Posts: 44471
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 07-17-2020 12:32 PM               

---

From fellow Apollo-era EECOMs Sy Liebergot and Bill Moon comes word that former Electrical, Mechanical and Environmental Systems branch chief Thomas Rodney "Rod" Loe died on Friday, July 17, 2020.

From a brief biographical profile prepared by the filmmakers of "Mission Control: The Unsung Heroes of Apollo":

Texan Rod Loe joined NASA in 1963, working as an EECOM during the Gemini program.

Loe did well in that role, and as the Apollo era began, he was approached by his boss about moving into management. Just one thing stood in his way. The flight of Apollo 8 was in the works, and Loe wanted to be a part of that, too.

He made a deal. If Loe could work in Mission Control for just one more flight, he would gladly take the management job. Years later, the memory of Apollo 8's incredible Genesis reading on Christmas Eve 1968 would move Loe to tears.

Loe retired from NASA in 1998.

After Apollo, Loe worked on the space shuttle, rising to become manager of the operations integration office at Johnson Space Center.

Loe participated in NASA's Oral History Project in 2001 and in 2017, sat down with Ars Technica for an hour-long interview.

Posts: 831
From:
Registered: Mar 2009

Posts: 1139
From: Lausanne
Registered: Apr 2012

Posts: 502
From: Pearland, Texas USA
Registered: May 2003

Posts: 891
From: Northampton UK
Registered: Nov 2009

Posts: 716
From: New York, NY
Registered: Oct 2010

Posts: 2284
From: West Jordan, Utah USA
Registered: Dec 1999

Posts: 500
From: Fayetteville, NC, USA
Registered: May 2009

Posts: 1668
From: Bethpage, N.Y.
Registered: Jul 2002

Posts: 1671
From: Smithfield, Me, USA
Registered: Mar 2005

Posts: 493
From: Delray Beach Florida USA
Registered: Mar 2006

Posts: 1024
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Nov 2000

Posts: 379
From: Vilano Beach, FL, USA
Registered: Aug 2002

Posts: 1787
From: Killingly, CT
Registered: Mar 2002

Posts: 2581
From: Guyton, GA
Registered: Jan 2006

Posts: 276
From: Pacific NW, United States
Registered: May 2012

Posts: 455
From: Switzerland & France
Registered: Nov 2003

Posts: 448
From: London UK
Registered: Jan 2013

Posts: 4252
From: England
Registered: Feb 2001

Posts: 169
From: Brooklin, ON Canada
Registered: Feb 2018

Posts: 141
From: Renton, WA USA
Registered: Mar 2002

Posts: 1209
From: Chesham, Bucks UK
Registered: Dec 2008

Posts: 1084
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Apr 2015

Posts: 1705
From: Birmingham AL
Registered: Aug 2010

Posts: 4597
From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Registered: Nov 1999

Posts: 180
From: Israel
Registered: Nov 2012

Posts: 1212
From: Honolulu, HI
Registered: Sep 2010

posted 07-18-2020 04:17 PM               

---

Thank you, Mr. Loe.

R.I.P.

Posts: 404
From: Bennington, Vermont, USA
Registered: Feb 2011

Posts: 3205
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002

Posts: 303
From: Ireland
Registered: May 2014

Posts: 1196
From: Sandpoint, ID, USA
Registered: Mar 2003

Posts: 182
From: USA
Registered: Nov 2010

Posts: 382
From: London, UK
Registered: Jul 2009

Posts: 1570
From: Bluffton IN USA
Registered: Oct 2007

Posts: 237
From: Merseyside, England
Registered: Oct 2004