Editing Jack Parsons (section)

==Legacy and influence==
[[File:Jet Propulsion Laboratory logo.svg|thumbnail|right|The modern logo of the [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]]]]
In the decades following his death, Parsons was well-remembered among the Western esoteric community; his scientific recognition frequently amounted to a footnote.{{sfn|Pendle|2005|p = 304}} For instance, English Thelemite [[Kenneth Grant (occultist)|Kenneth Grant]] suggested that Parsons' Babalon Working marked the start of the appearance of [[flying saucers]] in the skies, leading to phenomena such as the [[Roswell UFO incident]] and [[Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting]].{{sfn|Carter|2004|p = 188}} Cameron postulated that the [[1952 Washington, D.C. UFO incident]] was a spiritual reaction to Parsons' death.{{sfn|Kansa|2011|pp = 74–79}} In 1954 she portrayed Babalon in American Thelemite [[Kenneth Anger]]'s short film ''[[Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome]]'', viewing this cinematic depiction of a Thelemic ritual as aiding the literal invocation of Babalon begun by Parsons' working, and later said that his ''Book of the AntiChrist'' prophecies were fulfilled through the manifestation of Babalon in her person.{{sfnm|1a1 = Pendle|1y = 2005|1p = 190|2a2 = Carter|2y = 2004|2pp = 160–169}}<ref name=Mather>{{cite news|last1=Mather|first1=Annalee|title=Look back at Anger: Film maker Kenneth Anger's work on display|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/reviews/look-back-at-anger-film-maker-kenneth-angers-work-on-display-9802151.html|website=independent.co.uk|publisher= Independent Print Limited|access-date=October 19, 2014|date=October 17, 2014}}</ref>

In December 1958, JPL was integrated into the newly established National Aeronautics and Space Administration, having built the ''[[Explorer 1]]'' satellite that commenced America's [[Space Race]] with the Soviet Union.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/jplhistory/early/joinnasa.php|title=Early History > JPL Joins NASA|website=jpl.nasa.gov|publisher=NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory|access-date=January 17, 2014|archive-date=November 8, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131108160743/http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/jplhistory/early/joinnasa.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> Aerojet was contracted by NASA to build the main engine of the [[Apollo Command/Service Module]], and the [[Space Shuttle Orbital Maneuvering System]].<ref name="Andrews" /> In a letter to [[Frank Malina]], von Kármán ranked Parsons first in a list of figures he viewed as most important to modern rocketry and the foundation of the American space program.{{sfn|Carter|2004|p = 195}} According to Richard Metzger, Wernher von Braun—who was nicknamed "The Father of Rocket Science"—once argued that Parsons was more worthy of this moniker.{{sfn|Metzger|2008|pp = 196–200}} In October 1968, Malina, a pioneer in [[sounding rocket]]ry, gave a speech at JPL in which he highlighted Parsons' contribution to the U.S. rocket project, and lamented how it had come to be neglected, crediting him for making "key contributions to the development of [[Storable propellant#Liquid propellant|storable propellants]] and of long duration solid propellant agents that play such an important role in American and European space technology."{{sfn|Pendle|2005|p = 306}}

[[File:Space Shuttle Columbia launching.jpg|thumb|right|Parsons is credited for inventions used in rocket technology such as the [[Space Shuttle]].]]
[[File:Parsons crater 5053 med.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Parsons (crater)|Parsons]] Moon crater]]
The same month, JPL held an open access event to mark the 32nd anniversary of its foundation—which featured a "nativity scene" of mannequins reconstructing the November 1936 photograph of the GALCIT Group—and erected a monument commemorating their first rocket test on Halloween 1936.{{sfn|Carter|2004|p = 15}} Among the aerospace industry, JPL was nicknamed as standing for "Jack Parsons' Laboratory" or "Jack Parsons Lives".{{sfn|Carter|2004|p = xxv}} The [[International Astronomical Union]] decided to name a crater on the [[far side (Moon)|far side]] of the Moon [[Parsons (crater)|Parsons]] after him in 1972.{{sfnm|1a1 = Carter|1y = 2004|1p = 192|2a1 = Pendle|2y = 2005|2p = 307}} JPL later credited him for making "distinctive technical innovations that advanced early efforts" in rocket engineering, with aerospace journalist Craig Covault stating that the work of Parsons, Qian Xuesen and the GALCIT Group "planted the seeds for JPL to become preeminent in space and rocketry."<ref name=JPL>{{cite web|title=JPL 101|url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/about_JPL/jpl101.pdf|website=jpl.nasa.gov|publisher=Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology|access-date=January 18, 2015|date=2002|archive-date=June 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170624182015/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/about_JPL/jpl101.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Covault|first1=Craig|title=Father of the Chinese space program dies|url=http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0911/02china/|access-date=June 24, 2015|work=spaceflightnow.com|publisher=Spaceflight Now Inc.|date=November 2, 2009}}</ref>

