{"id":209116,"date":"2023-04-13T16:11:52","date_gmt":"2023-04-13T20:11:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?post_type=people&p=209116"},"modified":"2024-03-26T18:05:44","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T22:05:44","slug":"robert-r-gilruth","status":"publish","type":"people","link":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/robert-r-gilruth\/","title":{"rendered":"Robert R. Gilruth"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-bio-intro maxw-full width-full padding-y-6 padding-x-3 hds-module hds-module-full wp-block-nasa-blocks-bio-intro\">\n\t<div class=\"hds-bio-intro-container grid-row grid-container grid-container-block padding-0\">\n\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-4 desktop:grid-col-3\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-bio-thumbnail width-10 tablet:width-card desktop:width-card-lg\">\n\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"hds-media-background  \"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1301\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s65-45100.jpg?w=1024\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"Robert R. Gilruth, JSC Center Director, November 1961 - January 1972\" style=\"transform: scale(1.2); transform-origin: 51% 8%; object-position: 51% 8%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s65-45100.jpg 2361w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s65-45100.jpg?resize=236,300 236w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s65-45100.jpg?resize=768,976 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s65-45100.jpg?resize=806,1024 806w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s65-45100.jpg?resize=1209,1536 1209w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s65-45100.jpg?resize=1612,2048 1612w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s65-45100.jpg?resize=315,400 315w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s65-45100.jpg?resize=472,600 472w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s65-45100.jpg?resize=708,900 708w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s65-45100.jpg?resize=944,1200 944w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s65-45100.jpg?resize=1574,2000 1574w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" loading=\"eager\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-7 desktop:grid-col-9 grid-row margin-0 padding-0\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-12 desktop:grid-col-8 margin-bottom-2 desktop:margin-bottom-0\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-1 desktop:margin-bottom-2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"display-60 display-block width-full\">Robert R. Gilruth<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"p-lg padding-0 margin-0 color-carbon-60\">NACA Engineer,  Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Assistant Director, 1952-1958, Space Task Group Director, 1958-1961, Johnson Space Center Director, 1961-1972<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-12 desktop:grid-col-4\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Robert R. Gilruth was born in Nashwauk, Minnesota, on October 8, 1913, to two schoolteachers.  But he did not intend to become an educator.  \u201cI was going to be something else,\u201d he said.  \u201cI was going to build something, [but] I wasn\u2019t sure what.\u201d  Engineering seemed an obvious choice.  During childhood he built rubber-band powered model airplanes, eventually designing his own.  Gilruth also built boats and even a radio but found \u201cthe airplane \u2026 much more fascinating.\u201d  He eventually became so interested in aviation, aeronautics, and aerodynamics that he sought books on the topics but he \u201ccouldn\u2019t find much \u2026 on those subjects.\u201d  Feature articles in <em>American Boy<\/em> and <em>Popular Mechanics<\/em> satisfied his desire to learn more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He learned about the <a href=\"\/history\/the-national-advisory-committee-for-aeronautics-naca\/\">National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA)<\/a> after reading an article in the <em>Saturday Evening Post<\/em>.  \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe my eyes,\u201d he recalled, \u201cthat there was a place like that in this country!\u201d  He promptly sent a letter asking for information on airfoils to improve his models.  Eventually Gilruth decided his \u201cgoal [was] to design airplanes\u201d and to make \u201cadvances in the design of airplanes and ability of airplanes to fly better.\u201d  He wanted to work in \u201ca wind tunnel or in flight research\u201d at the NACA Langley Field, the center of aeronautical research in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-wide\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-fit \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/crafting-flight-03-vought03u-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1453\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/crafting-flight-03-vought03u-1.jpg?w=2048\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"First aircraft tested in Langley Full-Scale Tunnel, a Navy Vought O3U-1, in 1931\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 53% 28%; object-position: 53% 28%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/crafting-flight-03-vought03u-1.jpg 3000w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/crafting-flight-03-vought03u-1.jpg?resize=300,213 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/crafting-flight-03-vought03u-1.jpg?resize=768,545 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/crafting-flight-03-vought03u-1.jpg?resize=1024,726 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/crafting-flight-03-vought03u-1.jpg?resize=1536,1090 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/crafting-flight-03-vought03u-1.jpg?resize=2048,1453 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/crafting-flight-03-vought03u-1.jpg?resize=400,284 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/crafting-flight-03-vought03u-1.jpg?resize=600,426 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/crafting-flight-03-vought03u-1.jpg?resize=900,638 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/crafting-flight-03-vought03u-1.jpg?resize=1200,851 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/crafting-flight-03-vought03u-1.jpg?resize=2000,1419 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">O3U-1 (Corsair) Airplane in Langley Full Scale Wind Tunnel. (this view shows an engineer standing in front of the airplane in nose on position. 5553 published in Orders of Magnitude A History of the NACA and NASA, 1915-1990, by Roger E. Bilstein, 1989. NASA SP-4406. Page 17. (this view is a side on view of the plane and testing stations with personnel visible).<\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\">NACA\/NASA<\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Because his family could not afford to send him away to college, he attended a nearby junior college where he took classes from an engineer, Lewis Rodert, who Gilruth later worked with at NACA.  Rodert received the Collier Trophy in 1946 in recognition of his outstanding achievements in developing a method to de-ice planes.  While in Minnesota he taught aeronautical engineering and a course on the \u201cprinciples of flight.\u201d Gilruth transferred to the University of Minnesota, which had recently begun offering courses in aeronautical engineering.  When Gilruth graduated in 1935, workers across the country were struggling to find employment, and not one of his seventeen classmates received job offers in aviation.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-wide\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-fit \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/image-article\/president-truman-presents-collier-trophy-lewis-rodert\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1041\" height=\"793\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/rodert.jpg?w=1041\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"President Truman Presents Collier Trophy to Lewis Rodert\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 52% 27%; object-position: 52% 27%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/rodert.jpg 1041w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/rodert.jpg?resize=300,229 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/rodert.jpg?resize=768,585 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/rodert.jpg?resize=1024,780 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/rodert.jpg?resize=400,305 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/rodert.jpg?resize=600,457 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/rodert.jpg?resize=900,686 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1041px) 100vw, 1041px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">President Harry Truman presents the 1946 Collier Trophy to the NACA’s Lewis Rodert for the wartime development of a thermal de-icing system.