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John R. Kasani, a longtime Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer, project manager and researcher, passed away last week at the age of 92.
Kasani played a central role in many of NASA’s many historic deep space missions, the space agency said in a statement.
Born in Philadelphia in 1932, Kasani studied electrical engineering at the University of Pennsylvania and worked at the Air Force Research Institute before moving to SOCAL in 1956 to work at the Jet Propulsion Research Institute (JPL) on the Caltech campus, returning two years ago before NASA itself was formed.
He became the engineer of some of America’s fastest spacecraft after working with missiles first. He worked on the design team for the Spaceship Ranger and Mariner series and was a payload engineer for Pioneer 3 and 4. He was tasked with the extremely important task of carrying each of the 20-inch probes into suitcases from the JPL to the launch site in Cape Canaveral, Florida, where he installed them in the nosecones of the rocket.
John Casani, former program manager at the Jet Propulsion Institute, addressed employees who worked on Explorer 1 in 1958 at the 50th anniversary celebration of the launch of the first US satellite in Pasadena, California on Wednesday, January 30, 2008.
By the time the mid-1960s rolled, Kasani had established himself as a “meticulous” worker and began working on the design team for the Mariner Project. Shortly afterwards, he helped lead NASA’s flagship mission to the outer planet and beyond: Voyager.
“He was the first to imagine not only leading the mission from the clean room into space, but also attaching a message representing humanity to an alien civilization that could encounter the first interstellar envoy of mankind,” reads a statement from NASA.
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Casani presented the idea to famous astronomer Carl Sagan, according to NASA.
Both Voyager 1 and 2 were released in 1977. In other words, Casani was called “engineer engineers” and was quickly shut down by the Galileo team, the first mission to orbit the gas giant planet. He tried to navigate several attempts by Congress, leading the project from the start to Congress.
John Kasani, former program manager at the Jet Propulsion Institute, joined the second left from the left, Walter Downhower, Henry Richter and Fred Eimer.
After leading Galileo for 11 years, Casani became Associate Lab Director of Flight Projects in 1988, and was promoted a year later to serve as Cassini’s Project Manager. He was then appointed JPL’s first chief engineer in 1994. This role was served for five years before temporarily retiring.
After his retirement, Kasani joined several committees to help investigate the failure of Mars climate orbiter and Mars polar landing gear. He also led the James Webb Space Telescope Independent comprehensive review panel.
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However, by 2003, Kasani had returned to JPL and served as project manager for Project Prometheus. This was the first attempt at a long-range mission nuclear system. This project was cancelled in 2005.
After Prometheus’ cancellation, Kasani was appointed manager of JPL’s Institutional Special Project Office.
The “Vienna Night” gala, the widow of JPL’s John Casani, Icy Moon Project Manager Kissing Lady Inez Chapman Pickering, and the late scientist William H. Pickering, honored the Mars Exploration Rover team at the Pasadena Museum’s History Museum. (Photo: Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times by Getty Images)
“[John’s] “It helped advance the NASA spacecraft in areas such as mechanical technology, system design and integration, software and deep space communications.
Charles Erach, JPL director from 2001 to 2016, said Kasani “reflects the true spirit of JPL.”
“He was bold, innovative, visionary and welcoming,” Elachi said in a NASA statement. “He was a bright, happy-going, indisputable leader who left an indelible mark in the lab and NASA. I’m proud to call him a friend.”
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In addition to his impressive resume, Kasani has received many awards throughout his long career. These include NASA’s exceptional achievement medals and the Air and Space Museum Trophy for lifetime achievements. He also received an honorary doctorate from the University of Sapienza in Rome.
The 92-year-old, who passed away Thursday, was survived by his 39-year-old wife, Lynn and five sons. The cause of death has not been revealed.
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