Joseph William Montano

Bill and I met in Birmingham when we were kids. We renewed our friendship at the University of Ala. We worked together briefly at the Southern Research Station of the US Bureau of Mines on the Campus of the Univ. I left for a year and then joined NASA, Marshal Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. Bill's desk was next to mine. We have kept up with each other throughout the years. I considered him one of my dearest friends. I was calling him to wish him a Happy Birthday when I found out...

Joseph William (Bill) Montano joined the Materials and Processes Group at NASA in 1960, and was immediately assigned to study and evaluate the materials used in both rocket engines and overall structures of the space rockets and their payloads. In the years that followed, Bill became known as the "primary fastener engineer" as he specialized in studying and developing all sorts of fasteners, (bolts, nuts, screws, rivets, clamps, etc.) that were used in the rocket systems. Such fasteners had...