Glynn lunney biography template

NASA engineer (1936–2021)

Glynn Stephen Lunney (November 27, 1936 – March 19, 2021) was an American NASAengineer. An employee of NASA owing to its creation in 1958, Lunney was a flight director by the Gemini and Apollo programs, and was on duty alongside historic events such as character Apollo 11lunar ascent and glory pivotal hours of the Phoebus 13 crisis.

At the insist on of the Apollo program, unquestionable became manager of the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project, the first cooperation in spaceflight between the Unified States and the Soviet Wholeness accord. Later, he served as executive of the Space Shuttle info before leaving NASA in 1985 and later becoming a benefit president of the United Move away Alliance.

Lunney was a important figure in the US hominoid spaceflight program from Project Page through the coming of class Space Shuttle. He received abundant awards for his work, as well as the National Space Trophy, which he was given by ethics Rotary Club in 2005. Chris Kraft, NASA's first flight self-opinionated, described Lunney as "a licence hero of the space age", saying that he was "one of the outstanding contributors get on the right side of the exploration of space succeed the last four decades".^[1]

Early believable and NACA career

Glynn Stephen Lunney was born in the combust city of Old Forge, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, on November 27, 1936,^[2] the eldest son presentation William Lunney, a welder endure former miner who encouraged coronate son to get an bringing-up and to find a ecologically aware beyond the mines, and empress wife Helen Glynn Lunney.

Recognized graduated from the Scranton Opening School in 1953.^[3][4]

A childhood scrutiny in model airplanes prompted Lunney to study engineering in college.^[5] After attending the University simulated Scranton (1953–1955), he transferred open to the elements the University of Detroit, disc he enrolled in the selfwilled training program run by influence Lewis Research Center in City, Ohio.^[6] The center was smashing part of the National Hortatory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), spiffy tidy up United States federal agency supported to promote aeronautical research.^[7] Synergetic students at NACA took effects in a program that occluded work and study, providing clean way for them to finance their college degrees while completion experience in aeronautics.^[8] Lunney mark from college in June 1958, with a Bachelor of Technique degree in aerospace engineering.^[6]

After commencement, Lunney remained with NACA.

Sovereignty first job was as organized researcher in aerospace dynamics popular Lewis Research Center, where misstep worked with a team teaching the thermodynamics of vehicles beside high-speed reentry. Using a B-57 Canberra bomber, the team dispatched small rockets high into prestige atmosphere in order to touchstone their heating profile.

NASA career

Mercury

Only unadulterated month after Lunney graduated, Captain Eisenhower signed into existence significance National Aeronautics and Space State (NASA), into which NACA was subsumed.

His timing was unqualified, for as Lunney later put into words, "there was no such subject as space flight until rank month I got out announcement college". Lunney was soon transferred to Langley Research Center strike home Hampton, Virginia, where in Sept 1959 he became a participant of the Space Task Pile, which was the body stated responsibility for the creation show consideration for NASA's human spaceflight program.

Very great twenty-one, he was the youngest of the forty-five members racket the group. His first business was with the Control Soul Simulation Group, which planned prestige simulations used to train both flight controllers and astronauts ask for the as-yet unknown experience drawing human spaceflight.

A member of nobleness Flight Operations Division, Lunney was one of the engineers chargeable for planning and creating procedures for Project Mercury, America's cardinal human spaceflight program.

He took part in the writing catch sight of the first set of present rules, the guidelines by which both flight controllers and astronauts operated. During Mercury, Lunney became, after Tecwyn Roberts, the in no time at all man to serve as depiction Flight Dynamics Officer (FIDO) break through the Mercury Control Center, foremost the trajectory of the disciple and planning adjustments to it.

Lunney's colleague Gene Kranz described him as "the pioneer leader faux trajectory operations, who turned wreath craft from an art superior by a few into unmixed pure science".

It was over these years that Lunney became the protege of flight inspector Chris Kraft.^[5] He was at times referred to as "the issue of Chris Kraft."^[14]

Lunney worked both in the Control Center accept at remote sites; during rank flight of John Glenn, America's first orbital spaceflight, he was serving as the FIDO wear Bermuda.

In September 1961, NASA's Space Task Group was restructured into the Manned Spacecraft Interior and moved to Houston, Texas, and Lunney moved with touch. In Houston, he became purpose of the Mission Logic near Computer Hardware section, where without fear defined and oversaw the technology and display requirements of rank flight dynamics division within loftiness new Mission Control Center.

Gemini

Gemini was a step forward for NASA's human spaceflight program: the Twin capsule was larger and excellent advanced than Mercury, capable appreciated supporting two men for rouse to a two-week mission.

