Eberhardt Rechtin, 1977

Eberhardt Rechtin, Who Headed The Aerospace Corporation and Helped Create Deep Space Network, Dies in California

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (4/2106) -- Dr. Eberhardt Rechtin, an engineering and space pioneer who was the president and chief executive officer of The Aerospace Corporation from 1977 through 1987 and who helped create the Deep Space Network used to communicate with space probes, has died.

Rechtin, 80, died April 14 at a Torrance, Calif., hospital after battling several illnesses. He was a resident of Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.

At The Aerospace Corporation, Rechtin oversaw the company’s work on numerous important space programs being developed by the Air Force, such as the Global Positioning System and other systems comprising advanced weather, communications, early warning, and missile defense capabilities. He also strengthened the company’s position as a key advisor to the Air Force and presided over a significant growth of the company’s work on national-security space programs.

After retiring from Aerospace, he joined the University of Southern California as professor of industrial and systems engineering, aerospace engineering, and electrical engineering systems. He retired from USC as professor emeritus of electrical engineering systems in 1994. At USC he established the school’s first program in systems architecting. He is the author of three books he created and used to teach in this discipline. These books are now in use internationally. USC, in 2005, awarded him an honorary doctorate.

Rechtin worked on early NASA projects during the space race with the Soviet Union. Among his major accomplishments while working at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, from 1949 to 1967, was playing a central role in creating the space agency’s Deep Space Network, which opened the way for receiving communications from distant planetary spacecraft. The network comprises a global array of antennas that pick up faint signals sent across millions of miles of empty space, including those transmitted by Mars rovers and the Cassini probe. Rechtin was assistant director of JPL and the director of the Deep Space Network during his last eight years at the lab.

Rechtin was born in East Orange, New Jersey, on January 16, 1926. He served in the U.S. Navy on active duty from 1943 to 1946 and as a reserve officer until 1958. He earned his bachelor’s degree (with honors) and doctorate (cum laude) in electrical engineering from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 1946 and 1950, respectively.

In 1967 Rechtin left JPL for the Department of Defense where he headed the Advanced Research Project Agency, now known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. In 1970 he became the principal deputy in the office of the director of Defense Research and Engineering. Two years later he was named assistant secretary of Defense for Telecommunications. He held that post until 1973 when he joined Hewlett-Packard Corporation as chief engineer, a position he held until he joined The Aerospace Corporation in 1977. He was president emeritus of Aerospace at the time of his death.
Rechtin was a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

He served on advisory panels to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. He became a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 1968 and was Chair of the National Academy of Sciences’ Naval Studies Board from July 1, 1977, to December 31, 1982. He also had been a member of the United States Air Force Scientific Advisory Board and chair of the Chief of Naval Operations Industrial Advisory Committee on Telecommunications.

In 1977, he was honored by the IEEE with the Alexander Graham Bell Award for his work in deep space and defense communications. Among his other awards are the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Award (1973), the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award (1983), the AIAA Aerospace Communications Award (1969), the NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement (1965), the AFCEA Gold Medal for Engineering (1984), the AIAA von Karman Lectureship in Astronautics (1985), the AIAA Robert H. Goddard Astronautics Award (1991) and the (Japan) NEC C&C (communications and computers) Prize (1992).

Rechtin was honored as a distinguished alumnus by Caltech in 1984 and was a UCLA Engineering Citation Award recipient in 1986. He was elected an honorary fellow of the Institute of Environmental Sciences for advancements to the science of aerospace testing through both technical and leadership contributions (1987).

He is survived by his wife, Deedee, a son, four daughters, four grandchildren, and a sister.
A memorial service is to be held at 2 p.m. Sunday in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.

The Aerospace Corporation is an independent, nonprofit company that provides objective technical analyses and assessments for national security space programs and selected civil and commercial space programs in the national interest.

Media Inquiries: contact Dave Jonta, 310-336-5041, david.l.jonta@aero.org