Joseph Gavin, Who Helped Put First Man on Moon, Dies at 90

Joseph G. Gavin Jr., who rode herd over the immensely complex design, construction and testing of the first vehicle to visit the moon — a task that included anticipating 400 different landing surfaces, from ice to boulders to dust to potholes — died on Saturday in Amherst, Mass. He was 90.
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Patrick Burns/The New York Times
Joseph Gavin with the Lunar Module model.
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The cause was acute leukemia and pneumonia, his family said.

When President John F. Kennedy declared in 1961 that America would go to the moon by the end of the decade, the task seemed almost unbelievably daunting. But tens of thousands across America pitched in, and Mr. Gavin had one of the most important roles, as part of the Apollo 11 mission.

An M.I.T.-trained engineer who had worked on early jet aircraft engines during World War II, Mr. Gavin managed the 7,500-member team that made the Eagle, the clunky lunar module that settled on the lunar surface, in a spot called the Sea of Tranquillity, on July 20, 1969.

“Houston, Tranquillity Base here,” Neil A. Armstrong, the Apollo 11 commander, announced to mission control as half a billion people watched on television. “The Eagle has landed.”

What a great life well lived, I hope his family can remember that at this time. He will be missed by many, RIP


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www.nytimes.com...

This is truly a sad day for NASA and his family. G-d bless them all!
We should name the moon after him in his honor.

Funny I was trying to do something on the comp first thing as I opened it and there was a big picture of him smiling at me, I had saved it to put in this thread just didnt do it.

Thanks for your kind reply and I agree it was a huge loss for his immediate and extended family.

Maybe some of those 'fireballs' we saw yesterday were actually in his honor...