About Us

Mr. Eshleman’s career began as USAF Titan IIIB Project Officer on spy satellite Gambit-3 Program 110, one of the first Systems Engineers formally educated by the Air Force Space Systems Division, now the SPACE FORCE

Technology solutions and position papers on Titan IIIB booster flight control’s reliability and propellant purity, attested by Space Systems Col. Roy Worthington, engineering chief for Col. Lee Battle, who originally reported to President Eisenhower to create the spy satellites, with Gambit-3 credited for ending the Cold War. The USAF Chief Scientist in Air Force Headquarters wrote a letter attesting this.

The inception of Constitution Power and this website was sparked by a straightforward request by the U.S. Department of the Air Force Chief Scientist Office and its assigned Military Assistant, a Colonel,
to publish a paper on systems engineering—an area of expertise taught to Mr. Eshleman. This endeavor emerged from her clear observation: “the Generals have forgotten it.”

“In 1968, you were able to form and lead a small group team to completely redesign the Titan IIIB’s pre-launch testing process. Your teamwork was completed in 5 months, resulting in shorter launch cycle times, enabling quicker response to potential Soviet Bloc threats while saving money due to the fewer hours needed to man each launch.

An estimated $20 million was saved over Gambit-3’s 21-year life. It was also the only program of its kind
that returned money from the budget at its end. Your work turned out to be an exemplary systems engineering project, directly supporting two of four Intelligence Community goals for surveillance photography: emergency response and timeliness.

This was why Leonard Marks Jr., former Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, presented an award to you in 1969 at Vandenberg AFB for your effort. This letter is to acknowledge your contribution to Gambit-3 ‘for the record.’ Gambit-3 was credited as providing the technological and knowledge “edge” that enabled the U.S.A. to win the Cold War by late President Reagan in a commendation sent to the NRO in 1984.

You played a pivotal role in enabling this success by enabling faster and more reliable launches of these vital satellites.”

Mr. Eshleman recovered an unknown contaminant in Titan IIIB rocket propellant, enabling the flight of Apollo 8 on Christmas Eve, 1968. As the crystals in the vial from the Air Force Rocket Propulsion Lab (AFRPL) show, they are only intact in the propellant environment, a reddish gas. It can also turn this Nitrogen Tetroxide propellant to “jello,” causing flow decay in large rockets. His discovery and a supply chain map presented at a June 4, 5, 1968 Conference of 70 space scientists and engineers paved the way for Apollo 8 and Apollo 12 moon landing before 1970, as President John F. Kennedy promised

Later, as Launch Controller, Mr. Eshleman led countdown and launch activities for two Gambit-3 missions:
1968, the first color pictures of Russia and China, 1969, the first successful thin film burst photography mission (declassified Perry Histories from NRO.gov). The combination of all things and intense volume of pictures had overtaxed analysts’ abilities, resulting in the 1969 award (letter above).

Mr. Eshleman recovered an unknown contaminant in Titan IIIB rocket propellant, enabling the flight of Apollo 8 on Christmas Eve, 1968. As the crystals in the vial from the Air Force Rocket Propulsion Lab (AFRPL) show, they are only intact in the propellant environment. It can also turn to “jello,” causing flow decay in large rockets. A supply chain map paved the way for the Apollo moon landing before 1970, as President Kennedy promised.

Later, as Launch Controller, Mr. Eshleman led countdown and launch activities for two Gambit-3 missions, from declassified Perry Histories, one took the first color pictures of Russia and China, the second was the first successful burst photography mission.”