Robert R. Gilruth | |
|---|---|
 Gilruth at NASA, 1965 | |
| Born | Robert Rowe Gilruth (1913-10-08)October 8, 1913 Nashwauk, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | August 17, 2000(2000-08-17) (aged 86) |
| Alma mater | University of Minnesota, B.S. 1935, M.S. 1936 |
| Occupation(s) | Director ofNASA Manned Spacecraft Center, nowLyndon B. Johnson Space Center |
| Awards |  President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service(1962)ASME Medal(1970) |
Robert Rowe Gilruth (October 8, 1913 – August 17, 2000) was an American aerospace engineer and an aviation/space pioneer who was the first director ofNASA'sManned Spacecraft Center, later renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.[1]
He worked for theNational Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) from 1937 to 1958 and its successor NASA, until his retirement in 1973. He was involved with early research into supersonic flight and rocket-powered aircraft, and then with the United States human spaceflight program, including theMercury,Gemini, andApollo programs.
Gilruth was born October 8, 1913, inNashwauk, Minnesota, and moved toDuluth when he was nine years old. He graduated in 1931 fromDuluth Central High School.[2] As a teenager, Gilruth was fascinated by aeronautics and spent time building model airplanes. He was inspired to pursue a career in the field after reading about NASA'sLangley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory in Virginia.[3] Gilruth received aBachelor of Science degree inAeronautical Engineering at theUniversity of Minnesota in 1935, and received hisMaster of Science degree in 1936. While there he was a member of the Professional Engineering FraternityTheta Tau, of which he was later inducted as a Hall of Fame Alumnus.
In January 1937 Gilruth was hired at NACA'sLangley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, where he performed flight research. His research led to the NACA Report R755,Requirements for Satisfactory Flying Qualities of an Airplane, published in 1941, in which he defined a set of requirements for the handling characteristics of an aircraft. Until this point, no set of guidelines for pilots and aircraft designers existed.[3]
Gilruth also pioneered the recording of data from instruments during flight test, to be later correlated with the pilot's experience.[4] This would go on to become the standard operating procedure.
Gilruth had been working onhypersonic missile rockets as the assistant director of the Pilotless Aircraft Research Division ofNACA. He and his team pushed their superiors to pursue a program to launch satellites into space, but he was rebuffed by administrators. The dynamic quickly changed after the Soviets succeeded in launching Sputnik, and Gilruth became involved in the transition of NACA intoNASA.[citation needed]
When NASA was created, Gilruth became head of theSpace Task Group, tasked with putting a man in space before theSoviet Union.[citation needed]
In 1961, whenPresident John F. Kennedy announced that America would put a man on the Moon before the end of the decade (the 1960s) and bring him back safely to Earth, Gilruth was "aghast" and unsure that such a goal could be accomplished. He was integral to the creation of theGemini program, which he advocated as a means for NASA to learn more about operating in space before attempting a lunar landing.[3]
In 1962, he was awarded thePresident's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service by President John F. Kennedy.[5]
Soon theApollo program was born, and Gilruth was made head of the NASA center which ran it, the new Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) (now theJohnson Space Center). Gilruth was inducted into the National Space Hall of Fame in 1969 and served as director of the MSC until his retirement in 1972. He was inducted as a member of the inaugural class to theInternational Space Hall of Fame in 1976.[6] He oversaw a total of 25 crewed space flights, fromMercury-Redstone 3 toApollo 15.[citation needed]
In 1971, Gilruth, along with the Apollo 15 crew, was awarded theCollier Trophy.[7]
In 1992, Gilruth was inducted into theInternational Air & Space Hall of Fame at theSan Diego Air & Space Museum,[8] in 1994, he was inducted into theNational Aviation Hall of Fame[9] and in 2015, theMinnesota Aviation Hall of Fame as a posthumous induction.[10]
In 2000, Gilruth died in Charlottesville, Virginia, at the age of 86.[11]