<\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\">NACA\/NASA<\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>He chose to stay at the university where he accepted a research fellowship and began working on his master\u2019s degree, which influenced his work at NACA and NASA.  He worked with Professor Jean Piccard on several projects that had a lasting impact on his career.  Piccard, who had joined the faculty as a lecturer in 1936, had an interest in using high-altitude balloons to study cosmic rays. In his studies Piccard relied on blasting caps, which Gilruth used to launch rockets from <a href=\"\/wallops-history\/\">NACA\u2019s station on Wallops Island, Virginia. <\/a>Piccard\u2019s inventions and studies made flying men in space possible, and more than twenty years later, Gilruth applied what he had learned from Piccard\u2019s pressurized high-altitude gondola flights to the requirements to fly an astronaut safely inside the <a href=\"\/project-mercury-2\/\">Mercury <\/a>capsule. He also spent time working for Pilot Roscoe Turner and helped to design his racing plane, the <em>Laird-Watt<\/em>.  That endeavor, Gilruth recalled, was \u201con the frontier of aviation \u2026 and I made good use of that experience when I went to work for NACA.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gilruth\u2019s final project for his master\u2019s was ambitious, and the department head told him his idea was \u201ctoo tough.\u201d  Nevertheless, he persisted.  He looked at the impact of putting propellers on the wing tips of an airplane to improve flight and tested his design in the four-foot wind tunnel he built.  The improvements he noted were \u201crather small,\u201d so he learned that \u201cit wasn\u2019t worth making an airplane that way.\u201d  In December 1936, Gilruth received a letter from the NACA and learned that he had been offered a junior engineer position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On January 4, 1937, he reported for duty at <a href=\"\/the-history-of-nasa-langley-research-center\/\">Langley in Hampton, Virginia<\/a>, where he found himself sitting at a desk with no assignment.  After a week, Hartley Soul\u00e9 noticed Gilruth needed something to do, other than reading NACA reports, and asked him to work on his project, the flying and handling qualities of airplanes. At that time, there were very few aviation manufacturing standards and little quantitative data about planes.  In the past, Gilruth recalled, the measurements of a good flying plane were purely anecdotal.  \u201cA pilot would take an airplane up and tell you, \u2018Oh she\u2019s great,\u2019 or \u2018It\u2019s too quick on the controls,\u2019 or \u2018It\u2019s too sensitive, or too sluggish.\u2019  You had to go along with this guy\u2019s sort of the seat-of-the-pants opinion, and one pilot would say one thing and another would say another.  And they\u2019d have a bunch of pilots, and then they\u2019d try to take the center of gravity of opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Aircraft manufacturers and the military looked to NACA \u201cto define the characteristics that make an airplane safe to fly, easy to fly, and accurate to fly.\u201d  Gilruth flew with NACA test pilot Mel Gough, took notes during these flight tests, and measured them against data from the onboard instruments.  His final report, \u201cRequirements for Satisfactory Flying Qualities of Airplanes,\u201d received numerous accolades.  The British were so impressed with his findings that they sent engineers to Virginia to speak with him; the Army Air Corps and Navy used the report as a baseline for accepting airplanes from manufacturers.  Gilruth recalled that the interest in his research \u201chelped my career a great deal with the boss in Washington and with the people at the lab.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-wide\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-none \"><a href=\"https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/GRC-1947-C-19067\/GRC-1947-C-19067~orig.jpg?w=2048&h=1536&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1536\" src=\"https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/GRC-1947-C-19067\/GRC-1947-C-19067~orig.jpg?w=2048&h=1536&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/GRC-1947-C-19067\/GRC-1947-C-19067~orig.jpg?w=2048&h=1536&fit=crop&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 2048w, https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/GRC-1947-C-19067\/GRC-1947-C-19067~orig.jpg?w=300&h=225&fit=crop&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 300w, https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/GRC-1947-C-19067\/GRC-1947-C-19067~orig.jpg?w=768&h=576&fit=crop&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 768w, https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/GRC-1947-C-19067\/GRC-1947-C-19067~orig.jpg?w=1024&h=768&fit=crop&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 1024w, https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/GRC-1947-C-19067\/GRC-1947-C-19067~orig.jpg?w=1536&h=1152&fit=crop&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 1536w, https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/GRC-1947-C-19067\/GRC-1947-C-19067~orig.jpg?w=400&h=300&fit=crop&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 400w, https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/GRC-1947-C-19067\/GRC-1947-C-19067~orig.jpg?w=600&h=450&fit=crop&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 600w, https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/GRC-1947-C-19067\/GRC-1947-C-19067~orig.jpg?w=900&h=675&fit=crop&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 900w, https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/GRC-1947-C-19067\/GRC-1947-C-19067~orig.jpg?w=1200&h=900&fit=crop&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 1200w, https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/GRC-1947-C-19067\/GRC-1947-C-19067~orig.jpg?w=2000&h=1500&fit=crop&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">A NACA researcher prepares a 16-inch diameter and 16-foot long ramjet for a launch over Wallops Island in July 1947. The Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory conducted a wide variety of studies on ramjets in the 1940s and 1960s to determine the basic operational data necessary to design missiles. Although wind tunnel and test stand investigations were important first steps in determining these factors, actual flight tests were required. Lewis possessed several aircraft for the ramjet studies, including North American F-82 Mustangs, a Northrup P-61 Black Widow, and a Boeing B-29 Superfortress, which was used for this particular ramjet. This was Lewis\u2019 first flight at over the experimental testing ground at Wallops Island. The NACA\u2019s Langley laboratory established the station on the Virginia coast in 1945 to conduct early missile tests.    This ramjet-powered missile was affixed underneath the B-29\u2019s left wing and flown up to 29,000 feet. The ramjet was ignited as the aircraft reached Mach 0.5 and released.  The flight went well, but a problem with the data recording prevented a successful mission. Nonetheless additional flights in November 1947 provided researchers with data on the engine\u2019s combustion efficiency at different levels of fuel-air ratios, thrust coefficients, temperatures, and drag. Transonic flight data such as the rapid acceleration through varying flight conditions could not be easily captured in wind tunnels.<\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\">NACA\/NASA<\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>In 1945, NACA tasked the 31-year-old with developing a missile testing site, which became a missile research range, on nearby Wallops Island.  As chief of this new range, he discovered what it meant to be a manager and the \u201cnew world of budgets, land acquisition, hiring, recruiting and operating with other agencies and companies.\u201d  The remoteness of the location enabled his team, the Pilotless Aircraft Research Division (PARD), to test and learn what happened to wings, re-entry bodies, controls, and ailerons at supersonic and transonic speeds.  