Glynn lunney biography channel

NASA engineer (1936–2021)

Glynn Stephen Lunney (November 27, 1936 – March 19, 2021) was an Denizen NASAengineer. An employee of NASA thanks to its creation in 1958, Lunney was a flight director during the Someone and Apollo programs, and was site duty during historic events such by the same token the Apollo 11lunar ascent and illustriousness pivotal hours of the Apollo 13 crisis. At the end of illustriousness Apollo program, he became manager acquire the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project, the extreme collaboration in spaceflight between the Pooled States and the Soviet Union. Posterior, he served as manager of prestige Space Shuttle program before leaving NASA in 1985 and later becoming great vice president of the United Timespan Alliance.

Lunney was a key assess in the US human spaceflight promulgation from Project Mercury through the climax of the Space Shuttle. He traditional numerous awards for his work, as well as the National Space Trophy, which loosen up was given by the Rotary Truncheon in 2005. Chris Kraft, NASA's prime flight director, described Lunney as "a true hero of the space age", saying that he was "one hold the outstanding contributors to the analysis of space of the last quadruplet decades".^[1]

Early life and NACA career

Glynn Author Lunney was born in the combust city of Old Forge, Lackawanna Colony, Pennsylvania, on November 27, 1936,^[2] primacy eldest son of William Lunney, dinky welder and former miner who pleased his son to get an rearing and to find a job left the mines, and his wife Helen Glynn Lunney. He graduated from class Scranton Preparatory School in 1953.^[3][4]

A girlhood interest in model airplanes prompted Lunney to study engineering in college.^[5] Stern attending the University of Scranton (1953–1955), he transferred to the University get through Detroit, where he enrolled in representation cooperative training program run by influence Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio.^[6] The center was a part hegemony the National Advisory Committee for Trip (NACA), a United States federal means founded to promote aeronautical research.^[7] Perverse students at NACA took part derive a program that combined work present-day study, providing a way for them to fund their college degrees stretch gaining experience in aeronautics.^[8] Lunney even from college in June 1958, do faster a Bachelor of Science degree detainee aerospace engineering.^[6]

After graduation, Lunney remained considerable NACA. His first job was primate a researcher in aerospace dynamics luck Lewis Research Center, where he specious with a team studying the thermodynamics of vehicles during high-speed reentry. Eat a B-57 Canberra bomber, the setup sent small rockets high into rendering atmosphere in order to measure their heating profile.

NASA career

Mercury

Only a month later Lunney graduated, President Eisenhower signed talk of existence the National Aeronautics and Amplitude Administration (NASA), into which NACA was subsumed. His timing was perfect, expend as Lunney later said, "there was no such thing as space air voyage until the month I got straighten of college". Lunney was soon transferred to Langley Research Center in Jazzman, Virginia, where in September 1959 fair enough became a member of the Gap Task Group, which was the reason given responsibility for the creation firm footing NASA's human spaceflight program. Aged blackjack, he was the youngest of rank forty-five members of the group. Her highness first assignment was with the Get Center Simulation Group, which planned nobility simulations used to train both winging controllers and astronauts for the as-yet unknown experience of human spaceflight.

A partaker of the Flight Operations Division, Lunney was one of the engineers dependable for planning and creating procedures safe Project Mercury, America's first human spacefaring program. He took part in character writing of the first set win mission rules, the guidelines by which both flight controllers and astronauts operated. During Mercury, Lunney became, after Tecwyn Roberts, the second man to look after the needs of as the Flight Dynamics Officer (FIDO) in the Mercury Control Center, behave the trajectory of the spacecraft lecture planning adjustments to it.

Lunney's colleague Sequence Kranz described him as "the pathfinder leader of trajectory operations, who iniquitous his craft from an art gifted by a few into a definite science". It was during these age that Lunney became the protege pills flight director Chris Kraft.^[5] He was sometimes referred to as "the mortal of Chris Kraft."^[14]

Lunney worked both fasten the Control Center and at doubtful sites; during the flight of Closet Glenn, America's first orbital spaceflight, closure was serving as the FIDO compact Bermuda. In September 1961, NASA's Measurement lengthwise Task Group was reorganized into ethics Manned Spacecraft Center and moved give somebody no option but to Houston, Texas, and Lunney moved accost it. In Houston, he became imagination of the Mission Logic and Pc Hardware section, where he defined flourishing oversaw the computing and display provisos of the flight dynamics division interior the new Mission Control Center.

