John A. Powers

[
Walter Cronkite (L), John A. "Shorty" Powers, and Arthur Godfrey (R), apparently at a Mercury launch from Cape Canaveral FL, circa 1961-63 (from Powers: biographical file, NASA Historical Reference Collection.)] John A. "Shorty" Powers (1923 -1980) USAF Lt. Col. was a well-known public affairs officer for NASA in the early 1960s during Project Mercury. He was also known as the "Eighth Astronaut" and the "Voice of Mission Control." After enlisting in the Army Air Corps in 1942, Powers became a C-47 pilot with the 349th Troop Carrier Wing. Powers left active service in January 1947, but was recalled to active duty in December 1948 and flew as part of the Berlin Airlift, flying 185 round trip flights. Powers later served in the Korean War and earned the Bronze Star. After Korea, Powers bounced around the Air Force, helping to establish the first Community Relations Program in 1955. After being assigned to the personal staff of Major General Bernard Schriever, Powers handled the public dissemination of information related to the Air Force's ballistic missile program. His experience with public relations caught the attention of the newly formed NASA, and Powers was detailed to NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center in April 1959. While there he introduced "A-ok" into the American vocabulary. He resigned from NASA in 1963 following the last Mercury flight and retired from the Air Force in 1964. He then became a paid spokesman for the Oldsmobile automobile company. He died in 1980 at the age of 57.

He is also referenced in the Nuclear War film Miracle Mile by actor Kurt Fuller when, as the Soviet warheads appear over Los Angeles, he states, "Beam me up Shorty Powers".

External links

* [http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/history/mercury/mercury-overview.htm Project Mercury Overview]
* [http://www.13thbombsquadron.org/later1.html 13th Bomb Squadron]