Wind tunnels could not provide this sort of aerodynamic data.  Engineers knew what happened when bodies flew below the speed of sound, \u201cbut nobody had an idea what happened going through it.\u201d  Thanks to PARD\u2019s work on rocket models, including a model of the X-1, and earlier transonic research, test pilot Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in 1947.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gilruth\u2019s career continued to change as research at NACA evolved.  Engineers began looking to develop structures that could survive the speed and heat of hypersonic flight and came up with new ground facilities to test hardware and materials prior to flight.  All this occurred under Gilruth\u2019s watchful eye as assistant chief of research and later assistant director of Langley.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"nasa-gb-align-center padding-y-3 maxw-full width-full display-flex flex-align-center hds-module wp-block-nasa-blocks-blockquote\"><div class=\"grid-container grid-container-block display-flex flex-column flex-justify-center padding-0\">\n\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-12 desktop:display-flex mobile:display-block\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"blockquote-icon margin-bottom-3\">\n\t\t\t\t<svg class=\"tablet:square-4 square-4 margin-right-3\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\" x=\"0px\" y=\"0px\" viewBox=\"0 0 3000 3000\" style=\"enable-background:new 0 0 3000 3000;\" xml:space=\"preserve\"> <g> <path d=\"M586.7,1429.7c-10.7,1.5-21.4,2.8-33.9,4.5c6.9-26.6,12.7-50.7,19.5-74.6c32.4-114.1,78.5-222.2,146.8-319.5 c90.2-128.5,202.5-235.3,327.7-329.1c8.4-6.3,16.7-12.6,25.3-19.1c-66.3-105.1-131.5-208.6-197.3-313.1c-3.5,1.2-5.5,1.6-7.2,2.6 C714.4,469,576.1,575.7,456,705.3c-126,135.9-226.2,289.1-303,457.8c-98.8,217.1-151.3,444-147.2,683.3 c1.7,100.5,12.9,199.6,41.1,296.3C93.7,2303,182.2,2433,326.7,2520.1c176.9,106.7,366.8,126.8,563.4,70.5 c150.9-43.2,260.9-138.9,327.2-282.5c33.4-72.5,47.8-149.4,52-228.7c6.5-122.8-14.1-239.5-74.3-348.1 C1074.6,1514.5,832.7,1394.2,586.7,1429.7z\"><\/path><path d=\"M2912.5,1722c-129.9-210.9-320.2-309.4-567.9-296c-22.1,1.2-44,5.1-67.4,7.9c2.2-9.6,4-17.9,6.1-26.2 c37.9-153.6,99.3-296,198.8-420.5c77.8-97.4,167.1-182.9,265.8-258.8c15.6-12,31.3-23.9,47.9-36.5 c-66.2-105.1-131.9-209.2-197.2-312.8c-3.5,1.1-5.1,1.2-6.4,2c-167.2,95.6-316.1,213.7-443.2,358.8 c-105.1,119.9-191.1,252.3-259.5,396.3c-95.5,201-152.1,411.6-159.1,634.8c-3.9,125.5,4.8,249.7,40.1,371 c46.7,160.8,135.7,290.9,280.5,378.7c165.7,100.5,344.8,123,531.2,78.8c172.4-40.8,296.4-143.9,366.3-308.5 c28.5-67.2,40.6-138,44.6-210.5C3000.2,1953.3,2979.9,1831.4,2912.5,1722z\"><\/path><\/g><\/svg>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"blockquote-content\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-4\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"font-weight-extralight line-height-sm margin-top-0 section-heading-sm\"><span class=\"section-heading-sm\">\u201cThe launch of Sputnik in 1957 had changed the thinking of all of us at the NACA....many of us started thinking intensively about manned satellites of one kind of another.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span><\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"display-flex\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"blockquote-image hds-cover-wrapper margin-right-3\"><figure class=\"hds-media-background  \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s65-45100.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Robert R. Gilruth\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s65-45100.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s65-45100.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s65-45100.jpg?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s65-45100.jpg?resize=200,200 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-11\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"blockquote-credit-name line-height-sm margin-0\">Robert R. Gilruth<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"blockquote-credit-title line-height-sm padding-0 margin-0\">NACA\/NASA<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>His focus changed in the fall of 1957, when he watched \u201cthe sunlight reflecting off of the Sputnik 1 carrier rocket as it passed over\u201d his home.  He later recalled, \u201cIt put a new sense of value and urgency on the things we had been doing.\u201d  Gilruth explained, \u201cThe launch of Sputnik in 1957 had changed the thinking of all of us at the NACA.  \u2026  At that time, many of us started thinking intensively about manned satellites of one kind of another.\u201d  A month later, when the Soviets put a dog in space, he thought, \u201cMy God, we better get going because it\u2019s going to be legitimate program to put a man in space.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gilruth went to Washington, DC, to work with NACA\u2019s director and others from the NACA laboratories on how the United States could launch a man in space, but he believed that the \u201cproblems of putting a man in space \u2026 were pretty well solved before we ever really started the Mercury Program.\u201d  Scientist-astronaut Joseph P. Allen said that \u201cthe Mercury capsule was already on [spacecraft designer Caldwell C. Johnson\u2019s] drawing board just nine months after the launch of Sputnik and still several months before the formation of NASA.\u201d  The President\u2019s Scientific Advisory Committee (PSAC) came to Langley to see the work engineers were doing at Wallops.  More than any other organization, Gilruth believed that PARD was \u201cthe key group in spearheading NACA into NASA.\u201d  And he later said, \u201cI had confidence that if anybody could put a man in space, we could.\u201d  He believed that their work at Wallops, more than anything else, led to NACA\u2019s evolution into NASA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the summer of 1958, Gilruth, along with about 20 other employees, drafted plans and a budget for a new federal agency they anticipated being established, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. He oversaw the \u201cman-in-space program\u201d which came up with the basic concepts for putting a man in orbit and presented the idea to the PSAC. In August he shared the plan with the Select Committee on Aeronautics and Space Exploration, established by the House of Representatives in 1958 to study the possibilities of exploring space.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-wide\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-cover \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/nacas-special-committee-on-space-technology.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1638\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/nacas-special-committee-on-space-technology.jpg?w=2048\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"NACA's Special Committee on Space Technology at a meeting at the NACA Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory in Ohio, May 26, 1958. The members are seated around a conference table facing the camera.\" style=\"transform: scale(1.2); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/nacas-special-committee-on-space-technology.jpg 3000w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/nacas-special-committee-on-space-technology.jpg?resize=300,240 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/nacas-special-committee-on-space-technology.jpg?resize=768,614 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/nacas-special-committee-on-space-technology.jpg?resize=1024,819 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/nacas-special-committee-on-space-technology.jpg?resize=1536,1229 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/nacas-special-committee-on-space-technology.jpg?resize=2048,1638 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/nacas-special-committee-on-space-technology.jpg?resize=400,320 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/nacas-special-committee-on-space-technology.jpg?resize=600,480 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/nacas-special-committee-on-space-technology.jpg?resize=900,720 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/nacas-special-committee-on-space-technology.jpg?resize=1200,960 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/nacas-special-committee-on-space-technology.jpg?resize=2000,1600 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">NACA’s Special Committee on Space Technology, called the Stever Committee after its chairman, Guyford Stever, meets at the