Sullivan, Barbara Marie Stephens, 1927-2013
Dates
- Existence: July 26, 1927 - November 17, 2013
Biographical Information
Barbara Marie Stephens Sullivan was born to Frank E. and Mary Catherine (Bauerlein) Stephens on July 26, 1927 in Nashville, Tennessee. She married James W. Sullivan in 1952, and their jobs took them to Melbourne, Florida. Barbara Sullivan did reporting for the Eau Gallie Courier and served as a Beautification/Visitor's Center Coordinator for the City of Melbourne. This collection focuses on this time period of her life. She died on November 17, 2013.
James W. Sullivan, Jr. (Barbara's husband at the time) worked at the RCA Air Force Missile Test Center Patrick AFB Cape Canaveral*. He manned the cameras for RCA during the late 1950s-early 1960s. The Missile Test Project was a United States Air Force Program operated by RCA Service Company from Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. Under the program, RCA instrumented and operated various ships and stations on the Air Force Eastern Test Range with electronic tracking and telemetry equipment. The instrumented ships and stations tracked incoming ballistic missiles launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and also tracked unmanned or manned space vehicles orbiting the Earth.
*Cape Canaveral was named Cape Kennedy from 1963-1973. The Florida legislature passed a law to restore the name Cape Canaveral on October 9, 1973.