Glynn lunney biography definition

NASA engineer (1936–2021)

Glynn Lunney
Glynn Lunney in 1974, similarly manager of the Apollo–Soyuz Show support Project
Born	Glynn Stephen Lunney (1936-11-27)November 27, 1936 Old Forge, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	March 19, 2021(2021-03-19) (aged 84) Clear Lake, Texas, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Detroit Mercy, B.S. 1958
Occupation(s)	NASA manager and flight director
Spouse	Marilyn Kurtz Lunney
Awards

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 significant the Gemini and Apollo programs, and was on duty at near historic events such as probity Apollo 11lunar ascent and nobleness pivotal hours of the Phoebus 13 crisis.

At the gain of the Apollo program, pacify became manager of the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project, the first compensation in spaceflight between the Coalesced States and the Soviet Combination. Later, he served as executive of the Space Shuttle syllabus before leaving NASA in 1985 and later becoming a evil president of the United Leeway Alliance.

Lunney was a latchkey figure in the US person spaceflight program from Project Errand-girl through the coming of righteousness Space Shuttle. He received plentiful awards for his work, inclusive of the National Space Trophy, which he was given by class Rotary Club in 2005. Chris Kraft, NASA's first flight overseer, described Lunney as "a literal hero of the space age", saying that he was "one of the outstanding contributors pull out the exploration of space notice 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 call up William Lunney, a welder essential former miner who encouraged wreath son to get an edification and to find a not wasteful beyond the mines, and top wife Helen Glynn Lunney.

Blooper graduated from the Scranton Elementary School in 1953.^[3][4]

A childhood worry in model airplanes prompted Lunney to study engineering in college.^[5] After attending the University elect Scranton (1953–1955), he transferred respecting the University of Detroit, disc he enrolled in the collaborative training program run by rectitude Lewis Research Center in Metropolis, Ohio.^[6] The center was swell part of the National Consultive Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), organized United States federal agency supported to promote aeronautical research.^[7] Defiant students at NACA took textile in a program that hyphenated work and study, providing smashing way for them to reserve their college degrees while acquisition experience in aeronautics.^[8] Lunney gentle from college in June 1958, with a Bachelor of Branch of knowledge degree in aerospace engineering.^[6]

After exercise, Lunney remained with NACA.

Fillet first job was as out researcher in aerospace dynamics trite Lewis Research Center, where subside worked with a team cogitating the thermodynamics of vehicles aside high-speed reentry. Using a B-57 Canberra bomber, the team purport small rockets high into rank atmosphere in order to blessing their heating profile.

NASA career

Mercury

Only deft month after Lunney graduated, Big cheese Eisenhower signed into existence ethics National Aeronautics and Space State (NASA), into which NACA was subsumed.

His timing was unqualified, for as Lunney later supposed, "there was no such unfitting as space flight until loftiness month I got out duplicate college". Lunney was soon transferred to Langley Research Center get the picture Hampton, Virginia, where in Sep 1959 he became a contributor of the Space Task Lesson, which was the body accepted responsibility for the creation persuade somebody to buy NASA's human spaceflight program.

Age-old twenty-one, he was the youngest of the forty-five members be the owner of the group. His first task was with the Control Sentiment Simulation Group, which planned depiction simulations used to train both flight controllers and astronauts select the as-yet unknown experience be snapped up human spaceflight.

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

He took part in the writing hold the first set of program 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 position Flight Dynamics Officer (FIDO) reduce the price of the Mercury Control Center, chief the trajectory of the hanger-on and planning adjustments to it.

Lunney's colleague Gene Kranz described him as "the pioneer leader fall for trajectory operations, who turned diadem craft from an art qualified by a few into out pure science".

It was past these years that Lunney became the protege of flight executive Chris Kraft.^[5] He was then referred to as "the essence of Chris Kraft."^[14]

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

In September 1961, NASA's Space Task Group was updated into the Manned Spacecraft Emotions and moved to Houston, Texas, and Lunney moved with workings. In Houston, he became sense of the Mission Logic nearby Computer Hardware section, where inaccuracy defined and oversaw the technology and display requirements of position flight dynamics division within decency new Mission Control Center.

Gemini

Gemini was a step forward for NASA's human spaceflight program: the Someone capsule was larger and supplementary contrasti advanced than Mercury, capable remark supporting two men for snooty to a two-week mission.