NACA Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory in Ohio, May 26, 1958. Left to right, Edward R. Sharp, Director of Lewis Laboratory; Colonel Norman C Appold, US Air Force, Assistant to the Deputy Commander for Weapons Systems, Air Research and Development Command: Abraham Hyatt, Research and Analysis Officer, Bureau of Aeronautics, Department of the Navy; Hendrik W Bode, Director of Research Physical Sciences, Bell Telephone Laboratories; W Randolph Lovelace II, Lovelace Foundation for Medication Education and Research, S. K Hoffman, General Manager, Rocketdyne Division, North American Aviation; Milton U Clauser, Director, Aeronautical Research Laboratory, The Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation, H. Julian Allen, Chief, High Speed Flight Research, NACA Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, Robert R. Gilruth, Assistant Director, NACA Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, J. R. Dempsey, Manager. Convair-Astronautics; Carl B. Palmer, Secretary to Committee, NACA Headquarters, H. Guyford Stever, Chairman, Associate Dean of Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Hugh L. Dryden (ex officio), Director, NACA; Dale R. Corson, Department of Physics, Cornell University; Abe Silverstein, Associate Director, NACA Lewis; Wernher von Braun, Director, Development Operations Division, Army Ballistic Missile Agency. (26 May 1958)<\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\">NACA\/NASA<\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Operations at NASA began on October 1, 1958, and two hours after hearing Gilruth\u2019s presentation on how to place a man in space, <a href=\"\/people\/t-keith-glennan\/\">T. Keith Glennan<\/a>, NASA\u2019s first administrator, told Gilruth to \u201cget on with the project.\u201d Back home at Langley, Gilruth began to put together the Space Task Group (STG), which initially consisted of 36 people but eventually grew to 500.  To accomplish the goal of sending an astronaut into orbit, the STG had to tackle many problems including selecting and training astronauts, building a spacecraft, establishing a tracking network, and putting a recovery team in place.  NASA Deputy Administrator <a href=\"\/people\/george-m-low\/\">George M. Low<\/a> remembered that the STG operated \u201cextremely well\u201d thanks to Gilruth\u2019s leadership.  Only a few years after Gilruth established the Space Task Group, the team succeeded in launching astronaut <a href=\"\/former-astronaut-alan-shepard\/\">Alan B. Shepard<\/a> into a suborbital space mission in 1961.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Soon after that successful spaceflight that sent Shepard into space for fifteen minutes, President John F. Kennedy announced that the United States would land a man on the Moon and return him safely by the end of the decade.  Gilruth, then on a plane, remembered being \u201caghast\u201d at the president\u2019s statement, even though he was aware of the plan.  He had personally advised the president of the United States on the matter.  Still, he was overwhelmed because he realized that going to the Moon would be much more complicated than putting a man in orbit, a goal which they had not yet accomplished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A new NASA center would be needed, and in 1961 the space agency decided to establish the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/johnson\/history\/\">Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston<\/a><a href=\"\/johnson-space-center\/johnson-space-center-history\/\"> <\/a>with Bob Gilruth as its center director.  He, along with other Space Task Group employees, had to relocate from Virginia to Texas.  But that was just the beginning; center employees had to select a contractor for the Apollo spacecraft, plan and build the center, and decide how best to travel to the Moon.  Hundreds, if not thousands, of decisions had to be made.  \u201cThe whole period was one \u2026 which moved very fast, but it was not exactly,\u201d he admitted, \u201cwhat you\u2019d call a calm and serene period.\u201d  Even James S. McDonnell, head of the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation which built the Mercury spacecraft, told Gilruth, \u201cI don\u2019t see how you can possibly get done all the things you have to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-wide\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-cover \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/s63-00151.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1638\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/s63-00151.jpg?w=2048\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"Aerial view of the Manned Spacecraft Center grounds on January 9, 1963 while under construction.\" style=\"transform: scale(1.2); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/s63-00151.jpg 3000w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/s63-00151.jpg?resize=300,240 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/s63-00151.jpg?resize=768,614 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/s63-00151.jpg?resize=1024,819 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/s63-00151.jpg?resize=1536,1229 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/s63-00151.jpg?resize=2048,1638 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/s63-00151.jpg?resize=400,320 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/s63-00151.jpg?resize=600,480 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/s63-00151.jpg?resize=900,720 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/s63-00151.jpg?resize=1200,960 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/s63-00151.jpg?resize=2000,1600 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">This aerial view of early construction of the Manned Spacecraft Center is looking toward the north. Building 25, the fire station, is the more nearly complete of the two buildings seen under construction on the left side of the frame. Building 24, the Central Heating and Cooling Plant, is just getting started.  The elevated water storage tank is Facility No. 40, at the intersection of Avenue B, which runs horizontally along the top of the image, and Second Avenue, which runs vertically throughout the picture to the right of center.  (9 Jan. 1963)<\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\">NASA<\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Nearly overnight the Manned Spacecraft Center went from a single program, <a href=\"\/project-mercury-2\/\">Project Mercury<\/a>, to three.  Gilruth oversaw the remaining Mercury flights with his \u201cnumber one priority\u201d placing astronaut <a href=\"\/former-astronaut-john-h-glenn\/\">John Glenn<\/a> into orbit.  He also had to get the <a href=\"\/gemini\/\">Gemini <\/a>\u201crolling,\u201d a follow-on program to Mercury to ensure that the <a href=\"\/the-apollo-program\/\">Apollo Program<\/a> would succeed.  This NASA program would prove that astronauts could rendezvous and dock in space, walk in space, and stay in space for long periods of time. He also had to oversee the design and construction of a new space center and solve the problem of how to land a man on the Moon.  In July 1969, the United States accomplished that goal when <a href=\"\/people\/neil-a-armstrong\/\">Neil A. Armstrong<\/a> took his first step on the Moon.  This success was due in part to Gilruth\u2019s leadership style.  It was his approach to Project Mercury, which NASA managers adopted and effectively used, that ensured the success of manned spaceflight in that decade.  \u201cThere is no question,\u201d George Low concluded, \u201cthat without Bob Gilruth there would not have been a Mercury, a Gemini, or an Apollo Program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gilruth remained center director until early 1972, when he took a position with NASA Headquarters.  He retired in 1973 and went on to serve as consultant for the space agency.  In 2000, he passed away at the age of 86 but to this day remains known as the father of NASA\u2019s human spaceflight programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/history-publications-and-resources\/oral-histories\/\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/history-publications-and-resources\/oral-histories\/\">Visit the NASA Oral History Collections to read oral histories with NASA’s Johnson Space Center Directors and others across NASA.