Edward Forman

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Edward Seymour Forman (December 3, 1912 – February 12, 1973) was an American rocket engineer and inventor who helped start U.S. rocketry. Working with Jack Parsons and Frank Malina at GALCIT (the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory at Caltech), he helped develop and demonstrate the first practical Jet-Assisted Take-Off (JATO) for airplanes in the United States. The GALCIT Rocket Research Group he belonged to became the core of what later grew into the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

Born in Gillespie, Illinois, Forman moved with his family to Pasadena, California. He befriended Parsons in school; Forman once helped Parsons when he was being bullied. They shared a love for science fiction and began building model rockets in their backyards, adopting the motto Ad Astra per Aspera (to the stars through hard work). He left high school early, attended Pasadena Junior College, and did various jobs to support his rocket experiments.

In the 1930s, the trio sought funding for rocket work and, after some early struggles, earned space at GALCIT outside normal hours with the guidance of Theodore von Kármán. The group conducted early liquid-fuel rocket tests, faced tough conditions, and earned the nickname “suicide squad” after several accidents. In 1938, the Army Air Forces showed interest in using rockets to help planes take off on short runways, leading to a contract to develop JATO units. By 1941 they achieved successful rocket-assisted flights.

In 1942, Forman and colleagues founded Aerojet General Corporation to manufacture JATO rockets. Aerojet’s early contracts with the Navy and other agencies helped push U.S. rocket technology forward. The work of the GALCIT Rocket Research Group laid the groundwork for JPL, and the JPL name began appearing in documents during 1943 as rocket research continued.

Forman passed away in 1973 at age 60, remembered as a pioneer who helped turn bold ideas about rockets into real technology.