Many of Parsons' writings were posthumously published as ''Freedom is a Two-Edged Sword'' in 1989, a compilation co-edited by Cameron and O.T.O. leader Hymenaeus Beta, which incited a resurgence of interest in Parsons within occult and countercultural circles.{{sfn|Carter|2004|p = 193}} For example, comic book artist and occultist [[Alan Moore]] noted Parsons as a creative influence in a 1998 interview with [[Clifford Meth]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Meth|first1=Clifford|title=Alan Moore talks to Cliff – pt 2|url=http://www.cliffordmeth.com/alanmooretalkstocliff-pt2.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050301092443/http://www.cliffordmeth.com/alanmooretalkstocliff-pt2.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=March 1, 2005|website=cliffordmeth.com|access-date=June 24, 2015|date=October 1998}}</ref> The Cameron-Parsons Foundation was founded as an incorporated company in 2006, with the intention of conserving and promoting Parsons' writings and Cameron's artwork,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cameron-parsons.org/ |title=The Cameron-Parsons Foundation, Inc. |publisher=The Cameron-Parsons Foundation, Inc |access-date=January 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517073607/http://cameron-parsons.org/ |archive-date=May 17, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and in 2014 Fulger Esoterica published ''Songs for the Witch Woman''—a limited edition book of poems by Parsons with illustrations by Cameron, released to coincide with his centenary. An exhibition of the same name was held at the [[Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles]].<ref name="Nelson"/>

In 1999, [[Feral House]] published the biography ''Sex and Rockets: The Occult World of Jack Parsons'' by John Carter, who opined that Parsons had accomplished more in under five years of research than [[Robert H. Goddard]] had in his lifetime, and said that his role in the development of rocket technology had been neglected by historians of science;{{sfn|Carter|2004|p = 195}} Carter thought that Parsons' abilities and accomplishments as an occultist had been overestimated and exaggerated among Western esotericists, emphasizing his disowning by Crowley for practicing magic beyond his grade.{{sfn|Carter|2004|p = 196}} Feral House republished the work as a new edition in 2004, accompanied with an introduction by Robert Anton Wilson. Wilson believed that Parsons was "the one single individual who contributed the most to rocket science",{{sfn|Wilson|2004|p = xi}} describing him as being "very strange, very brilliant, very funny, [and] very tormented",{{sfn|Wilson|2004|p = vii}} and considering it noteworthy that the day of Parsons' birth was the predicted beginning of the apocalypse advocated by [[Charles Taze Russell]], the founder of the [[Bible Student movement]].{{sfn|Wilson|2004|p = ix}}

In 2005, [[Weidenfeld & Nicolson]] published ''Strange Angel: The Otherworldly Life of Rocket Scientist John Whiteside Parsons'' by George Pendle, who described Parsons as "the [[Che Guevara]] of occultism". Pendle said that although Parsons "would not live to see his dream of space travel come true, he was essential to making it a reality."{{sfn|Pendle|2005|pp = 201, 304}}{{sfn|Metzger|2008|pp = 196–200}} Pendle considered that the cultural stigma attached to Parsons' occultism was the primary cause of his low public profile, noting that "Like many scientific mavericks, Parsons was eventually discarded by the establishment once he had served his purpose." It was this unorthodox mindset, creatively facilitated by his science fiction fandom and "willingness to believe in magic's efficacy", Pendle argued, "that allowed him to break scientific barriers previously thought to be indestructible"—commenting that Parsons "saw both space and magic as ways of exploring these new frontiers—one breaking free from Earth literally and metaphysically."{{sfn|Pendle|2005|pp = 1–20}}<ref name=Solon>{{cite magazine|last=Solon|first=Olivia|title=Occultist Father of Rocketry 'Written Out' of NASA's history|url=https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-04/23/jpl-jack-parsons/viewall|magazine=Wired UK|access-date=May 8, 2014|date=April 23, 2014|archive-date=May 9, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140509001331/http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-04/23/jpl-jack-parsons/viewall|url-status=dead}}</ref>

L. Ron Hubbard's role in Parsons' Agape Lodge and the ensuing yacht scam were explored in Russell Miller's 1987 Hubbard biography ''[[Bare-faced Messiah]]''. Parsons' involvement in the Agape Lodge was also discussed by Martin P. Starr in his history of the American Thelemite movement, ''The Unknown God: W.T. Smith and the Thelemites'', published by Teitan Press in 2003.{{sfn|Starr|2003}} ''[[The QI Book of the Dead]]'' (2004), based on [[QI|the BBC game show]], included a Parsons obituary. Parsons' occult partnership with Hubbard was also mentioned in [[Alex Gibney]]'s 2015 documentary film ''[[Going Clear (film)|Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief]]'', produced by [[HBO]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Collins|first1=Sean T.|title=Suppressive Persons: 'Going Clear', Scientology, and the Appeal of Absolutism|url=http://observer.com/2015/03/suppressive-persons-going-clear-scientology-and-the-appeal-of-absolutism/|work=[[The New York Observer]]|access-date=June 19, 2015|date=March 29, 2015}}</ref>