<\/a><\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-archived-news nasa-gb-align-full width-full maxw-full padding-x-3 padding-y-0 hds-module hds-module-full wp-block-nasa-blocks-archived-news\">\t\t<section class=\"padding-x-0 padding-y-3 desktop:padding-top-7 desktop:padding-bottom-9\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-grid-container w-100 grid-row grid-container maxw-widescreen padding-0 text-align-left\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-4\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"heading-22 width-full w-full maxw-full\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tLearn More About Robert R. Gilruth\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-grid-container grid-container padding-0\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"grid-row grid-gap-lg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-12 desktop:grid-col-4 margin-bottom-4 desktop:margin-bottom-0\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/langley\/robert-r-gilruth\/\" class=\"color-carbon-black\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-cover-wrapper cover-hover-zoom bg-carbon-black minh-mobile\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"hds-media-background  \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1268\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/robert-r-gilruth.jpg?w=1024\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/robert-r-gilruth.jpg 2088w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/robert-r-gilruth.jpg?resize=242,300 242w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/robert-r-gilruth.jpg?resize=768,951 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/robert-r-gilruth.jpg?resize=827,1024 827w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/robert-r-gilruth.jpg?resize=1240,1536 1240w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/robert-r-gilruth.jpg?resize=1654,2048 1654w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/robert-r-gilruth.jpg?resize=323,400 323w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/robert-r-gilruth.jpg?resize=484,600 484w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/robert-r-gilruth.jpg?resize=727,900 727w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/robert-r-gilruth.jpg?resize=969,1200 969w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/robert-r-gilruth.jpg?resize=1615,2000 1615w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"padding-right-0 desktop:padding-right-10\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"label margin-bottom-2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t6 min read\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"heading-16\">Robert R. Gilruth<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"heading-12 display-flex flex-align-center font-weight-bold text-uppercase margin-bottom-1 color-carbon-40\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-right-2\"><div class=\"display-flex flex-align-center label color-carbon-60 margin-bottom-auto\"><svg version=\"1.1\" class=\"square-2 margin-right-1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\" x=\"0px\" y=\"0px\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" style=\"enable-background:new 0 0 16 16;\" xml:space=\"preserve\"><g><g><path d=\"M8,0C3.5,0-0.1,3.7,0,8.2C0.1,12.5,3.6,16,8,16c4.4,0,8-3.6,8-8C16,3.5,12.4,0,8,0z M8,15.2 C4,15.2,0.8,12,0.8,8C0.8,4,4,0.8,8,0.8c3.9,0,7.2,3.2,7.2,7.1C15.2,11.9,12,15.2,8,15.2z\"\/><path d=\"M5.6,12c0.8-0.8,1.6-1.6,2.4-2.4c0.8,0.8,1.6,1.6,2.4,2.4c0-2.7,0-5.3,0-8C8.8,4,7.2,4,5.6,4 C5.6,6.7,5.6,9.3,5.6,12z\"\/><\/g><\/g><\/svg><span>Article<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t9 years ago\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-12 desktop:grid-col-4 margin-bottom-4 desktop:margin-bottom-0\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/aeronautics\/airplanes-or-langleys-and-other-tales-of-the-naca\/\" class=\"color-carbon-black\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-cover-wrapper cover-hover-zoom bg-carbon-black minh-mobile\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"hds-media-background  \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/nasca-2015.jpg?w=1024\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/nasca-2015.jpg 1800w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/nasca-2015.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/nasca-2015.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/nasca-2015.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/nasca-2015.jpg?resize=1536,1025 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/nasca-2015.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/nasca-2015.jpg?resize=600,400 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/nasca-2015.jpg?resize=900,601 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/nasca-2015.jpg?resize=1200,801 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"padding-right-0 desktop:padding-right-10\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"label margin-bottom-2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t9 min read\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"heading-16\">“Airplanes” or “Langleys” and Other Tales of the NACA<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"heading-12 display-flex flex-align-center font-weight-bold text-uppercase margin-bottom-1 color-carbon-40\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-right-2\"><div class=\"display-flex flex-align-center label color-carbon-60 margin-bottom-auto\"><svg version=\"1.1\" class=\"square-2 margin-right-1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\" x=\"0px\" y=\"0px\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" style=\"enable-background:new 0 0 16 16;\" xml:space=\"preserve\"><g><g><path d=\"M8,0C3.5,0-0.1,3.7,0,8.2C0.1,12.5,3.6,16,8,16c4.4,0,8-3.6,8-8C16,3.5,12.4,0,8,0z M8,15.2 C4,15.2,0.8,12,0.8,8C0.8,4,4,0.8,8,0.8c3.9,0,7.2,3.2,7.2,7.1C15.2,11.9,12,15.2,8,15.2z\"\/><path d=\"M5.6,12c0.8-0.8,1.6-1.6,2.4-2.4c0.8,0.8,1.6,1.6,2.4,2.4c0-2.7,0-5.3,0-8C8.8,4,7.2,4,5.6,4 C5.6,6.7,5.6,9.3,5.6,12z\"\/><\/g><\/g><\/svg><span>Article<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t9 years ago\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-12 desktop:grid-col-4 margin-bottom-4 desktop:margin-bottom-0\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/langley\/naca-and-nasa-langley-hall-of-honor-class-of-2015\/\" class=\"color-carbon-black\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-cover-wrapper cover-hover-zoom bg-carbon-black minh-mobile\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"hds-media-background  \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1176\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/2015-hall-of-honor-all_1.jpg?w=1024\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/2015-hall-of-honor-all_1.jpg 6000w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/2015-hall-of-honor-all_1.jpg?resize=261,300 261w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/2015-hall-of-honor-all_1.jpg?resize=768,882 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/2015-hall-of-honor-all_1.jpg?resize=892,1024 892w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/2015-hall-of-honor-all_1.jpg?resize=1338,1536 1338w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/2015-hall-of-honor-all_1.jpg?resize=1784,2048 1784w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/2015-hall-of-honor-all_1.jpg?resize=348,400 348w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/2015-hall-of-honor-all_1.jpg?resize=523,600 523w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/2015-hall-of-honor-all_1.jpg?resize=784,900 784w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/2015-hall-of-honor-all_1.jpg?resize=1045,1200 1045w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/2015-hall-of-honor-all_1.jpg?resize=1742,2000 1742w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"padding-right-0 desktop:padding-right-10\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"label margin-bottom-2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t3 min read\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"heading-16\">NACA and NASA Langley Hall of Honor Class of 2015<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"heading-12 display-flex flex-align-center font-weight-bold text-uppercase margin-bottom-1 color-carbon-40\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-right-2\"><div class=\"display-flex flex-align-center label color-carbon-60 margin-bottom-auto\"><svg version=\"1.1\" class=\"square-2 margin-right-1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\" x=\"0px\" y=\"0px\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" style=\"enable-background:new 0 0 16 16;\" xml:space=\"preserve\"><g><g><path d=\"M8,0C3.5,0-0.1,3.7,0,8.2C0.1,12.5,3.6,16,8,16c4.4,0,8-3.6,8-8C16,3.5,12.4,0,8,0z