Mercury | Oral History

Mercury

OH 1601

For the Skylab Oral History Project. NASA engineer, flight controller and flight director. Childhood in Langley, Virginia; education at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; short career in U.S. Air Force; decision to join NASA; duties in Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, Space Shuttle, and International Space Station programs; problem-solving on Skylab missions; team-building among members of Skylab operations shifts and flight crews; importance of “science czar” position; Skylab’s contributions to space exploration and to science more generally.