Gemini

Gemini was a step forward for NASA's soul in person bodily spaceflight program: the Gemini capsule was larger and more advanced than Hg, capable of supporting two men beseech up to a two-week mission. Since of the longer mission durations, Estimate Control began to be staffed dust shifts. In 1964, Lunney and Kranz were selected by Kraft to combine him and his deputy John Hodge as flight directors. Aged only 28, Lunney was the youngest of loftiness four.

Lunney was stationed in Bermuda espouse the uncrewed Gemini 2 mission. Purify worked backup on Gemini 3, winsome charge of the newly established Office Control Center in Houston, at precise time when flights were still disciplined from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Nation-state Gemini 4, he again was situate backup, this time in Florida, carriage the first mission that was pressurized entirely from Houston. After spending good time on uncrewed testing for nobleness Apollo program, he returned to out of a job as a flight director on Somebody 9 and Gemini 11 and motion flight director on, Gemini 10 attend to Gemini 12.^[20]

Apollo

As with Project Mercury, Lunney was involved in Project Apollo good from the beginning. He took sink of the "boilerplate" tests of character Apollo abort escape system at Milky Sands, which took place during glory Gemini program, and was flight bumptious during the first uncrewed Saturn Absolutely test flight, SA-501.

Lunney was not timetabled to serve as a flight executive on the first crewed Apollo program, later known as Apollo 1. Midst the countdown demonstration test that resulted in the Apollo 1 fire, Lunney was at home having dinner cop astronaut Bill Anders and his bride, and was called into Mission Insurmountable when the fire occurred. It was, as he recalled, "a tremendous hit in the stomach to all wheedle us".

The aftermath of the fire, razorsharp which three astronauts were killed, omitted Lunney and his colleagues at NASA feeling that they had perhaps bed ruined to recognize the risks they were running in their efforts to befitting Kennedy's timetable of landing a civil servant on the Moon by the madcap of the decade and bringing him safely back to Earth. "Maybe," oral Lunney over thirty years later, "we had gotten a little overconfident".

Lunney curious significant media attention in 1968, what because he worked as lead flight executive on Apollo 7, the first boss the crewed Apollo flights. Coming type it did after the Apollo 1 fire, the mission was an mark off test for the Apollo program, stomach was stressful for astronauts and controllers alike. Lunney had primary responsibility provision dealing with the mission commander, Saphead Schirra, who repeatedly questioned orders liberate yourself from the ground. Although pressed by ladies in news conferences, Lunney stayed clever and said nothing critical of Schirra.

Privately, however, he was exasperated, and after assured his team of young controllers that "manned spaceflight is usually speak of than this". He was diplomatic tackle Donn Eisele's sarcastic comment to class CAPCOM that he would "like compare with meet the man, or whomever bring to an end was, that dreamed up that diminutive gem." The "gem" turned out be acquainted with be Lunney's.

As a flight director Lunney was known for his good honour and his unusually quick thought processes—traits that could sometimes prove problematic bare his team of flight controllers. "Glynn would drive you crazy", said Make believe Greene, a fellow controller, "because culminate mind would race so fast delay he could churn out action inside info quicker than you could absorb, some less answer." He was the usher flight director again during the Phoebus 10 mission, a dress rehearsal be thankful for the Apollo 11 Moon landing.^[30]

During rectitude Apollo 13 crisis, Lunney played a- key role. Coming on shift almanac hour after the oxygen tank query that put the crew's lives regulate jeopardy, Lunney and his team unashamed the unprecedented challenge of having molest power up the Lunar Module in line an extremely tight timeline, while transmission guidance and navigation data to show off from the dying command module. Cap excellent memory and quick thinking were critical in the success of consummate team during the ensuing hours. Unqualified Mattingly, the astronaut who had back number bumped from the Apollo 13 team due to his exposure to Teutonic measles, later called Lunney's performance "the most magnificent display of personal hold that I've ever seen."

On the date following the Apollo 13 splashdown, Lunney joined his fellow flight directors suspend accepting the Presidential Medal of Extent as a member of the Phoebus 13 mission operations team.^[2][32]

Apollo–Soyuz Test Program

In 1970, while still a flight president, Lunney was selected as one ticking off the members of a NASA empowerment to the Soviet Union, which was to discuss the possibility of regularity between the two countries in character field of human spaceflight. "For measurement it was out of the murky blue sky", said Lunney, who was told of the plans while shock defeat a conference in early October. "I did not know anything about [the proposed talks] until that time."^[33]

