Anita Gale, F.SWE
1950–2024
Aerospace engineer, innovator, advocate for space colonization
Aerospace engineer, space shuttle designer, and CEO of the National Space Society Anita Gale of Houston died on May 19. She served NSS in several leadership positions, including as a member of its board, and received the NSS Space Pioneer Award for her efforts. NSS is a grassroots organization dedicated to the human colonization of space.
Gale discovered her interest in engineering in high school, where she was one of only two girls in an engineering concepts class of 35 students. She earned a B.S. and an M.S. in aeronautics and astronautics from the University of Washington in 1973 and 1974, respectively, often finding herself the only woman in class.
In 1974, Gale began work on the space shuttle program for Rockwell International in Downey, California; she stayed with Rockwell’s aerospace unit when it was sold to The Boeing Company in 1996.
Her accomplishments included conceptual designs for cargo integration on launch vehicles, research and development that informed shuttle upgrades and reusable and expendable launch vehicle designs, and process improvements. Her designs of launch vehicle payload-interface standardization and containerization, which were critical to reducing vehicle costs and schedules, earned her three U.S. patents.
Over the course of her career, Gale earned a systems engineering certificate from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; a Public Policy Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, AIAA; the William Allen Award for Exceptional Volunteer Service from The Boeing Company; and membership in the Boeing Technical Fellowship. The University of Washington gave her its Distinguished Alumni Award in 2021.
A strong proponent of human colonization of space, she co-founded the Space Settlement Design Competitions in 1984 with her husband, Dick Edwards. The competitions encourage high school students to design possible space settlements. It began with 75 students but eventually grew to more than 1,000 participants from six continents each year. Many students, including many young women, say the competition inspired their interest in technical fields. In the weeks leading up to her death, Gale traveled extensively to oversee these events, engage in NSS business, and visit friends.
Gale served as a leader in the Society of Women Engineers from an early age, joining the University of Washington Collegiate Section in 1969 and serving as the Los Angeles Section president from 1976 to 1978. She led the section to a Shining Star Award for outstanding outreach activities in 1978. She received the SWE Distinguished New Engineer Award in 1982. After the Los Angeles Section grew to more than 400 members, Gale helped charter the Orange County Section, serving as the section president from 1986 to 1987.
She also served SWE on the national level, chairing the 1981 national convention in Anaheim, California. From 1981 to 1982, Gale served as a director on the SWE executive committee. For the 1991 SWE national convention in San Diego, she chaired the technical program, and she served as the Resnik Challenger Medal coordinator for many years. She was named a SWE Fellow in 1997, was a life member, and received the SWE Distinguished Service Award in 2013. She continued to judge other SWE awards through 2022.
An active member of AIAA, Gale served on its space colonization technical committee, chaired technical conference sessions on space settlements, and authored technical papers on the requirements, designs, and steps needed for the development of communities in space.
Gale was also a sailing teacher and competitive sailor, and she hosted groups on annual rafting trips in the Grand Canyon. SWE archivist Troy Eller English conducted an oral history interview with Gale in 2013, which is available on the Engineering and Technology History Wiki.
Sources
“Anita Gale Biography,” National Space Society; SWE Distinguished Service Award nomination package, 2013; SWE Grassroots Oral History Project interview, 2013.
