Bill Escher
Bill Escher, AIAA Associate Fellow, and AIAA Member Emeritus, passed away at his Huntsville, Alabama, home on the morning of May 12. Escher was 82. Escher received the 1988 AIAA George M. Low Space Transportation Award for his work on space transportation programs including Vanguard and the Spaceliner programs, and for his work promoting the Synerjet combined-cycle engine concept for low-cost, reliable access to space.
Escher began his aerospace career in the U.S. Army as a countdown officer for the Vanguard rocket program. He went on to be employed by NASA, serving at the Lewis Research Center (now NASA Glenn Research Center), the Marshall Space Flight Center, and NASA Headquarters. After his NASA career, Escher worked for various aerospace firms including North American Rockwell and Rocketdyne, Astronautics Corporation of America, and SAIC.
Escher championed both combined cycle propulsion as a way to achieve low-cost reusable space access, writing over hundred papers on the topic. Eschar also championed the cause of hydrogen as an energy source, forming Escher Technology Associates, later known as Escher-Foster Technology – in 1972 to provide technical leadership and expertise to help develop an energy economy based on hydrogen. Escher was also a founding member of the International Hydrogen Energy Association.
While a junior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1986, I was working at the Badger Bus Depot to earn some extra money. A couple times a week, Bill would come in to pick up packages from his home office in Milwaukee. Noting the company name on the packages (Astronautics Corp. of America) and my desire to get into the aerospace industry, I struck up a conversation. Bill offered up an interview. I happily accepted and ended up working for Bill part time before graduation and full-time thereafter.
A couple years later, Bill left ACA to return to Rocketdyne to work on the NASP program, and I rode his coattails to California, where I have worked now for 26 years.
During the RS-68A engine development in the mid-late 2000’s, I worked with, and became friends with, a test operations engineer. During happy hour one Friday, I related the above story about the guy from the bus depot who got me into Rocketdyne.
My friend, a University of Arizona alum, related a similar story regarding a guy who had directed his hybrid rocket graduate research from NASA, and who went above and beyond the call of duty when asked to help a college student find a job after graduation.
I about fell over when he told me his name.
Two guys. Two separate paths. Both working on design, development and certification of the most powerful hydrogen rocket ever. Both there, at least in part, because of Bill. I’m sure we’re just two of a large number of such stories. Thanks, Bill! You will be missed.
Mark Winquist & Brian Wygle
I had the pleasure of working with Bill in the mid to late 2000s. He was a passionate advocate for space exploration and utilization, a generous mentor, and a good and thoughtful man. He will be missed.