Frank Malina: Jet Propulsion Pioneer, Communist, and Kinetic Artist Who Bridged Rockets and Art

From co-designing the first jet-assisted take-off to directing NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Frank Malina’s life stretched across rockets, art, and political controversy. This Conversation piece by Stephen Roddy traces how Malina helped form the so‑called suicide squad of early rocketeers, his pacifist and communist affiliations, and his ascent as a kinetic-arts pioneer who launched Leonardo, MIT Press’s leading journal on science and the arts. It also covers his FBI surveillance, McCarthy-era indictment, and his move to UNESCO in Paris, where he pursued peaceful applications of science and fostered interdisciplinary work that echoes in sound and music computing today. The article argues Malina’s legacy endures despite suppression of his contributions.

Introduction: A life at the intersection of science and art

The Conversation, in an essay by Stephen Roddy of University College Cork, presents Frank Malina as a polymath who helped shape the earliest days of jet propulsion while also shaping the arts through kinetic sculpture and editorial innovation. Malina’s work crosses boundaries: he co‑designed the first jet‑assisted take‑off (JATO) rocket and the United States’ first operational high‑altitude rocket, and he co‑founded NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Yet his vision extended beyond engineering. He was a pacifist, anti‑fascist, and a card‑carrying member of the Communist Party, who bridged science and the creative arts by helping launch Leonardo, MIT Press’s world‑leading journal on science’s role in the arts and music. This dual trajectory would define his career and his enduring influence on interdisciplinary work.

"Frank Malina's life embodies the fusion of science and art, laying the groundwork for interdisciplinary research" - Stephen Roddy, University College Cork

The Suicide Squad and the birth of rocket culture

Roddy details how Malina joined Parsons and Forman at Caltech in the 1930s to form a rocket research group, a collaboration that grew into what was nicknamed the “suicide squad” for its relentless risk-taking. Parsons, a self‑taught chemist steeped in occult networks, and Forman, the practical builder, created a culture of hands‑on experimentation. Malina supplied the academic rigor, ensuring experiments were scientifically sound even as they relied on trial and error. In an era still hesitant about rocketry, Malina described their work to the US military as “jet-assisted takeoff” to secure vital funding, balancing ambition with a caution that foreshadowed his later ethos of responsible invention.

"Malina provided the academic rigour, ensuring experiments were designed and carried out to a high scientific standard" - Stephen Roddy, University College Cork

From the FBI to UNESCO: political storm and exodus

Malina’s political affiliations intensified after the Great Depression. He joined the Communist Party in 1938, held meetings at home, and attracted surveillance from the FBI. The McCarthy era heightened scrutiny: in 1952, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover indicted him and revoked his passport. Facing pressure from the US military’s weaponization of rocketry, Malina accepted a post with UNESCO in Paris in 1947 and later served as deputy science director, seeking peaceful avenues for science’s global good. Roddy highlights how these conflicts shaped Malina’s decisions to leave the United States and pursue a different kind of impact at an international level.

"Increasingly disillusioned with the weaponisation of his rocketry research, he left for Europe to pursue peace through science" - Stephen Roddy, University College Cork

Bridging science and art: Leonardo, cosmos and kinetic works

Malina’s creative impulse culminated in his pursuit of kinetic art and light installations that fused engineering with artistic expression. He crafted moiré-based works using grids and mechanical elements, with Deep Shadows (1954) among his early major abstract paintings. He later integrated mechanical systems and lighting into kinetic works, leading to Cosmos (1965), a celebrated installation for Pergamon Press’s Oxford lobby. In parallel, he helped establish Leonardo in 1968, MIT Press’s journal that invites artists to articulate their methods with scientific clarity. Roddy emphasizes that Malina’s interdisciplinary approach—rooted in his rocket‑engineering mind—opened new artistic and research pathways and helped normalize science’s collaboration with the arts.

"Leonardo ... a journal that enables artists to explain their work and methods in a manner similar to scientists" - Stephen Roddy, University College Cork

Legacy: erasure, vindication, and influence on future generations

Across his multi‑decade career, Malina’s contributions were suppressed in the US due to his communist past, complicating his standing in histories of rocketry and art. Yet his forward‑looking approach to interdisciplinary work—bridging rocket science, art, and global cooperation—left a lasting imprint on later researchers and artists, including Roddy’s own work in sound and music computing. Roddy argues that Malina’s example demonstrates how cross-disciplinary collaboration can drive innovation and how recognition for such figures can endure beyond political climate shifts. The article closes by acknowledging Malina’s death in Paris in 1981 and his enduring legacy as a pioneer who helped shape both the practical and creative landscapes of 20th-century science.

"Malina’s vision of interdisciplinary collaboration has outlived the harshest critiques of his detractors" - Stephen Roddy, University College Cork