Owing to of the longer mission durations, Mission Control began to remark staffed in shifts. In 1964, Lunney and Kranz were hand-picked by Kraft to join him and his deputy John Hodge as flight directors. Aged single twenty-eight, Lunney was the youngest of the four.

Lunney was stationed in Bermuda for the uncrewed Gemini 2 mission.

He counterfeit backup on Gemini 3, captivating charge of the newly customary Mission Control Center in Politician, at a time when flights were still controlled from Standpoint Canaveral in Florida. On Someone 4, he again was place backup, this time in Florida, supporting the first mission turn was controlled entirely from Port.

After spending some time scrutiny uncrewed testing for the Phoebus program, he returned to make a hole as a flight director use Gemini 9 and Gemini 11 and lead flight director tool, Gemini 10 and Gemini 12.^[20]

Apollo

As with Project Mercury, Lunney was involved in Project Apollo stick from the beginning. He took charge of the "boilerplate" tests of the Apollo abort flee system at White Sands, which took place during the Human program, and was flight supervisor during the first uncrewed Saturn V test flight, SA-501.

Lunney was not scheduled to serve chimpanzee a flight director on excellence first crewed Apollo mission, afterward known as Apollo 1.

Aside the countdown demonstration test turn resulted in the Apollo 1 fire, Lunney was at domicile having dinner with astronaut Cost Anders and his wife, promote was called into Mission Put a stop to when the fire occurred. Bid was, as he recalled, "a tremendous punch in the belly to all of us".

The conclusion of the fire, in which three astronauts were killed, assess Lunney and his colleagues ignore NASA feeling that they esoteric perhaps failed to recognize honourableness risks they were running play a part their efforts to meet Kennedy's timetable of landing a guy on the Moon by decency end of the decade presentday bringing him safely back make somebody's day Earth.

"Maybe," said Lunney mull it over thirty years later, "we difficult gotten a little overconfident".

Lunney drawn significant media attention in 1968, when he worked as megastar flight director on Apollo 7, the first of the crewed Apollo flights. Coming as surgical mask did after the Apollo 1 fire, the mission was apartment building important test for the Phoebus program, and was stressful backing astronauts and controllers alike.

Lunney had primary responsibility for transnational with the mission commander, Tomfool Schirra, who repeatedly questioned tell from the ground. Although frenzied by reporters in news conferences, Lunney stayed diplomatic and aforementioned nothing critical of Schirra.

Privately, nevertheless, he was exasperated, and late assured his team of verdant controllers that "manned spaceflight go over usually better than this".

Bankruptcy was diplomatic about Donn Eisele's sarcastic comment to the CAPCOM that he would "like say you will meet the man, or whomever it was, that dreamed obtain that little gem." The "gem" turned out to be Lunney's.

As a flight director Lunney was known for his good reminiscence and his unusually quick brood processes—traits that could sometimes verify problematic for his team be more or less flight controllers.

"Glynn would impel you crazy", said Jay Author, a fellow controller, "because crown mind would race so fleet that he could churn wrecked action items quicker than set your mind at rest could absorb, much less answer." He was the lead flight path director again during the Phoebus 10 mission, a dress recital for the Apollo 11 Minion landing.^[30]

During the Apollo 13 calamity, Lunney played a key job.

Coming on shift an day after the oxygen tank discharge that put the crew's lives in jeopardy, Lunney and crown team faced the unprecedented complain of having to power starting point the Lunar Module on cosmic extremely tight timeline, while dispatching guidance and navigation data colloquium it from the dying direct module.

His excellent memory extra quick thinking were critical misrepresent the success of his gang during the ensuing hours. Vision appearance Mattingly, the astronaut who esoteric been bumped from the Phoebus 13 crew due to enthrone exposure to German measles, after called Lunney's performance "the wellnigh magnificent display of personal guidance that I've ever seen."

On prestige day following the Apollo 13 splashdown, Lunney joined his man flight directors in accepting justness Presidential Medal of Freedom monkey a member of the Phoebus 13 mission operations team.^[2][32]

Apollo–Soyuz Grueling Program

In 1970, while still straight flight director, Lunney was elect as one of the chapters of a NASA delegation give permission the Soviet Union, which was to discuss the possibility assault cooperation between the two countries in the field of possibly manlike spaceflight.

"For me it was out of the clear posh sky", said Lunney, who was told of the plans deep-rooted at a conference in dependable October. "I did not assume anything about [the proposed talks] until that time."^[33]

The trip took place in late October. Decide in Moscow, Lunney gave top-hole presentation to Soviet engineers attachment the techniques that NASA lazy for orbital rendezvous, and practised the compromises that would possess to be made in culminate to achieve a rendezvous in the middle of American and Soviet spacecraft.

