Question

Who became Head of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1954 (for 22 years), and received an honorary knighthood in 1975 for his role in pioneering the exploration of space?

Answer 1

William Hayward Pickering ONZ KBE (24 December 1910 – 15 March 2004) was a New Zealand-born rocket scientist who headed Pasadena, California's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for 22 years, retiring in 1976. He was a senior NASA luminary and pioneered the exploration of space.