Author
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Topic: Terry Neal, NASA mission ops lead (1942-2015)
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Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-24-2015 03:35 PM
Robert Terry Neal, who held various NASA mission operations positions including flight lead, project lead, and management at the section, branch and division levels for all manned programs from Apollo 7 through mid 2005, died on May 19, 2015 at the age of 72. From 1969 through 1972, he was assigned to temporary duty at the then Kennedy Space Center supporting Apollo missions 11-17 in the areas of flight crew integration, vehicle and crew equipment test and checkout, and astronaut training. His specific areas of operational expertise included Apollo, shuttle, and space station EVA (spacewalk) systems, the flight crew equipment in those programs (including the lunar module IVA and EVA equipment) and lunar surface operations. He served as the lead EVA operations flight controller for the first shuttle spacewalk, the first Manned Maneuvering Unit flight, and the first satellite repair mission from the shuttle. He was instrumental in defining and conducting the International Space Station (ISS) assembly concepts and associated operations. He managed the combining of the shuttle spacewalk and robotics operational areas into a single functional unit. Terry was primarily responsible for the justification, procurement and initial facility management for the Johnson Space Center Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. This facility has served as the primary spacewalk training facility in the International Space Station and shuttle programs. According to the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal, Neal, together with training instructor Ron Blevins developed the map fender fix for the Apollo 17 lunar roving vehicle. Dave Ballard, Apollo 17 Flight Crew Support Team Leader, told the ALSJ: ...Terry went right over to the JSC rover and lunar module mock-up because it was obvious a fix was necessary. Since Terry was the A17 Lunar Module Crew System's Engineer, there was no one more knowledgeable or capable of understanding what was at hand on board the spacecraft to be utilized for the repair. Using the fully stowed mockup's equipment, Terry developed the scheme using - and I may not be completely accurate on each piece - some combination of clamps, tape, flight data file covers, etc. He passed the procedures over to the EVA procedures guys and they worked a suited-crewman exercise with John Young for verification. Then the procedure was sent up to the crew and the rest is history.However, here's the rest of the story: Post flight, John (and maybe some others) got a big NASA award for this effort - no mention of Terry Neal! This was a common thing - nobody took it very serious. To this day, every time John Young sees Terry Neal, he says, as only John can, 'I'm going to get you an award, Terry.' Thirty some odd years later John still remembers and respects the person who did the real work. |
Michael Davis Member Posts: 528 From: Houston, Texas Registered: Aug 2002
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posted 05-24-2015 03:39 PM
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randy Member Posts: 2176 From: West Jordan, Utah USA Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 05-24-2015 03:53 PM
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mach3valkyrie Member Posts: 719 From: Albany, Oregon Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 05-24-2015 03:57 PM
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Kite Member Posts: 831 From: Northampton UK Registered: Nov 2009
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posted 05-24-2015 04:00 PM
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David Carey Member Posts: 782 From: Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 05-24-2015 04:01 PM
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GACspaceguy Member Posts: 2476 From: Guyton, GA Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 05-24-2015 04:41 PM
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star51L Member Posts: 340 From: Vilano Beach, FL, USA Registered: Aug 2002
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posted 05-24-2015 06:15 PM
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Lunar rock nut Member Posts: 911 From: Oklahoma city, Oklahoma U.S.A. Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 05-25-2015 06:04 AM
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apolloprojeckt Member Posts: 1447 From: Arnhem, Netherlands Registered: Feb 2009
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posted 05-25-2015 06:24 AM
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capoetc Member Posts: 2169 From: McKinney TX (USA) Registered: Aug 2005
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posted 05-25-2015 06:27 AM
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Jeff Member Posts: 474 From: Fayetteville, NC, USA Registered: May 2009
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posted 05-25-2015 08:19 AM
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OWL Member Posts: 175 From: United Kingdom Registered: Aug 2007
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posted 05-25-2015 01:47 PM
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jasonelam Member Posts: 691 From: Monticello, KY USA Registered: Mar 2007
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posted 05-25-2015 04:18 PM
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dss65 Member Posts: 1156 From: Sandpoint, ID, USA Registered: Mar 2003
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posted 05-25-2015 08:50 PM
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Joel Katzowitz Member Posts: 808 From: Marietta GA USA Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 05-26-2015 07:12 AM
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Lunar Module 5 Member Posts: 370 From: Wales, UK Registered: Dec 2004
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posted 05-26-2015 03:20 PM
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mode1charlie Member Posts: 1169 From: Honolulu, HI Registered: Sep 2010
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posted 05-26-2015 06:25 PM
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JohnPaul56 Member Posts: 180 From: Montclair, NJ, USA Registered: Apr 2010
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posted 05-26-2015 07:54 PM
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Ronpur Member Posts: 1211 From: Brandon, Fl Registered: May 2012
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posted 05-28-2015 04:41 PM
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Astro Rich Member Posts: 133 From: Huntsville, Alabama Registered: Feb 2014
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posted 05-31-2015 08:22 AM
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cspg Member Posts: 6210 From: Geneva, Switzerland Registered: May 2006
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posted 06-01-2015 04:54 PM
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astro-nut Member Posts: 946 From: Washington, IL Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 06-01-2015 11:16 PM
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