Robert Truax

AIAA Mourns the Death of Capt. Robert C. Truax, AIAA
“The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) mourns the death of Capt. Robert C. Truax, past president of the American Rocket Society, organizer of the U.S. Naval Missile Test Center’s propulsion research laboratory at Point Mugu, Calif., and AIAA Honorary Fellow. Capt. Truax passed away in Vista, Calif., on September 17, 2010. He was 93. AIAA President Mark J. Lewis stated: “We mourn the passing of Capt. Robert C. Truax, whose contributions to the field of propulsion made many of today’s systems possible. From his early work on Jet Assisted Take Off (JATO) systems and development of hypergolic fuels, leadership efforts on the Thor, Viking, and Polaris missiles, and later founding of his own company, Truax was an integral part of modern rocket history.”