PROGRAMS:

COMPANIES:

• NASA

COMMENTS:

The trajectory of his life was changed forever when the nuns of his early education and a benefactor arranged for him to continue his education through a work study program at Scranton Prep high school instead of entering the mines at the age of twelve. He was forever grateful for their efforts, the sacrifices his parents made and the academic rigor of the curriculum.

He went on to earn his Aerospace Engineering degree from the University of Detroit Mercy through their co-op program with NACA.  He joined the NACA Lewis Research Center upon graduation and met his future bride, Marilyn Kurtz.

When Sputnik shattered American complacency, he was asked to join the newly formed Space Task Group (STG) by his boss, George Low, and moved to Langley. He was perpetually enthused and excited by his work and the brilliance and commitment of his mentors such as Dr. Chris Kraft and his colleagues.

Along with the rest of the STG, he relocated to Houston in 1961 where they started the Manned Spacecraft Center, now known as Johnson Space Center.  They began inventing the concepts and principles for flying manned vehicles in space and executing the mission from a central point on the ground. These concepts and principles are still employed in today’s human spaceflight operations. He began working as a Flight Dynamics Officer (FDO) which is the discipline responsible for turning the newly invented and complex math of orbital mechanics into spacecraft commands used to perform critical orbital maneuvers. He supported the Mercury and Gemini missions as a FDO and then was selected to be a Flight Director in 1964. He served numerous Gemini and Apollo missions as “Flight” (aka “Black Flight”.) The Black Flight team, under his leadership, played a critical role in the miraculous recovery and success of the Apollo 13 mission. During Black Flight’s shift that fateful night, they were responsible for recovering from the oxygen tank explosion, stabilizing the situation and devising a plan to return the crew safely to earth. He described that critical shift in his Oral History by saying “It posed a continuous demand for the best decisions often without hard data and mostly on the basis of judgment, in the face of the most severe in-flight emergency faced thus far in manned spaceflight.” During this one shift, the fate of the Apollo 13 crew hung in the balance, but he led the Black Flight Team to establish the path for the crew’s eventual safe return.

Throughout Apollo, in addition to his duties as a Flight Director, he accepted additional roles of increasing responsibility including the role as Chief of the Flight Director Office in 1968. Towards the end of Apollo, he was asked to participate in the United States negotiations with the USSR for a joint mission to be called the Apollo Soyuz Test Project (ASPT). This led to his role as ASTP Program Manager where he navigated the Cold War era challenges of cooperation between the world’s competing, and not so friendly, super powers to enable a safe and successful on orbit docking of an Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft in 1975.  After ASTP, he assumed leadership roles in the upcoming space shuttle program including Program Manager of the space shuttle system after STS-1. He retired from NASA in 1985 and continued to work in the America’s space program in the private sector until he formally retired in 1998. However, even in retirement, he would continue to counsel and mentor many engineers, astronauts, grandchildren and future leaders of America’s Human Spaceflight Program.

He was a man of faith. He embodied the values of integrity, kindness, excellence, courage, and personal responsibility. He always chose to do the right thing no matter how challenging. He brooked no excuses for himself or others. His courage was manifested in ways both large and in the small daily decisions of life. He did not waste time or talent. He possessed a remarkable intellect and a formidable work ethic and sought to employ them for the greater good.

Despite his many accomplishments, he remained a humble man. He was always grateful for the many opportunities, wonderful people and the lottery of life that positioned him in a time and place to use his talents and drive to forge his path in the world. He felt incredibly blessed by his formative years, his work, and his family and for the extraordinary life he lived.

He was a patriot and proud to serve his country through his work in the space program. He felt the American democratic ideal was one of the brightest dreams of mankind. He believed America had the privilege and power to lead the world to a better place.