Robert R. Gilruth

Robert R. Gilruth

Infobox Person
name=Robert Rowe Gilruth


image_size= 200px
caption= Gilruth at NASA Manned Space Center
birth_date= birth date|1913|10|18|mf=y
birth_place= Nashwauk, Minnesota
death_date= death date and age|2000|8|17|1913|10|18|mf=y
death_place= Charlottesville, Virginia
occupation= Director of NASA Manned Space Center, now Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center

Robert Rowe Gilruth (October 18 1913 - August 17 2000) was an American aviation and space pioneer. [cite web | url = http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/history/gilruth/gilruth_obit.html | title = FORMER MANNED SPACECRAFT CENTER DIRECTOR DIES | publisher = NASA]

In the beginning of his career he was involved with early research into supersonic flight and rocket-powered aircraft and then with the manned space program, including the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo projects. He worked for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics from 1937 to 1958 and its successor agency, NASA, until retirement in 1973.

Early education and career

Gilruth was born in Nashwauk, Minnesota. He attended and completed high school in Duluth, Minnesota. Gilruth received a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering at the University of Minnesota, and received his master's degree in 1936.

In the NACA Report R755, "Requirements for Satisfactory Flying Qualities of an Airplane", published in 1941 he defined a set of requirements for the handling characteristics of an aircraft. Up until this point, no set of guidelines for pilots and aircraft designers existed.

Creation of NASA

When NASA was created, Gilruth became head of the Space Task Group, tasked with putting a man in space before the Soviet Union. When that didn't happen, Gilruth suggested to President John F. Kennedy that the United States should announce a bigger goal, such as going to the Moon. Soon the Apollo program was born, and Gilruth was made head of the NASA center which ran it, the new Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) (now the Johnson Space Center). Gilruth served as director of the MSC until 1972 and oversaw a total of 25 manned spaceflights, from Mercury-Redstone 3 to Apollo 15.

Portrayals in dramas

In the 1996 TV movie "Apollo 11" Gilruth was played by William Mesnik. In the 1998 miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon" he was played by John Carroll Lynch.

References

External links

* National Air & Space Museum Oral History project [http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/dsh/gwspi-p1.html#GILRUTH interviews] with Robert Gilruth.
* [http://stills.nap.edu/html/biomems/rgilruth.html National Academies Press Biographical memories] , written by NASA flight director Chris Kraft
* Human Space Flight (HSF) - [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/history/gilruth/ Robert Gilruth Tribute]
* NASA HSF [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/history/gilruth/gilruth_obit.html Obituary]
* cite web
author= Wilford, John Noble
title= Robert Gilruth, 86, Dies; Was Crucial Player at NASA
publisher= "The New York Times"
date= August 18 2000
url= http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9902E3DF153EF93BA2575BC0A9669C8B63
accessdate= 2008-04-06

* cite web
author= Bond, Peter
title= Obituary: Robert Gilruth
publisher= "The Independent" via FindArticles
date= September 4 2000
url= http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20000904/ai_n14334496
accessdate= 2007-03-06

Persondata
NAME=Gilruth, Robert Rowe
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Aviation and space pioneer
DATE OF BIRTH=October 18 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH=Nashwauk, Minnesota, United States of America
DATE OF DEATH=August 17 2000
PLACE OF DEATH=Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Robert Gilruth — Gilruth y Kennedy junto a una maqueta del módulo de mando del Apolo en 1962. Robert Rowe Gilruth (18 de octubre de 1913 17 de agosto de 2000) fue un ástronomo y pionero de la exploración espacial estadounidense. Desde el principio de su carrera,… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Robert Gilruth — Robert Rowe Gilruth (* 8. Oktober 1913 in Nashwauk, Minnesota, USA; † 17. August 2000 in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA) war ein amerikanischer Luft und Raumfahrtpionier. Er war zwischen 1961 und 1972 der erste Direktor des …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Gilruth — Robert Gilruth Robert Rowe Gilruth (* 8. Oktober 1913 in Nashwauk, Minnesota, USA; † 17. August 2000 in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA) war ein amerikanischer Luft und Raumfahrtpionier. Er war zwischen 1961 und 1972 der erste Direktor des …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Robert Gilruth — Robert Rowe Gilruth, (8 octobre 1913 17 août 2000) fut un ponnier américain de l aéronautique et de l astronautique. Il travailla essentiellement pour la National Advisory Committee for Ae …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Bob Gilruth — Robert Gilruth Robert Gilruth Robert Rowe Gilruth, (18 octobre 1913 17 août 2000) fut un ponnier américain de l aviation. Il travailla esentiellement pour la National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NAS …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Gilruth, Robert Rowe — ▪ 2001       American aeronautical engineer and administrator (b. Oct. 8, 1913, Nashwauk, Minn. d. Aug. 17, 2000, Charlottesville, Va.), oversaw the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo projects and thus had enormous influence on the U.S. manned space… …   Universalium

  • Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy — The Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to an individual or group determined to have made the most impact on space activities over the past year. It is named after Dr. Goddard, the father of modern rocketry.[1] It is the… …   Wikipedia

  • Christopher C. Kraft, Jr. — Christopher Columbus Kraft, Jr. Chris Kraft as director of Johnson Space Center, 1979 …   Wikipedia

  • Jeannette Piccard — Jeannette Ridlon Piccard (January 5, 1895 ndash; May 17, 1981) was an American teacher, scientist, priest, and aeronaut who was a pioneer of balloon flight. A member of the famed Piccard family of balloonists and of the International Space Hall… …   Wikipedia

  • Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center — Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”