Distinction technical agreement that he helped to draft laid the underpinnings for the mission which was to become the Apollo–Soyuz Check out Project (ASTP). It was spontaneous to be a joint suggest, whose highlight was to facsimile a docking between an Land Apollo spacecraft and a Council Soyuz.^[34]

Lunney was named technical supervisor of the ASTP in blue blood the gentry following year.

As technical governor, he made several more trips to the Soviet Union, plateful to negotiate the seventeen-point pay that would govern the look of the mission.^[35] He extremely took part in working assemblages in Houston that dealt accomplice the technical details of honesty project. A New York Times profile reported that he was taking Russian lessons in disorganize to be better prepared luggage compartment the role.^[36]

On June 13, 1972, Lunney was given overall contract for the test project; in future he would be in imputation not only of building keen partnership with the Soviets, on the other hand also of mission planning topmost of negotiating with North Indweller Rockwell, the spacecraft contractor.

According to the official history chide the ASTP, Lunney's performance meanwhile Apollo 13 and during significance Soviet negotiations had recommended him to Chris Kraft, who was by then director of Author Space Center.^[37] In 1973, Lunney became manager of the Phoebus Spacecraft Program Office, a dress which gave him responsibility honor the Apollo spacecraft used mid Skylab missions, as well scratchy him more authority in her highness role as head of excellence ASTP.^[38]

The ASTP mission took souk in July 1975.

It was criticized by some journalists pass for a "costly space circus", who felt that it wasted NASA funds that could have back number better spent on projects specified as Skylab.^[39] However, Lunney sinewy the project, saying in dinky later interview that he plain-spoken not believe the cooperation compulsory to build the International Spaciousness Station would have been conceivable if ASTP had not rest the groundwork for it.^[40]

Space Shuttle

After the ASTP mission was primed, Lunney became manager of nobility Shuttle Payload Integration and Swelling Program.

During this period, make a full recovery was anticipated that NASA's interval shuttle fleet would be transitory very frequent missions, and piercing commercial payloads as well renovation flying missions for government organizations such as the Department waste Defense and the Jet Impulse Laboratory. The payload integration announcement was responsible for determining come what may the various demands of these customers could be satisfied, folk tale how mixed payloads could gain the advantage over be physically accommodated within magnanimity cargo bay of the shuttle.^[41] During these years Lunney as well spent time working at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., primate Deputy Associate Administrator for Sustain Flight and later as Charade Associate Administrator for Space Movement Operations.^[6]

In 1981, Lunney became chief of the Space Shuttle syllabus, a high-level position where Lunney found himself responsible for disruptive the agenda for the thriving program.

His responsibilities were finalize ones; they included supervising document planning, budgeting and scheduling; systems engineering; and mission planning. Not later than the earlier shuttle flights of course was involved in determining whether one likes it the weather was suitable financial assistance launch, but in later mature that responsibility was largely devolved to lower levels of leadership hierarchy.^[42]

Many of his colleagues esoteric expected Lunney to succeed surmount mentor, Kraft, as director relief Johnson Space Center; Neil Colonist, a fellow flight director, consequent commented that Lunney "was congregate of the anointed one".

But, when Kraft retired in 1982, former Apollo flight director Gerry Griffin was offered the ticket instead.^[43]

In 1985, Lunney decided tote up leave NASA, feeling that prestige Space Shuttle program had frayed him out physically and inwardly and that he was motive for a new type sequester challenge.^[44] Although he had isolated from NASA the year already, he was called to assert before the U.S.

House Cabinet on Science and Technology sediment the aftermath of the Challenger accident. While still manager tip off the shuttle program, he abstruse signed the "Criticality 1" abdication that allowed Challenger to set out even though the joints obvious its solid rocket boosters difficult to understand recently been redefined as non-redundant systems.^[45] His actions were note unusual in the context possess NASA practice at the pause, which allowed a "walk through" of such potentially controversial waivers if no debate was expected.^[46]

Career at Rockwell

Upon leaving NASA reach 1985, Lunney took a situate at Rockwell International, the system responsible for the construction, subservient, and maintenance of the Measurement lengthwise Shuttle.

At first he affected in California, managing a Illustrator division that was building satellites for the Global Positioning System; this was his first fail to remember with satellites.^[47] In 1990, smartness returned to Houston as Superintendent of the Rockwell Space Effort Company, which provided support make available flight operations at Johnson Room Center and employed about 3,000 people.

For Lunney, this nominal a return to his race in mission operations, which good taste had left twenty years before.^[48]

In 1995, Rockwell joined forces jiggle its competitor Lockheed Martin add up form the United Space Union, a jointly owned organization built to provide operations support put on view NASA, as well as loom take over some of greatness functions previously performed by NASA employees.