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

Lunney was stationed in Bermuda for the uncrewed Gemini 2 mission. He mannered backup on Gemini 3, operation charge of the newly overfriendly Mission Control Center in Metropolis, at a time when flights were still controlled from Standpoint Canaveral in Florida.

On Somebody 4, he again was valid backup, this time in Florida, supporting the first mission zigzag was controlled entirely from Metropolis. After spending some time picking uncrewed testing for the Phoebus program, he returned to lessons as a flight director appraise Gemini 9 and Gemini 11 and lead flight director splitting up, Gemini 10 and Gemini 12.^[20]

Apollo

As with Project Mercury, Lunney was involved in Project Apollo understandable from the beginning.

He took charge of the "boilerplate" tests of the Apollo abort decamp system at White Sands, which took place during the Someone program, and was flight bumptious during the first uncrewed Saturn V test flight, SA-501.

Lunney was not scheduled to serve translation a flight director on position first crewed Apollo mission, adjacent known as Apollo 1.

Fabric the countdown demonstration test lapse resulted in the Apollo 1 fire, Lunney was at house having dinner with astronaut Value Anders and his wife, nearby was called into Mission Picnic basket when the fire occurred. Difference was, as he recalled, "a tremendous punch in the pot-belly to all of us".

The consequence of the fire, in which three astronauts were killed, sinistral Lunney and his colleagues at one\'s fingertips NASA feeling that they abstruse perhaps failed to recognize nobility risks they were running sediment their efforts to meet Kennedy's timetable of landing a male on the Moon by rendering end of the decade turf bringing him safely back handle Earth.

"Maybe," said Lunney ice up thirty years later, "we abstruse gotten a little overconfident".

Lunney attentive significant media attention in 1968, when he worked as flinch flight director on Apollo 7, the first of the crewed Apollo flights. Coming as arise did after the Apollo 1 fire, the mission was distinction important test for the Phoebus program, and was stressful fend for astronauts and controllers alike.

Lunney had primary responsibility for business with the mission commander, Tomfool Schirra, who repeatedly questioned instantly from the ground. Although dominated by reporters in news conferences, Lunney stayed diplomatic and articulate nothing critical of Schirra.

Privately, still, he was exasperated, and following assured his team of juvenile controllers that "manned spaceflight not bad usually better than this".

Oversight was diplomatic about Donn Eisele's sarcastic comment to the CAPCOM that he would "like be in opposition to meet the man, or whomever it was, that dreamed ax that little gem." The "gem" turned out to be Lunney's.

As a flight director Lunney was known for his good recall and his unusually quick gloomy processes—traits that could sometimes demolish problematic for his team reminisce flight controllers.

"Glynn would push you crazy", said Jay Author, a fellow controller, "because coronate mind would race so speed that he could churn go on a goslow action items quicker than command could absorb, much less answer." He was the lead winging director again during the Phoebus 10 mission, a dress dress rehearsal for the Apollo 11 Minion landing.^[30]

During the Apollo 13 catastrophe, Lunney played a key cut up.

Coming on shift an hr after the oxygen tank blast that put the crew's lives in jeopardy, Lunney and circlet team faced the unprecedented question of having to power disburse the Lunar Module on idea extremely tight timeline, while dispatching guidance and navigation data collect it from the dying walk module. His excellent memory scold quick thinking were critical affluent the success of his crew during the ensuing hours.

Fluffy Mattingly, the astronaut who confidential been bumped from the Phoebus 13 crew due to sovereign exposure to German measles, late called Lunney's performance "the first magnificent display of personal supervision that I've ever seen."

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

Apollo–Soyuz Highest Program

In 1970, while still out flight director, Lunney was elect as one of the components of a NASA delegation do away with the Soviet Union, which was to discuss the possibility characteristic cooperation between the two countries in the field of anthropoid spaceflight.

"For me it was out of the clear dirty sky", said Lunney, who was told of the plans make your mind up at a conference in obvious October. "I did not understand anything about [the proposed talks] until that time."^[33]

The trip took place in late October. Decide in Moscow, Lunney gave cool presentation to Soviet engineers terminate the techniques that NASA hand-me-down for orbital rendezvous, and method the compromises that would plot to be made in anathema to achieve a rendezvous in the middle of American and Soviet spacecraft.

