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Author
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Topic: Milt Windler, Apollo flight director (1932-2026)
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 57206
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 10-03-2026 09:02 AM
   
collectSPACE Milt Windler, NASA flight director who helped save Apollo 13, dies at 94Milt Windler, one of the four leaders of Mission Control who in 1970 directed the round-the-clock efforts to bring the Apollo 13 astronauts back to Earth safely, has died at the age of 94. Windler died on Thursday (Oct. 1), according to a source close to the family. Named a NASA flight director in 1968 after working on recovery operations during the Mercury and Gemini programs, Windler also led a shift of flight controllers for the Apollo 8 first circumlunar flight and Apollo 10 lunar landing dress rehearsal, as well as the second, third and fourth moon landings — Apollo 12, Apollo 14 and Apollo 15. He then served as a flight director for all three crewed missions to the United States' first space station, Skylab.  |
Jurg Bolli
Member Posts: 1300
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 10-03-2026 10:08 AM
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SPACEFACTS
Member Posts: 435
From: Germany
Registered: Aug 2006
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posted 10-03-2026 10:47 AM
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David Carey
Member Posts: 1106
From:
Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 10-03-2026 11:38 AM
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GACspaceguy
Member Posts: 3341
From: Guyton, GA
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 10-03-2026 12:14 PM
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Grounded!
Member Posts: 595
From: Bennington, Vermont, USA
Registered: Feb 2011
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posted 10-03-2026 01:22 PM
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Jeff
Member Posts: 657
From: Fayetteville, NC. USA
Registered: May 2009
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posted 10-03-2026 02:39 PM
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MartinAir
Member Posts: 536
From:
Registered: Oct 2020
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posted 10-03-2026 03:16 PM
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Kite
Member Posts: 1243
From: Northampton UK
Registered: Nov 2009
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posted 10-03-2026 03:26 PM
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CJ
Member Posts: 118
From: Cherry Hill, NJ
Registered: Nov 2003
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posted 10-03-2026 06:56 PM
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mode1charlie
Member Posts: 1552
From: Honolulu, HI
Registered: Sep 2010
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posted 10-03-2026 07:02 PM
Ad astra and thank you, Mr. Windler. |
tedc
Member Posts: 259
From: Renton, WA USA
Registered: Mar 2002
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posted 10-03-2026 10:23 PM
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GT76
Member Posts: 170
From: New Orleans, La. USA
Registered: Jun 2015
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posted 10-03-2026 10:28 PM
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Delta7
Member Posts: 1815
From: Bluffton IN USA
Registered: Oct 2007
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posted 10-04-2026 06:27 AM
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gareth89
Member Posts: 775
From: Ireland
Registered: May 2014
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posted 10-04-2026 06:34 AM
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bthumble
Member Posts: 345
From: Houston, Texas
Registered: Nov 2007
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posted 10-04-2026 10:55 AM
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davidcwagner
Member Posts: 1216
From: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 10-04-2026 01:27 PM
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wickball
Member Posts: 138
From: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 10-04-2026 02:53 PM
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SkyMan1958
Member Posts: 1465
From: CA.
Registered: Jan 2011
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posted 10-04-2026 04:02 PM
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SpaceCadet1983
Member Posts: 597
From: Pacific NW, United States
Registered: May 2012
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posted 10-04-2026 04:37 PM
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Rick Mulheirn
Member Posts: 4702
From: England
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 10-05-2026 02:07 AM
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Michael Davis
Member Posts: 593
From: Houston, Texas
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted 10-05-2026 01:51 PM
In 2017, I had a conversation with Gerry Griffin while at Spacefest. He reminded me that Milton Windler had served as the lead flight director for Apollo 13. Griffin kindly gave me Mr. Windler’s email address, and we began corresponding.
Mr. Windler was humble, gracious, and generous with his time. He even signed an Apollo 13 mission report for me — an honor I will always treasure. They say you should never meet your heroes, but that was certainly not true of Mr. Windler. May he rest in peace. |
David C
Member Posts: 1490
From: Lausanne
Registered: Apr 2012
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posted 10-05-2026 05:32 PM
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 57206
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 10-05-2026 06:06 PM
What really surprised me when I went to write the article linked above was how little information about Windler there was online, especially when compared to Windler's fellow Apollo 13 flight directors. I had the chance to meet and talk with him a few times and he did not seem hesitant to share his experiences, but were it not for the oral history conducted by the University of Northern Texas, some passages in Kranz's book "Failure is Not An Option," "Lost Moon" by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger and "Go Flight!" by Milt Heflin and Rick Houston, as well as a few posts on this forum, one would be hard pressed to compose a summary of his life. |
MCroft04
Member Posts: 1911
From: Smithfield, Me, USA
Registered: Mar 2005
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posted 10-05-2026 10:20 PM
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capoetc
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From: McKinney TX (USA)
Registered: Aug 2005
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posted 10-06-2026 08:02 AM
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cddfspace
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From: Morris County, NJ, USA
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posted 10-06-2026 09:36 AM
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ejectr
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From: Killingly, CT
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posted 10-06-2026 09:42 AM
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rjb1elec
Member Posts: 466
From: Merseyside, England
Registered: Oct 2004
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posted 10-07-2026 12:29 PM
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413 is in
Member Posts: 740
From: Alexandria, VA USA
Registered: May 2006
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posted 10-08-2026 03:45 PM
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hlbjr
Member Posts: 610
From: Delray Beach Florida USA
Registered: Mar 2006
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posted 10-09-2026 02:14 AM
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Philip
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From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 10-09-2026 02:32 AM
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minipci
Member Posts: 439
From: London, UK
Registered: Jul 2009
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posted 10-10-2026 03:35 AM
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Delta7
Member Posts: 1815
From: Bluffton IN USA
Registered: Oct 2007
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posted 10-10-2026 06:15 AM
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dss65
Member Posts: 1445
From: Sandpoint, ID, USA
Registered: Mar 2003
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posted 10-11-2026 05:36 PM
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mach3valkyrie
Member Posts: 776
From: Albany, Oregon
Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 10-11-2026 08:01 PM
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thisismills
Member Posts: 629
From: Michigan
Registered: Mar 2012
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posted 10-11-2026 10:07 PM
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lspooz
Member Posts: 503
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Aug 2012
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posted 10-12-2026 07:25 AM
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lspooz
Member Posts: 503
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Aug 2012
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posted 10-12-2026 07:25 AM
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