caption serviceyears laterwork branch commands birth_place allegiance awards placeofburial_label battles birth_date rank image article_title name
general donald j. kutyna 1957-1992 rogers commission member united states air force north american aerospace defense command united states space command chicago , illinois united states of america distinguished 9 -rrb- flying cross -lrb- 1 -rrb- air medal -lrb- place of burial vietnam war 6 december 1933 general donald kutyna.jpg donald j. kutyna
 donald j. kutyna
donald j. kutyna

general -lrb- ret -rrb- donald joseph kutyna -lrb- born december 6 , 1933 -rrb- is a retired united states air force officer .
he was commander in chief of the north american aerospace defense command and the united states space command from 1990 to 1992 , and commander of air force space command at peterson air force base , colorado from 1987 to 1990 .
he attended the university of iowa for two years and subsequently was appointed to the united states military academy , graduating with a bachelor of science degree in 1957 .
he received a master of science degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the massachusetts institute of technology in 1965 .
he completed the industrial college of the armed forces in 1976 .
upon completing pilot training at vance air force base , oklahoma , in september 1958 , kutyna was assigned to the 33rd bombardment squadron at march air force base , california , serving as a b-47 combat crew commander until june 1963 .
after graduating from the massachusetts institute of technology in june 1965 , he was assigned to the aerospace research pilot school , edwards air force base , california , first as a student and then as a staff director , training test pilots and astronauts for u.s. aviation and space programs .
from december 1969 to january 1971 he served a combat tour of duty with the 44th tactical fighter squadron at takhli royal thai air force base , thailand , completing 120 combat missions in the f-105 tactical fighter .
of polish origin , kutyna named an f-105d which he flew in combat `` the polish glider . ''
that aircraft is now in the polish aviation museum in kraków , poland ; various model kits of it have been manufactured .
upon his return from southeast asia , the general was assigned to headquarters u.s. air force , washington , d.c. , as a development planner in the office of the deputy chief of staff for research and development .
in june 1973 , after a tour of duty with the air force scientific advisory board , he was assigned as executive officer to the undersecretary of the air force .
in august 1975 kutyna entered the industrial college of the armed forces .
after graduation in july 1976 , he transferred to electronic systems division , hanscom air force base , massachusetts , with duty as assistant deputy for international programs .
he then served as program manager for foreign military sales of the e-3a airborne warning and control system aircraft and , later , became assistant program director for the overall e-3a program .
in june 1980 he was appointed deputy for surveillance and control systems , responsible for the development and acquisition of the sensors and command centers used today by norad and the u.s. space command in the satisfaction of their worldwide missions .
kutyna became deputy commander for space launch and control systems at space division , air force systems command , los angeles air force station , california , in june 1982 .
in this position he managed the department of defense space shuttle program , including the design and construction of the west coast space shuttle launch site at vandenberg air force base , california ; the acquisition of space shuttle upper stage boosters ; and the operational aspects of launching military payloads on the shuttle .
other responsibilities encompassed the development , acquisition and launch support of all air force expendable launch vehicles , including the titan and atlas space boosters and the titan iv heavy lift launch vehicle , which provides a capability equivalent to the space shuttle .
his programs for control of space missions encompassed the operations and upgrade of the air force satellite control network , and development of air force space command 's consolidated space operations center , falcon air force station , colorado .
in june 1984 the general became director of space systems and command , control and communications , office of the deputy chief of staff , research , development and acquisition , at air force headquarters .
kutyna is perhaps most famous for his aid in several investigations of nasa launch failures , especially his membership on the rogers commission investigating the loss of the space shuttle `` challenger '' .
he was particularly critical of nasa 's decision to allow the shuttle to keep flying despite knowledge of the catastrophic o-ring flaw that ultimately led to the disaster .
he likened this situation to an airline allowing a plane to fly despite evidence that one of its wings was about to fall off .
while serving , he befriended fellow panelist richard feynman , who later described their partnership in his humorous memoir `` what do you care what other people think ? '' .
the partnership of kutyna and feynman was critical in the discovery and publication of the cause of the `` challenger '' disaster : kutyna told feynman about how he was repairing his car and discovered that some seals disintegrated due to low temperatures that morning .
that inspired feynman , who discovered the truth about o-ring weakness : they lack elasticity when it is at or below a temperature of degrees , such as those the morning of the accident .
general kutyna returned to los angeles air force station as vice commander of space division in june 1986 , overseeing all space system acquisitions , with particular emphasis on programs associated with the strategic defense initiative .
in november 1987 kutyna became commander of the air force space command , the newest major command in the air force , with headquarters at peterson air force base .
general kutyna 's forces conducted missile warning , space surveillance and satellite control operations at 46 locations around the world .
he assumed command of the north american aerospace defense command and the united states space command in april , 1990 .
the general was a command pilot with more than 4,500 flying hours in 25 different fighters and bombers .
his military awards and decorations include the defense distinguished service medal , air force distinguished service medal , legion of merit with oak leaf cluster , distinguished flying cross with oak leaf cluster , air medal with eight oak leaf clusters , and air force commendation medal with two oak leaf clusters .
he received the national geographic society 's general thomas d. white u.s. air force space trophy in june 1987 .
the award is given to the individual who has made the most outstanding contribution to the nation 's progress in space .
he was promoted to general april 1 , 1990 , with same date of rank , and retired june 30 , 1992 .