Interpretation technical agreement that he helped to draft laid the spadework for the mission which was to become the Apollo–Soyuz Experiment Project (ASTP). It was knowing to be a joint vocation, whose highlight was to endure a docking between an Earth Apollo spacecraft and a State Soyuz.^[34]

Lunney was named technical full of yourself of the ASTP in high-mindedness following year.

As technical overseer, he made several more trips to the Soviet Union, carve to negotiate the seventeen-point benefit that would govern the look of the mission.^[35] He as well took part in working associations in Houston that dealt criticism the technical details of magnanimity project. A New York Times profile reported that he was taking Russian lessons in train to be better prepared apply for the role.^[36]

On June 13, 1972, Lunney was given overall liability for the test project; from now on he would be in descend not only of building systematic partnership with the Soviets, however also of mission planning tell of negotiating with North Denizen Rockwell, the spacecraft contractor.

According to the official history light the ASTP, Lunney's performance at near Apollo 13 and during goodness Soviet negotiations had recommended him to Chris Kraft, who was by then director of Lexicologist Space Center.^[37] In 1973, Lunney became manager of the Phoebus Spacecraft Program Office, a image which gave him responsibility supporter the Apollo spacecraft used generous Skylab missions, as well conferral him more authority in tiara role as head of rectitude ASTP.^[38]

The ASTP mission took at your house in July 1975.

It was criticized by some journalists slightly a "costly space circus", who felt that it wasted NASA funds that could have antiquated better spent on projects much as Skylab.^[39] However, Lunney based the project, saying in adroit later interview that he upfront not believe the cooperation essential to build the International Leeway Station would have been viable if ASTP had not lay the groundwork for it.^[40]

Space Shuttle

After the ASTP mission was ripe, Lunney became manager of illustriousness Shuttle Payload Integration and Get out of bed Program.

During this period, pretense was anticipated that NASA's place shuttle fleet would be quick very frequent missions, and pervasive commercial payloads as well chimpanzee flying missions for government organizations such as the Department unredeemed Defense and the Jet Impetus Laboratory. The payload integration information was responsible for determining accomplish something the various demands of these customers could be satisfied, leading how mixed payloads could superlative be physically accommodated within integrity cargo bay of the shuttle.^[41] During these years Lunney too spent time working at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., primate Deputy Associate Administrator for Amplitude Flight and later as True Associate Administrator for Space Passengers Operations.^[6]

In 1981, Lunney became supervisor of the Space Shuttle information, a high-level position where Lunney found himself responsible for rim the agenda for the nonindustrial program.

His responsibilities were expansive ones; they included supervising announcement planning, budgeting and scheduling; systems engineering; and mission planning. Lasting the earlier shuttle flights without fear was involved in determining perforce the weather was suitable get on to launch, but in later age that responsibility was largely devolved to lower levels of nobleness hierarchy.^[42]

Many of his colleagues challenging expected Lunney to succeed wreath mentor, Kraft, as director pan Johnson Space Center; Neil Colonist, a fellow flight director, subsequent commented that Lunney "was identifying mark of the anointed one".

On the other hand, when Kraft retired in 1982, former Apollo flight director Gerry Griffin was offered the mien instead.^[43]

In 1985, Lunney decided damage leave NASA, feeling that representation Space Shuttle program had weather him out physically and intellectually and that he was all set for a new type light challenge.^[44] Although he had out-of-the-way from NASA the year once, he was called to affirm before the U.S.

House Commission on Science and Technology press the aftermath of the Challenger accident. While still manager assiduousness the shuttle program, he challenging signed the "Criticality 1" resignation that allowed Challenger to fascination even though the joints warm its solid rocket boosters difficult to understand recently been redefined as non-redundant systems.^[45] His actions were mass unusual in the context disruption NASA practice at the age, which allowed a "walk through" of such potentially controversial waivers if no debate was expected.^[46]

Career at Rockwell

Upon leaving NASA remark 1985, Lunney took a disposition at Rockwell International, the system responsible for the construction, system, and maintenance of the Leeway Shuttle.

At first he artificial in California, managing a Illustrator division that was building satellites for the Global Positioning System; this was his first knowledge with satellites.^[47] In 1990, why not? returned to Houston as Helmsman of the Rockwell Space Nerve centre Company, which provided support shelter flight operations at Johnson Interval Center and employed about 3,000 people.

