Roy F . Brissenden Roy Frampton Brissenden ( 19 April 1919 - 13 March 1999 ) was a NASA physicist , engineer , teacher and inventor whose pioneering and imaginative work made possible the advancement and accomplishments of the Mercury , Gemini , Apollo , and Space Shuttle programs . Early Life and Family Values . Roy Frampton Brissenden was born , 19 April 1919 , to Henry Frampton and Elsie Ball Brissenden in Winston - Salem , North Carolina , where he received his public education and began his early careers . The eldest of three sons ( James and Edward ) , Roy showed keen interest in aviation from an early age . His parents were persons of strong moral fibre , with solid work ethics and an entrepreneurial bent . These traits , paired with his natural inquisitiveness , became manifest in a character that would eventually produce astonishing results . The Work Begins . From age 11 , Roy began working in the family business , founded by his father , and acquired a firm grounding in industry , craftmanship and marketing . In 1936 , he graduated from R . J . Reynolds High School in Winston - Salem . From 1938 until 1943 , while continuing in the family business , he was also employed by Piedmont Publishing , contracting as a distribution manager for the Winston - Salem Journal & Sentinel . World War II . During World War II , Roy embarked upon a career which was to prove critical to his life ’ s work . In 1943 , he enlisted in the Army Air Corps as a pilot and flight instructor . An ace pilot , himself , 2nd Lieutenant Brissenden flew P38s , P47s and P51s ; and trained cadets in instrument flying in AT6s . Upon his discharge in 1945 , Roy joined the Air Force Reserve , and returned to the Winston - Salem Journal & Sentinel , and the family business . Post - war Academic Career . After the War , Roy conducted energetic independent study into physics and avionics . In 1951 , he entered North Carolina State College at Raleigh to further pursue his dream , earning his baccalaureate degree in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering in 1955 . He was discharged from the Air Force Reserve the same year . Roy would eventually attend Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg , Virginia , in the midst of his NASA career , to acquire his masters degree in the same discipline . Hampton , Virginia and NACA / NASA Langley . In 1955 , Roy chose to relocate to Hampton , Virginia , having been recruited to join the professional staff of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics ( NACA ) at Langley Research Center , later to become National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA ) . His concentration while at NACA / NASA was in the design , construction and training for Rendezvous and Docking Programs . He , alone , designed the Docking Simulator and supervised its construction ; employing the expediency and physical means which saved the government several millions of dollars . In the Simulator , Roy personally trained all the Apollo Mission astronauts for lunar orbital flight and landings . The Docking Simulator was his major professional accomplishment . A massive work of engineering artistry and detail , it has been designated as a National Monument , and hangs in perpetual display in the NASA Hangar , Building # 1244 . During his tenure , Roy was the author or co - author of more than 40 published professional papers . For the design of aeronautic and general scientific equipment and devices , he was the awardee or co - awardee of numerous U . S . patents and of Presidential Citations .