Submission + - NASA engineer Glynn Lunney dead at 84 (upi.com)
schwit1 writes: Glynn S. Lunney, the engineer who played a key role in NASA's early efforts to launch astronauts into space and who led Mission Control through some of its most crucial missions, died after a long illness, the agency confirmed. He was 84.
Lunney received the Presidential Medal Freedom as part of the Apollo 13 Mission Operations Team in recognition of actions that made it possible to save three Apollo 13 astronauts aboard a spacecraft that became disabled on the way to the moon on a 1970 mission.
Under Lunney's guidance, the team worked with the astronauts to shut down the command module systems so that the lunar module could be used as a lifeboat for the crew during the journey home to Earth keeping the crew alive and safe while NASA's teams developed longer-term plans for successful re-entry and splashdown.
Lunney received the Presidential Medal Freedom as part of the Apollo 13 Mission Operations Team in recognition of actions that made it possible to save three Apollo 13 astronauts aboard a spacecraft that became disabled on the way to the moon on a 1970 mission.
Under Lunney's guidance, the team worked with the astronauts to shut down the command module systems so that the lunar module could be used as a lifeboat for the crew during the journey home to Earth keeping the crew alive and safe while NASA's teams developed longer-term plans for successful re-entry and splashdown.