For Lunney, this so-called a return to his ethnos in mission operations, which do something had left twenty years before.^[48]

In 1995, Rockwell joined forces familiarize yourself its competitor Lockheed Martin put up the shutters form the United Space Combination, a jointly owned organization conceived to provide operations support select NASA, as well as drawback take over some of righteousness functions previously performed by NASA employees.

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

Personal life

While at Lewis Research Feelings, Lunney met Marilyn Kurtz, who worked there as a angel of mercy.

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 deliver 2001 and retiring in 2011.^[49] Lunney and his son Town were the first multi-generational journey directors to have served NASA.^[2]

During his leisure hours, Lunney enjoyed sailing; during the 1960s say publicly family owned a twenty-foot sailing-boat which they took out limitation Galveston Bay, and he seldom exceptionally dreamed of going with consummate wife and children on settle ocean cruise lasting for months.^[5] In his retirement he enjoyed golf, saying that "I accept 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 Little known Lake, Texas, at the segment of 84.^[30] He had antique treated for leukemia for many years,^[2][14] but according to queen family he succumbed to belly cancer.^[30]

Awards and honors

Lunney was keen Fellow of the American Ginormous Society and of the Denizen Institute of Aeronautics and Aeronautics.

In 1971, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate from illustriousness University of Scranton. He agreed many awards from NASA, counting three Group Achievement Awards, bend over Exceptional Service Medals and duo Distinguished Service Medals.^[6][51]

In 2005, sharp-tasting received the National Space Reward from the Rotary National Honour for Space Achievement Foundation.

Loftiness award is given to kinsmen who have made an undone and career-spanning contribution to America's space program. Previous winners possess included Chris Kraft and Neil Armstrong.^[52] "Lunney's innovation and faithfulness to the U.S. space flight path program", said the RNASA Counselor General, "has set a run of the mill for current and future generations of space explorers.

As a- manager, he inspired his staff to do their best gratuitous and offered direction and prompting to his team when challenges arose; as an explorer, flair always looked toward the coming and saw the endless meadow and benefits of man's tour into space."^[1]

In 2008 he normal the Elmer A. Sperry Jackpot, jointly with Thomas P.

Stafford, Alexey Leonov and Konstantin Bushuyev, for their work on grandeur Apollo–Soyuz mission and the Apollo–Soyuz docking interface design.^[53]

In films

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

"Without depreciatory Kranz's role", Murray commented, "the world should remember that put on show was Glynn Lunney ... who orchestrated a masterpiece of substitute that moved the astronauts with impunity to the lunar module decide sidestepping a dozen potential catastrophes that could have doomed them."^[54] "They didn't give me acknowledgment for any of the gratuitous that I did," Lunney vocal in 2019.

"As a material of fact, if you pocket watch the movie, you'll see I'm sort of portrayed as spiffy tidy up flunky."^[14]

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

Select publications

• Lunney, G. S. and K. Catch-phrase. Weston.

  (1959). "Heat-Transfer Measurements towards the back an Air-Launched, Blunted Cone-Cylinder Prepare Vehicle to Mach 9.7". NASA-TM X-84. Cleveland, Ohio: NASA Author Research Center.

• Lunney, G. S., Acclamation. C. Dunseith, and J. Despot. Dalby. (1960). "Project Mercury: Designs and Pertinent Data for Scheme Mercury Flight Computing Requirements".

  NASA-TM-X-69335. Hampton, Virginia: NASA Langley Probation Center.

• Lunney, G. S. (1964). "Launch-Phase Monitoring". In Manned Spacecraft: Campaign Design and Operation. Ed. Disagreeable E. Purser, Maxime A. Faget, and Norman F. Smith. Additional York: Fairchild Publications, Inc.
• Lunney, Flocculent. S. (February 6–8, 1967).

  Summary of Gemini Rendezvous Experience(PDF). Inhabitant Institute of Aeronautics and Aeronautics Flight Test, Simulation and Relieve Conference. Cocoa Beach, Florida. AIAA paper 67-272.

• Lunney, G. S. (October 19–22, 1970). Discussion of Very many Problem Areas During the Phoebus 13 Operation(PDF).

  American Institute resolve Aeronautics and Astronautics 7th Yearly Meeting and Technical Display. Metropolis. AIAA Paper 70-1260.

Bibliography

Further reading

• Behar, Michael (October–November 2006). "The Ground". Air and Time-span Magazine. Archived from the recent on July 18, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2006.

External links