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Don F. Tang Honored

Don Tang

By Gerrye Wong

The Chinese Historical Society of America will honor Don Tang as one of the outstanding Chinese Americans in science and technology at their upcoming dinner this month.

Upon learning of his nomination, Tang, the former president of Lockheed Space Systems Division, said modestly: “Although I only played a small part in our nation’s defense programs, I am happy that others’ accomplishments will also be spotlighted, and I thank the Chinese Historical Society for educating the public about the many contributions Chinese American scientists and engineers have made for the benefit of today’s world.”

Tang’s personal and professional life story will be told along with the stories of the other five honorees, through a Yahoo! produced video presentation, narrated by Yahoo newscaster Lorna Ho.

Born in Phoenix, Ariz., Tang was the middle son of Chinese immigrants. He learned his work ethic at an early age, helping in his parents’ grocery store. He recalls that because of the World War II labor shortage, he had to cut meat at the store. By the time he was in high school and college, it wasn’t unusual for him to work more than 50 hours a week. He even used his meat-cutting experience to help support himself through the University of Arizona, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1959.

Moving to California with his wife, Rose, he worked for Link Aviation and in 1961, began his career at Lockheed Missiles and Space Company in Sunnyvale, Calif., as an engineer testing Agena upper stage rockets and satellites. During his Lockheed tenure, he progressed through technical and management positions and was promoted to vice president of operations for the Space Systems Division (SSD) in 1986.

Two years later, he broke the corporate glass ceiling when he was promoted to vice president and assistant general manager of Lockheed’s SSD. Four years after that, he became president of the SSD and was elected a corporate vice president of the Lockheed Corporation, positions he maintained until his retirement in 1995. As president, he managed a division of 17,000 employees with annual sales in excess of $2 billion.

Although Tang helped develop a number of classified national intelligence satellite programs, due to national security little was said about his contributions to these programs. This was partially rectified on August 18, 2000, when the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) honored him and other pioneers by inducting them into the National Reconnaissance Office Pioneer Hall.

Despite a busy schedule, Tang has found time to help his alma mater by serving on the University of Arizona’s College of Engineering Advisory Board. He also served as the director for Space Week, a nonprofit organization, and has been on the boards for Iridium Inc., and Telstra Inc.

In his retirement career, Tang enjoys his two young granddaughters, Kathryn and Lauren. Worldwide travel and a golf game with friends are two of Tang’s life pleasures. He also supports community projects such as the building of the new National Museum of Chinese American History, which will open in the heart of San Francisco’s Chinatown this fall.