geographic Names

    • Brevard County (Fl.)
    • Tokyo (Japan)
    • Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    • Houston (Tx.)

    Other Subjects

    • Jews -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Immigration -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Jews -- Education
    • Jews -- Family.
    • Jews -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Jews -- Religious life.
    • World War, 1914-1918.
    • World War, 1939-1945.

Container List