Dorothy B. Lee

2/20/1927 – 10/31/2020

Dorothy Avis Bone Johnson Lee was born on February 20, 1927 to Dorothy Van Buren Johnson and Oliver Harrington Bone in Jacksonville, Florida but was raised by her step-father, Melville F. Johnson, after her father died of TB when she was three. She grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana, and attended Eleanor McMain Public High School for Girls where she was class president of her senior class and graduated at the age of 16 in January of 1944. She went on from there to Lynchburg, VA to further her education at Randolph Macon Women’s College – receiving her B.A. in mathematics in 1948 and recruited by NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) at Langley that same year.

At the LaRC (Langley Research Center), she was first hired as a “human computer” performing analyses associated with boundary layer and heat transfer investigations measured on flight research vehicles until 1955 when she then became the Project Engineer with LaRC. As Project Engineer, she planned and designed several research rocket flight test vehicles to study the effects of configuration on aeroheating. This included planning the instruments for the flight vehicles, and analyzing and documenting the measurements obtained during the flight test.

She was promoted to JSC Senior Engineer of Fluid and Flight Mechanics in 1962 wherein she analyzed wind tunnel and flight data to provide aerothermodynamic support for the Apollo program for which numerous technical documents were written. These documents have contributed to the design of a variety of flight configurations and advanced launch vehicles.

In 1972, Dottie was promoted to Subsystems Manger of Aerothermodynamics for the Space Shuttle transportation vehicle and therefore was responsible for providing direction, coordination, and data review to ensure that efforts of the prime contractor met design specifications. She integrated the disciplines of aeroheating, aerodynamics, trajectory, and TPS (thermal protection system) for the Shuttle ascent and entry vehicles. She worked within the engineering master schedule to coordinate all aerothermodynamic activities with the program office and supported configuration control boards. She also produced and conducted system reviews for the Orbiter and was responsible for the preliminary and critical design, design certification, and flight readiness reviews involving aerothermodynamics. As the Thermal Integration Technology Manager for the Space Shuttle, she was responsible for the integration, planning and review of all Space Shuttle activities related to ascent heating (aerodynamic as well as convective and plume radiation) of all elements of the Space Shuttle System.

In 1985, she became JSC’s Project Manager for the Aeroassist Flight Experiment (AFE). In that capacity, Dottie was responsible for planning, directing, scheduling, and performing systems engineering for JSC’s activities in this four-center experimental project. Data from the AFE would support the design of the aerobraking orbital transfer vehicle, future Mars vehicles, and other planetary vehicles. She integrated the sensors required by the principal investigators into the vehicle configuration, monitored design of the brake component of the AFE, and coordinated the brake design with that of the MSFC (Marshall Space Flight Center) propulsion module. She participated in decision-making for all aspects of the AFE project, which involved coordinating the activities of aeroheating, TPS, avionics, trajectory development, aerodynamics, manufacturing, logistics, maintaining safety requirements, and integration of the AFE with the Orbiter.

At the beginning of her NACA/NASA career, she met her husband, John B. Lee (who was an engineer and was one of the original team members of the Space Task Group commissioned by President Eisenhower). They married in August of 1951 and settled in Newport News, VA to be close to their work at Langley Field. But when Vice President Johnson moved the Space Center down to Texas in 1961, they packed up their two children and settled in the beautiful bayou community of Dickinson, Texas where people like Walter and Helen Hall, Lynn and Elaine Mantooth, Everett and Lorraine Pauls, Bill and Betty Leavenworth, and Ester and Ed Watson welcomed them (and all the other Virginian transplants) with open arms.

“DeDe” or “Dot” as she was known, was proud to have had the best men as her supervisors: Bob Piland (her Section Chief), Dr. Max Faget (her Branch Chief), and Bob Gilruth (her Division Chief). “Having these men of brilliance touch my life, I could only win . . ..” She credits them with enriching her life both professionally and personally. She also credits Dr. Milton Silveira, deputy to Aaron Cohen, as a mentor and supervisor, as well as her direct boss, Dr. Bob Ried, a brilliant man in so many dimensions.

One of her many accomplishments that she is especially proud of was successfully introducing the “French curve” nose design of the Orbiter, which her colleagues respectfully termed it “Dottie’s nose.”

Dottie retired from NASA in 1987 but could only handle “retirement” for one month, so she became a consultant to both Eagle Engineering (1987-1994) and Oceaneering – and permanently retired at 80.

“I guess I would want to be remembered that I did my work professionally, with a professional attitude, but with a sense of humor and graciously. I am appreciative of the men who touched my life, and I'd want to be remembered by those whose lives I touched. I'm extremely proud of what I did.”

Dottie Lee is survived by her daughter, Dr. Laurie Lee VanArsdale (Dr. Will VanArsdale) of Blanco, Texas and her daughter Dottie M. Lee of Austin, Texas.

Memorial contributions in honor of Dorothy B. Lee can be made to the Greater Austin Crime Commission at https://www.austincrime.org/.

Dorothy B Lee NASA Oral History Transcript (Nov. 10, 1999): https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/LeeDB/LeeDB_11-10-99.htm

John B. Lee NASA Oral History Transcripts: January 15, 2008: https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/LeeJB/LeeJB_1-15-08.htm

January 16, 2008: https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/LeeJB/LeeJB_1-16-08.htm

January 17, 2008: https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/LeeJB/LeeJB_1-17-08.htm

January 18, 2008: https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/LeeJB/LeeJB_1-18-08.htm