The drive took place in late October. Like chalk and cheese in Moscow, Lunney gave a fashion to Soviet engineers on the techniques that NASA used for orbital meet, and on the compromises that would have to be made in level to achieve a rendezvous between Land and Soviet spacecraft. The technical reach a decision that he helped to draft set the groundwork for the mission which was to become the Apollo–Soyuz Intricate Project (ASTP). It was intended stop be a joint mission, whose underscore accentuate was to be a docking betwixt an American Apollo spacecraft and splendid Soviet Soyuz.^[34]

Lunney was named technical chairman of the ASTP in the masses year. As technical director, he indebted several more trips to the Country Union, helping to negotiate the seventeen-point agreement that would govern the appearance of the mission.^[35] He also took part in working groups in Politico that dealt with the technical trivialities of the project. A New Dynasty Times profile reported that he was taking Russian lessons in order play-act be better prepared for the role.^[36]

On June 13, 1972, Lunney was terrestrial overall responsibility for the test project; henceforth he would be in drop not only of building a corporation with the Soviets, but also waning mission planning and of negotiating seam North American Rockwell, the spacecraft system. According to the official history delightful the ASTP, Lunney's performance during Phoebus 13 and during the Soviet trade had recommended him to Chris Kraft, who was by then director nominate Johnson Space Center.^[37] In 1973, Lunney became manager of the Apollo Retainer Program Office, a position which gave him responsibility for the Apollo vassal used during Skylab missions, as follow giving him more authority in cap role as head of the ASTP.^[38]

The ASTP mission took place in July 1975. It was criticized by varied journalists as a "costly space circus", who felt that it wasted NASA funds that could have been vacation spent on projects such as Skylab.^[39] However, Lunney supported the project, adage in a later interview that elegance did not believe the cooperation required to build the International Space Location would have been possible if ASTP had not laid the groundwork funds it.^[40]

Space Shuttle

After the ASTP mission was completed, Lunney became manager of distinction Shuttle Payload Integration and Development Information. During this period, it was hopedfor that NASA's space shuttle fleet would be flying very frequent missions, jaunt carrying commercial payloads as well slightly flying missions for government organizations specified as the Department of Defense take the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The delivery integration program was responsible for paramount how the various demands of these customers could be satisfied, and attest mixed payloads could best be meat accommodated within the cargo bay longedfor the shuttle.^[41] During these years Lunney also spent time working at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., as Standin Associate Administrator for Space Flight streak later as Acting Associate Administrator acquire Space Transportation Operations.^[6]

In 1981, Lunney became manager of the Space Shuttle promulgation, a high-level position where Lunney strong himself responsible for setting the programme for the developing program. His responsibilities were broad ones; they included instruction program planning, budgeting and scheduling; systems engineering; and mission planning. During prestige earlier shuttle flights he was intricate in determining whether the weather was suitable for launch, but in succeeding years that responsibility was largely devolved to lower levels of the hierarchy.^[42]

Many of his colleagues had expected Lunney to succeed his mentor, Kraft, thanks to director of Johnson Space Center; Neil Hutchinson, a fellow flight director, subsequent commented that Lunney "was sort nucleus the anointed one". However, when Kraft retired in 1982, former Apollo winging director Gerry Griffin was offered picture position instead.^[43]

In 1985, Lunney decided fall foul of leave NASA, feeling that the Distance end to end Shuttle program had worn him denote physically and mentally and that subside was ready for a new genre of challenge.^[44] Although he had leave from NASA the year before, let go was called to testify before righteousness U.S. House Committee on Science endure Technology in the aftermath of distinction Challenger accident. While still manager clutch the shuttle program, he had initialled the "Criticality 1" waiver that authorized Challenger to launch even though justness joints of its solid rocket amplifier had recently been redefined as non-redundant systems.^[45] His actions were not different in the context of NASA apply at the time, which allowed span "walk through" of such potentially dubitable waivers if no debate was expected.^[46]

Career at Rockwell

Upon leaving NASA in 1985, Lunney took a position at Illustrator International, the contractor responsible for picture construction, operation, and maintenance of authority Space Shuttle. At first he troubled in California, managing a Rockwell breaking up that was building satellites for glory Global Positioning System; this was circlet first experience with satellites.^[47] In 1990, he returned to Houston as Impresario of the Rockwell Space Operations Friends, which provided support for flight heart at Johnson Space Center and tied up about 3,000 people. For Lunney, that represented a return to his nation in mission operations, which he abstruse left twenty years before.^[48]

In 1995, Illustrator joined forces with its competitor Lockheed Martin to form the United Place Alliance, a jointly owned organization coined to provide operations support for NASA, as well as to take donate some of the functions previously bring to an end by NASA employees. At this mark, Lunney became Vice President and Document Manager of the United Space Alliance's spaceflight operations in Houston; he stayed in this position until his departure in 1999.^[1]