M8,15.2 C4,15.2,0.8,12,0.8,8C0.8,4,4,0.8,8,0.8c3.9,0,7.2,3.2,7.2,7.1C15.2,11.9,12,15.2,8,15.2z\"\/><path d=\"M5.6,12c0.8-0.8,1.6-1.6,2.4-2.4c0.8,0.8,1.6,1.6,2.4,2.4c0-2.7,0-5.3,0-8C8.8,4,7.2,4,5.6,4 C5.6,6.7,5.6,9.3,5.6,12z\"\/><\/g><\/g><\/svg><span>Article<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t9 years ago\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-meet-the bg-carbon-90 maxw-full width-full padding-y-5 color-mode-dark hds-module hds-module-full wp-block-nasa-blocks-meet-the\">\t\t<div class=\"grid-container grid-container-block-lg\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"padding-x-0 minh-4\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"grid-row flex-align-center margin-bottom-3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-6 margin-bottom-0\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-0\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"label line-height-sm color-spacesuit-white\">Johnson Space Center Directors<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-6 display-flex flex-align-center flex-justify-end\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"grid-row grid-gap-2\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"padding-left-0 hds-meet-the-container padding-right-2\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-cards hds-meet-the-slider grid-row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-card padding-right-7\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-inner display-flex\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/robert-r-gilruth\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"hds-meet-the-image padding-right-3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-cover-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"hds-media-background  \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s65-45100.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Robert R. Gilruth\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 51% 3%; object-position: 51% 3%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s65-45100.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s65-45100.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s65-45100.jpg?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s65-45100.jpg?resize=200,200 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/robert-r-gilruth\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"display-block margin-bottom-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"heading-18 color-spacesuit-white link-underline-dashed-light border-carbon-30 margin-0 display-inline-block\">Robert R. Gilruth<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"line-height-md color-carbon-40 margin-0 padding-0 p-sm\">November 1961 – January 1972<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"meet-the-icons\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-card padding-right-7\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-inner display-flex\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/christopher-c-kraft-jr\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"hds-meet-the-image padding-right-3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-cover-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"hds-media-background  \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s79-35723.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Christopher C. Kraft, Jr.\" style=\"transform: scale(1.7); transform-origin: 43% 25%; object-position: 43% 25%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s79-35723.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s79-35723.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s79-35723.jpg?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s79-35723.jpg?resize=200,200 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/christopher-c-kraft-jr\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"display-block margin-bottom-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"heading-18 color-spacesuit-white link-underline-dashed-light border-carbon-30 margin-0 display-inline-block\">Christopher C. Kraft, Jr.<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"line-height-md color-carbon-40 margin-0 padding-0 p-sm\">January 1972 – August 1982<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"meet-the-icons\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-card padding-right-7\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-inner display-flex\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/gerald-d-griffin\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"hds-meet-the-image padding-right-3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-cover-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"hds-media-background  \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s82-36061.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Gerald D. Griffin\" style=\"transform: scale(1.2); transform-origin: 40% 45%; object-position: 40% 45%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s82-36061.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s82-36061.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s82-36061.jpg?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s82-36061.jpg?resize=200,200 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/gerald-d-griffin\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"display-block margin-bottom-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"heading-18 color-spacesuit-white link-underline-dashed-light border-carbon-30 margin-0 display-inline-block\">Gerald D. Griffin<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"line-height-md color-carbon-40 margin-0 padding-0 p-sm\">August 1982 – January 1986<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"meet-the-icons\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-card padding-right-7\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-inner display-flex\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/jesse-w-moore\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"hds-meet-the-image padding-right-3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-cover-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"hds-media-background  \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s86-30093.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Jesse W. Moore\" style=\"transform: scale(1.7); transform-origin: 52% 28%; object-position: 52% 28%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s86-30093.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s86-30093.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s86-30093.jpg?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s86-30093.jpg?resize=200,200 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/jesse-w-moore\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"display-block margin-bottom-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"heading-18 color-spacesuit-white link-underline-dashed-light border-carbon-30 margin-0 display-inline-block\">Jesse W. Moore<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"line-height-md color-carbon-40 margin-0 padding-0 p-sm\">January 1986 – October 1986<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"meet-the-icons\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-card padding-right-7\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-inner display-flex\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/aaron-cohen\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"hds-meet-the-image padding-right-3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-cover-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"hds-media-background  \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s93-35411.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Aaron Cohen\" style=\"transform: scale(1.2); transform-origin: 51% 26%; object-position: 51% 26%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s93-35411.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s93-35411.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s93-35411.jpg?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s93-35411.jpg?resize=200,200 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/aaron-cohen\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"display-block margin-bottom-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"heading-18 color-spacesuit-white link-underline-dashed-light border-carbon-30 margin-0 display-inline-block\">Aaron Cohen<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"line-height-md color-carbon-40 margin-0 padding-0 p-sm\">October 1986 – August 1993<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"meet-the-icons\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-card padding-right-7\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-inner display-flex\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/carolyn-l-huntoon\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"hds-meet-the-image padding-right-3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-cover-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"hds-media-background  \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s94-35046.