Before his death, Parsons appeared in science fiction writer Anthony Boucher's murder-mystery novel ''Rocket to the Morgue'' (1942) under the guise of [[mad scientist]] character Hugo Chantrelle.{{sfnm|1a1 = Carter|1y = 2004|1p = 73|2a1 = Pendle|2y = 2005|2p = 230}} Another fictional character based on Parsons was Courtney James, a wealthy socialite who features in L. Sprague de Camp's 1956 short time travel story ''A Gun for Dinosaur''.{{sfn|Pendle|2005|p = 305}} In 2005, ''Pasadena Babalon'', a stage play about Parsons written by George D. Morgan and directed by [[Brian Brophy]], premiered at Caltech as a production by its theater Arts Group in 2010, the same year Cellar Door Publishing released Richard Carbonneau and Robin Simon Ng's [[graphic novel]], ''The Marvel: A Biography of Jack Parsons''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Caltech Theater Arts Premiers "Pasadena Babalon" This Month|url=https://www.caltech.edu/content/caltech-theater-arts-premiers-pasadena-babalon-month|website=caltech.edu|publisher=California Institute of Technology|access-date=May 9, 2014|date=February 16, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512225834/http://www.caltech.edu/content/caltech-theater-arts-premiers-pasadena-babalon-month|archive-date=May 12, 2014|url-status=dead}} [http://images.caltech.edu/weblab/babalon_clip.mp3 Audio clip] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512225317/http://images.caltech.edu/weblab/babalon_clip.mp3 |date=May 12, 2014 }}</ref>{{sfnm|1a1 = Carbonneau|1a2 = Simon|1y = 2010}}

Parsons' mythology was incorporated into the narrative of [[David Lynch]]'s mystery-horror television series ''[[Twin Peaks]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-SEB-97425|title=How Richard Nixon, L. Ron Hubbard and Conspiracy Theories Tie Into 'Twin Peaks'|first=Michael|last=Calia|access-date=September 1, 2021|date=October 21, 2016|website=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref> In 2014, [[AMC Networks]] announced plans for a serial television dramatization of Parsons' life,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ruderman|first1=Dan|title=Ridley Scott to produce miniseries on rocket scientist, occultist Jack Parsons|url=http://boingboing.net/2014/10/28/ridley-scott-to-produce-minise.html|website=[[Boing Boing]]|access-date=November 6, 2014|date=October 28, 2014}}</ref> but in 2016 it was reported that the series "will not be going forward."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Andreeva|first1=Nellie|title=AMC Orders Drama Series 'Lodge 49' Produced By Paul Giamatti|url=https://deadline.com/2016/10/lodge-49-series-order-amc-paul-giamatti-1201830841/|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|access-date=October 30, 2016|date=October 4, 2016}}</ref> In 2017, the project was adopted as a web television series by [[CBS All Access]]. ''[[Strange Angel]]'', produced by [[Mark Heyman]] and starring Irish actor [[Jack Reynor]] as Parsons, premiered in June 2018 and ran for two seasons. Parsons appears as a side character in [[China Miéville|China Miéville's]] 2016 fantastical novella, [[The Last Days of New Paris]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=DeLucci |first=Theresa |date=August 22, 2016 |title=The City Dreams: The Last Days of New Paris by China Miéville |url=https://www.tor.com/2016/08/22/book-reviews-the-last-days-of-new-paris-by-china-mieville/ |access-date=February 21, 2023 |website=Tor.com |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2018, Parsons was featured in an episode of the Amazon series ''[[Lore (TV series)|Lore]]''.

Parsons is the subject of musical tributes by [[Jóhann Jóhannsson|Johan Johannson]] (''[[Fordlandia (album)|Fordlandia]]'', 2008), [[Six Organs of Admittance]] (''Parsons' Blues'', 2012), [[The Claypool Lennon Delirium]] (''[[South of Reality]]'', 2019), and [[Luke Haines]] and [[Peter Buck]] (''[[Beat Poetry for Survivalists]]'', 2020).<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 3, 2008 |title=Johann Johannsson: 'Fordlândia' |url=https://4ad.com/releases/454 |url-status=live |access-date=September 3, 2021 |website=4AD |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606095533/https://4ad.com/releases/454 |archive-date=June 6, 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Reed|first1=Ryan|title=Ridley Scott to produce miniseries on rocket scientist, occultist Jack Parsons|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/claypool-lennon-delirium-new-album-south-of-reality-new-song-745627/|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=November 7, 2019|date=October 23, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Six Organs Of Admittance – ''Parsons' Blues''|url=http://www.discogs.com/Six-Organs-Of-Admittance-Parsons-Blues/release/3762156|website=discogs.com|date=July 24, 2012 |publisher=Zink Media, Inc.|access-date=March 5, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Clayton-Lea|first1=Tony|title=Luke Haines & Peter Buck: Beat Poetry for Survivalists – the results may surprise you|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/luke-haines-peter-buck-beat-poetry-for-survivalists-the-results-may-surprise-you-1.4190217 |website=[[Irish Times]]|access-date=March 15, 2020|date=March 6, 2020}}</ref>