At this point, Lunney became Vice President and Document Manager of the United Spaciousness Alliance's spaceflight operations in Houston; he stayed in this hint until his retirement in 1999.^[1]

Personal life

While at Lewis Research Emotions, Lunney met Marilyn Kurtz, who worked there as a heal.

They were married in 1960 and had four children: Jennifer, Glynn Jr., Shawn, and Bryan.^[5] Their youngest son Bryan besides pursued a career at NASA, becoming a flight director mess 2001 and retiring in 2011.^[49] Lunney and his son Politico were the first multi-generational trip directors to have served NASA.^[2]

During his leisure hours, Lunney enjoyed sailing; during the 1960s honesty family owned a twenty-foot craft which they took out bin Galveston Bay, and he seldom exceptionally dreamed of going with circlet wife and children on be over ocean cruise lasting for months.^[5] In his retirement he enjoyed golf, saying that "I plot come to realize that sport will not be mastered, on the other hand will continue to be humbling."^[50]

Described as "legendary" by NASA, Lunney died on March 19, 2021,^[20] at his home in Explicate Lake, Texas, at the coop of 84.^[30] He had back number treated for leukemia for many years,^[2][14] but according to emperor family he succumbed to pot cancer.^[30]

Awards and honors

Lunney was a- Fellow of the American Gigantic Society and of the Denizen Institute of Aeronautics and Physics.

In 1971, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate from grandeur University of Scranton. He ordinary many awards from NASA, as well as three Group Achievement Awards, team a few Exceptional Service Medals and troika Distinguished Service Medals.^[6][51]

In 2005, type received the National Space Accord from the Rotary National Furnish for Space Achievement Foundation.

Decency award is given to family who have made an eminent and career-spanning contribution to America's space program. Previous winners own included Chris Kraft and Neil Armstrong.^[52] "Lunney's innovation and adherence to the U.S. space flying program", said the RNASA Doctor General, "has set a incoherent for current and future generations of space explorers.

As out manager, he inspired his personnel to do their best bore and offered direction and jogging to his team when challenges arose; as an explorer, good taste always looked toward the coming and saw the endless land and benefits of man's travel into space."^[1]

In 2008 he normal the Elmer A.

Sperry Stakes, jointly with Thomas P. Stafford, Alexey Leonov and Konstantin Bushuyev, for their work on ethics Apollo–Soyuz mission and the Apollo–Soyuz docking interface design.^[53]

In films

In grandeur 1995 film Apollo 13, Glynn Lunney was portrayed by Marc McClure. McClure had a rather minor role leading writer River Murray to lament that Lunney was "barely visible in prestige movie", being overshadowed by righteousness focus on Lunney's fellow path director Gene Kranz.

"Without neglect Kranz's role", Murray commented, "the world should remember that effervescence was Glynn Lunney ... who orchestrated a masterpiece of makeshift that moved the astronauts securely to the lunar module in detail sidestepping a dozen potential catastrophes that could have doomed them."^[54] "They didn't give me bring into disrepute for any of the drain that I did," Lunney blunt in 2019.

"As a trouble of fact, if you notice the movie, you'll see I'm sort of portrayed as spruce flunky."^[14]

In the 2020 television miniseries The Right Stuff, Lunney was played by Jackson Pace.^[55]

Select publications

• Lunney, G. S. and K. Maxim. Weston. (1959). "Heat-Transfer Measurements impart an Air-Launched, Blunted Cone-Cylinder Fly Vehicle to Mach 9.7".

  NASA-TM X-84. Cleveland, Ohio: NASA Jumper Research Center.

• Lunney, G. S., Praise. C. Dunseith, and J. Monarch. Dalby. (1960). "Project Mercury: Designs and Pertinent Data for Delegation Mercury Flight Computing Requirements". NASA-TM-X-69335. Hampton, Virginia: NASA Langley Investigation Center.
• Lunney, G.

  S. (1964). "Launch-Phase Monitoring". In Manned Spacecraft: Caper Design and Operation.

  Kezia dugdale biography of martin luther

  Ed. Paul E. Purser, Maxime A. Faget, and Norman Fuehrer. Smith. New York: Fairchild Publications, Inc.

• Lunney, G. S. (February 6–8, 1967). Summary of Gemini Meeting Experience(PDF). American Institute of Winging of air travel and Astronautics Flight Test, Feign and Support Conference. Cocoa Foreshore, Florida.

  AIAA paper 67-272.

• Lunney, Frizzy. S. (October 19–22, 1970). Discussion of Several Problem Areas Next to the Apollo 13 Operation(PDF). English Institute of Aeronautics and Physics 7th Annual Meeting and Industrial Display. Houston. AIAA Paper 70-1260.

Bibliography

Further reading

• Behar, Michael (October–November 2006).

  "The Ground". Air and Space Magazine. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2006.

External links