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violinist,” he said, “I was worried about my hands. But my opponent in
the semi-final match was an oboe player with a concert scheduled for the
next day, and he asked me to take it easy on his mouth.”

* * *

In October 1957, Russia sent Sputnik into space. It was the first
orbiting satellite, circling the earth in 96 minutes, and making 1,440 orbits
in three months. This astounding technical feat was totally unanticipated
by the United States and ignited the era of the space race. At the time,
George was working as a civilian scientist for the Army Signal Corps in Fort
Monmouth, New Jersey, in charge of the radio relay program. He had been
recruited by their senior executive of Research & Development, an
alumnus of the University of Michigan.

A week after Sputnik, George sent a proposal to the Commanding
General, urging a space communication program. The response: Do it!
“So,” George recalls, “I created the first Space Electronics organization
in the country. It was very strange making presentations to generals and
top government officials. At age twenty-nine, as head of the Astro-
Electronics Division, I had the civilian rank equal to a colonel, but I looked
like a young kid. It was embarrassing to take them to lunch and be carded
by the waiter.”

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