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Topic: Richard Battin, Apollo GNC engineer (1925-2014)
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cspg Member Posts: 6210 From: Geneva, Switzerland Registered: May 2006
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posted 02-14-2014 02:21 PM
Richard Horace (Dick) Battin, who developed and led the analytic and software design of the Apollo spacecraft primary control, guidance and navigation system that landed men on the moon, died February 8, 2014 at Emerson Hospital in Concord, MA, the Boston Globe reported. Dick received a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering in 1945 and a Ph.D. in applied mathematics in 1951 — both from MIT. He received an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree in 1999 from Texas A&M University. From 1951 to 1956 he was an Assistant Director of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory and from 1956 to 1958 senior staff member at Arthur D. Little, Inc. In 1958 he returned to the Instrumentation Laboratory (later named the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory) and subsequently served as Technical Director, Apollo Mission Development and Laboratory Associate Director. He retired from Draper in 1987 as Associate Head of the NASA program department and continued his MIT teaching activities until 2010. NASA's oral history with Richard Battin can be read here. |
Kite Member Posts: 831 From: Northampton UK Registered: Nov 2009
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posted 02-14-2014 04:48 PM
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Michael Davis Member Posts: 528 From: Houston, Texas Registered: Aug 2002
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posted 02-14-2014 05:00 PM
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Astro Rich Member Posts: 133 From: Huntsville, Alabama Registered: Feb 2014
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posted 02-14-2014 05:51 PM
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GACspaceguy Member Posts: 2476 From: Guyton, GA Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 02-14-2014 06:31 PM
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413 is in Member Posts: 628 From: Alexandria, VA USA Registered: May 2006
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posted 02-14-2014 07:30 PM
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bwhite1976 Member Posts: 281 From: Belleville, IL Registered: Jun 2011
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posted 02-14-2014 08:08 PM
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randy Member Posts: 2176 From: West Jordan, Utah USA Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 02-14-2014 10:16 PM
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Ronpur Member Posts: 1211 From: Brandon, Fl Registered: May 2012
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posted 02-14-2014 10:16 PM
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Jeff Member Posts: 474 From: Fayetteville, NC, USA Registered: May 2009
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posted 02-15-2014 08:03 AM
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mode1charlie Member Posts: 1169 From: Honolulu, HI Registered: Sep 2010
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posted 02-15-2014 10:23 PM
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East-Frisian Member Posts: 586 From: Germany Registered: Apr 2005
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posted 02-16-2014 02:25 AM
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LM1 Member Posts: 667 From: New York, NY Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 02-16-2014 08:57 AM
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YankeeClipper Member Posts: 617 From: Dublin, Ireland Registered: Mar 2011
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posted 02-16-2014 01:37 PM
Among the pioneering students of Dick Battin's MIT Astrodynamics Course were Apollo 11 LMP Buzz Aldrin (1961), Apollo 15 CDR Dave Scott (1962), and Apollo 14 LMP Ed Mitchell (1963).Battin wrote Introduction to the Mathematics and Methods of Astrodynamics previously titled Astronautical Guidance (1964). |
Lunar rock nut Member Posts: 911 From: Oklahoma city, Oklahoma U.S.A. Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 02-17-2014 10:23 AM
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capoetc Member Posts: 2169 From: McKinney TX (USA) Registered: Aug 2005
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posted 02-17-2014 10:25 AM
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Larry McGlynn Member Posts: 1255 From: Boston, MA Registered: Jul 2003
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posted 02-17-2014 05:01 PM
I remember during a class I asked Prof Battin a question about orbital mechanics. He looked at me and said that I would have to take his class to get the answer. Everybody said (including two Apollo astronauts) he was a tough teacher, but I wish I had the chance to take his class. |