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  Terry Neal, NASA mission ops lead (1942-2015)

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Author Topic:   Terry Neal, NASA mission ops lead (1942-2015)
Robert Pearlman
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posted 05-24-2015 03:35 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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
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