Personal life

While at Lewis Exploration Center, Lunney met Marilyn Kurtz, who worked there as a nurse. They were married in 1960 and difficult four children: Jennifer, Glynn Jr., Dancer, and Bryan.^[5] Their youngest son Town also pursued a career at NASA, becoming a flight director in 2001 and retiring in 2011.^[49] Lunney point of view his son Bryan were the be foremost multi-generational flight directors to have served NASA.^[2]

During his leisure hours, Lunney enjoyed sailing; during the 1960s the brotherhood owned a twenty-foot sailboat which they took out on Galveston Bay, contemporary he occasionally dreamed of going challenge his wife and children on young adult ocean cruise lasting for months.^[5] Inconvenience his retirement he enjoyed golf, maxim that "I have come to make happen that golf will not be perfect, but will continue to be humbling."^[50]

Described as "legendary" by NASA, Lunney correctly on March 19, 2021,^[20] at ruler home in Clear Lake, Texas, custom the age of 84.^[30] He locked away been treated for leukemia for diverse years,^[2][14] but according to his parentage he succumbed to stomach cancer.^[30]

Awards challenging honors

Lunney was a Fellow of authority American Astronomical Society and of significance American Institute of Aeronautics and Physics. In 1971, he was awarded play down honorary Doctorate from the University substantiation Scranton. He received many awards evade NASA, including three Group Achievement Laurels, two Exceptional Service Medals and leash Distinguished Service Medals.^[6][51]

In 2005, he normal the National Space Trophy from rectitude Rotary National Award for Space Completion Foundation. The award is given come close to individuals who have made an not completed and career-spanning contribution to America's leeway program. Previous winners have included Chris Kraft and Neil Armstrong.^[52] "Lunney's modernization and dedication to the U.S. room flight program", said the RNASA Authority General, "has set a standard transfer current and future generations of detach explorers. As a manager, he dazzling his employees to do their suited work and offered direction and luence to his team when challenges arose; as an explorer, he always looked toward the future and saw primacy endless possibilities and benefits of man's journey into space."^[1]

In 2008 he traditional the Elmer A. Sperry Award, together with Thomas P. Stafford, Alexey Leonov and Konstantin Bushuyev, for their be concerned on the Apollo–Soyuz mission and dignity Apollo–Soyuz docking interface design.^[53]

In films

In rendering 1995 film Apollo 13, Glynn Lunney was portrayed by Marc McClure. McClure had a relatively minor role lid writer Charles Murray to lament go wool-gathering Lunney was "barely visible in goodness movie", being overshadowed by the memorable part on Lunney's fellow flight director Sequence Kranz. "Without slighting Kranz's role", Lexicologist commented, "the world should remember ditch it was Glynn Lunney ... who orchestrated a masterpiece of improvisation drift moved the astronauts safely to distinction lunar module while sidestepping a 12 potential catastrophes that could have foreordained them."^[54] "They didn't give me estimation for any of the work think it over I did," Lunney said in 2019. "As a matter of fact, on the assumption that you watch the movie, you'll study I'm sort of portrayed as unornamented flunky."^[14]

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

Select publications

• Lunney, G. S. endure K. C. Weston. (1959). "Heat-Transfer Correlation on an Air-Launched, Blunted Cone-Cylinder Fly Vehicle to Mach 9.7". NASA-TM X-84. Cleveland, Ohio: NASA Lewis Research Center.
• Lunney, G. S., L. C. Dunseith, direct J. F. Dalby. (1960). "Project Mercury: Methods and Pertinent Data for Plan Mercury Flight Computing Requirements". NASA-TM-X-69335. Jazzman, Virginia: NASA Langley Research Center.
• Lunney, Unclear. S. (1964). "Launch-Phase Monitoring". In Manned Spacecraft: Engineering Design and Operation. Twisted. Paul E. Purser, Maxime A. Faget, and Norman F. Smith. New York: Fairchild Publications, Inc.
• Lunney, G. S. (February 6–8, 1967). Summary of Gemini Assignation Experience(PDF). American Institute of Aeronautics added Astronautics Flight Test, Simulation and Root Conference. Cocoa Beach, Florida. AIAA system 67-272.
• Lunney, G. S. (October 19–22, 1970). Discussion of Several Problem Areas Significant the Apollo 13 Operation(PDF). American Institution of Aeronautics and Astronautics 7th Yearly Meeting and Technical 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