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Carolyn L. Huntoon\" style=\"transform: scale(1.2); transform-origin: 44% 30%; object-position: 44% 30%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s94-35046.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s94-35046.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s94-35046.jpg?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s94-35046.jpg?resize=200,200 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/carolyn-l-huntoon\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"display-block margin-bottom-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"heading-18 color-spacesuit-white link-underline-dashed-light border-carbon-30 margin-0 display-inline-block\">Carolyn L. Huntoon<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"line-height-md color-carbon-40 margin-0 padding-0 p-sm\">January 1994 – August 1995<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"meet-the-icons\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-card padding-right-7\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-inner display-flex\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/george-w-s-abbey\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"hds-meet-the-image padding-right-3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-cover-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"hds-media-background  \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s94-28291.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"George W.S. Abbey\" style=\"transform: scale(1.2); transform-origin: 49% 20%; object-position: 49% 20%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s94-28291.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s94-28291.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s94-28291.jpg?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s94-28291.jpg?resize=200,200 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/george-w-s-abbey\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"display-block margin-bottom-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"heading-18 color-spacesuit-white link-underline-dashed-light border-carbon-30 margin-0 display-inline-block\">George W. S. Abbey<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"line-height-md color-carbon-40 margin-0 padding-0 p-sm\">January 1996 – February 2001<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"meet-the-icons\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-card padding-right-7\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-inner display-flex\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/roy-s-estess\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"hds-meet-the-image padding-right-3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-cover-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"hds-media-background  \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2001-01893.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Roy S. Estess (Acting Director)\" style=\"transform: scale(1.5); transform-origin: 14% 28%; object-position: 14% 28%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2001-01893.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2001-01893.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2001-01893.jpg?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2001-01893.jpg?resize=200,200 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/roy-s-estess\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"display-block margin-bottom-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"heading-18 color-spacesuit-white link-underline-dashed-light border-carbon-30 margin-0 display-inline-block\">Roy S. Estess (Acting Director)<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"line-height-md color-carbon-40 margin-0 padding-0 p-sm\">February 2001 – March 2002<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"meet-the-icons\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-card padding-right-7\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-inner display-flex\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/jefferson-d-howell-jr\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"hds-meet-the-image padding-right-3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-cover-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"hds-media-background  \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2002e05117.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Jefferson D. Howell, Jr.\" style=\"transform: scale(1.3); transform-origin: 48% 25%; object-position: 48% 25%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2002e05117.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2002e05117.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2002e05117.jpg?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2002e05117.jpg?resize=200,200 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/jefferson-d-howell-jr\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"display-block margin-bottom-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"heading-18 color-spacesuit-white link-underline-dashed-light border-carbon-30 margin-0 display-inline-block\">Jefferson D. Howell, Jr.<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"line-height-md color-carbon-40 margin-0 padding-0 p-sm\">March 2002 – November 2005<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"meet-the-icons\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-card padding-right-7\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-inner display-flex\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/michael-l-coats\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"hds-meet-the-image padding-right-3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-cover-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"hds-media-background  \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2005e47387.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Michael L. Coats\" style=\"transform: scale(1.4); transform-origin: 50% 16%; object-position: 50% 16%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2005e47387.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2005e47387.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2005e47387.jpg?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2005e47387.jpg?resize=200,200 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/michael-l-coats\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"display-block margin-bottom-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"heading-18 color-spacesuit-white link-underline-dashed-light border-carbon-30 margin-0 display-inline-block\">Michael L. Coats<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"line-height-md color-carbon-40 margin-0 padding-0 p-sm\">November 2005 – December 2012<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"meet-the-icons\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-card padding-right-7\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-inner display-flex\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/ellen-ochoa\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"hds-meet-the-image padding-right-3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-cover-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"hds-media-background  \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2006e39972.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Ellen Ochoa\" style=\"transform: scale(1.2); transform-origin: 55% 21%; object-position: 55% 21%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2006e39972.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2006e39972.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2006e39972.jpg?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2006e39972.jpg?resize=200,200 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/ellen-ochoa\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"display-block margin-bottom-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"heading-18 color-spacesuit-white link-underline-dashed-light border-carbon-30 margin-0 display-inline-block\">Ellen Ochoa<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"line-height-md color-carbon-40 margin-0 padding-0 p-sm\">January 2013 – May 2018<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"meet-the-icons\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-card padding-right-7\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-inner display-flex\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/mark-s-geyer\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"hds-meet-the-image padding-right-3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-cover-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"hds-media-background  \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2008e118450.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Mark S. Geyer\" style=\"transform: scale(1.2); transform-origin: 48% 20%; object-position: 48% 20%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2008e118450.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2008e118450.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2008e118450.jpg?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2008e118450.jpg?resize=200,200 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/mark-s-geyer\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"display-block margin-bottom-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"heading-18 color-spacesuit-white link-underline-dashed-light border-carbon-30 margin-0 display-inline-block\">Mark S. Geyer<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"line-height-md color-carbon-40 margin-0 padding-0 p-sm\">May 2018 – May 2021<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"meet-the-icons\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-card padding-right-7\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-inner display-flex\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/vanessa-e-wyche\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"hds-meet-the-image padding-right-3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-cover-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"hds-media-background  \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2020e051467.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Vanessa Wyche\" style=\"transform: scale(1.3); transform-origin: 49% 18%; object-position: 49% 18%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2020e051467.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2020e051467.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2020e051467.jpg?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/jsc2020e051467.jpg?resize=200,200 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-meet-the-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/vanessa-e-wyche\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"display-block margin-bottom-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"heading-18 color-spacesuit-white link-underline-dashed-light border-carbon-30 margin-0 display-inline-block\">Vanessa Wyche<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"line-height-md color-carbon-40 margin-0 padding-0 p-sm\">June 2021 – Present<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"meet-the-icons\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-carousel-nav hds-carousel-nav-next display-flex margin-right-auto margin-left-0\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"hds-carousel-nav-arrow hds-carousel-arrow-next margin-left-0 margin-right-0\" aria-label=\"Next Person\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" x=\"0px\" y=\"0px\" width=\"9px\" height=\"9px\" viewBox=\"0 0 9 9\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path class=\"st0\" d=\"M5.5,4.5L1.8,8.1L2.7,9l4.5-4.5L2.7,0L1.8,0.9L5.5,4.5z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Robert R. Gilruth was born in Nashwauk, Minnesota, on October 8, 1913, to two schoolteachers.  But he did not intend to become an educator.  \u201cI was going to be something else,\u201d he said.  \u201cI was going to build something, [but] I wasn\u2019t sure what.\u201d  Engineering seemed an obvious choice.  During childhood he built rubber-band powered [...]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":202619,"template":"","meta":{"nasa_hds_core_meta_l10n":"en-US","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_editor":"78","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_contacts":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_topic":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_linked_locations":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_related_articles":[],"hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_id":"","hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_type":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_x":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_y":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_gallery_images":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_people_facebook_url":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_people_twitter_url":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_people_instagram_url":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_people_linkedin_url":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_people_title":"NACA Engineer,  Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Assistant Director, 1952-1958, Space Task Group Director, 1958-1961, Johnson Space Center Director, 1961-1972"},"categories":[2861,2665,2671],"news-tags":[],"internal-terms":[],"coauthors":[8640,8638],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"WebPage","headline":"Robert R. Gilruth","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/robert-r-gilruth\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/robert-r-gilruth\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s65-45100.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s65-45100.jpg"},"articleSection":"NASA Centers & Facilities","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sandra L. Johnson"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Jennifer Ross-Nazzal"}],"creator":["Sandra L. Johnson","Jennifer Ross-Nazzal"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"NASA","logo":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/themes\/nasa\/assets\/images\/nasa-logo.svg"},"keywords":["NASA History","Johnson Space Center","NASA Centers & Facilities"],"dateCreated":"2023-04-13T20:11:52Z","datePublished":"2023-04-13T20:11:52Z","dateModified":"2024-03-26T22:05:44Z"},"rendered":"<meta name=\"parsely-title\" content=\"Robert R. Gilruth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-link\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/robert-r-gilruth\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-type\" content=\"index\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-image-url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s65-45100.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-pub-date\" content=\"2023-04-13T20:11:52Z\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-section\" content=\"NASA Centers & Facilities\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-tags\" content=\"NASA History,Johnson Space Center,NASA Centers & Facilities\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-author\" content=\"Sandra L. Johnson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-author\" content=\"Jennifer Ross-Nazzal\" \/>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/nasa.gov\/p.js"},"read_time":11,"featured_image":{"id":202619,"file":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/s65-45100.jpg","title":"s65-45100","alt":"Robert R. Gilruth, JSC Center Director, November 1961 - January 1972","caption":"Robert R. Gilruth, JSC Center Director, November 1961 - January 1972"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/people\/209116"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/people"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/people"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/78"}],"version-history":[{"count":48,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/people\/209116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":637458,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/people\/209116\/revisions\/637458"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209116"},{"taxonomy":"news-tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-tags?post=209116"},{"taxonomy":"internal-terms","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-terms?post=209116"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=209116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}