Joseph G. Gavin Jr. (September 18, 1920 – October 30, 2010) was an American engineer responsible for the development of the Lunar Module used in the Apollo program, as well as president, chief operating officer and chairman of the executive committee of the Grumman Corporation.New York Times:Joseph Gavin, Who Helped Put First Man on Moon, Dies at 90;By DOUGLAS MARTIN;Published: November 4, 2010MIT News:Aerospace engineer Joseph Gavin '41, SM '42 dies at 90;Former president of Grumman Aircraft led Lunar Module development for NASA, aided in the rescue of Apollo 13;David L. Chandler, MIT News OfficeMIT World Speakers;gavin joseph;Joseph Gavin '41, SM'42;NASA web page on history with Grumman and Gavin Memorial Tributes: National Academy of Engineering, Volume 15 (2011);Joseph G. Gavin Jr.;by Neil ArmstrongThe Independent:Joseph Gavin: Aerospace engineer who played an integral part in the first moon landing Los Angeles Times:Joseph Gavin dies at 90; former head of aerospace company Grumman;He headed its Apollo lunar module program in the 1960s and was president of the New York company from 1972 to 1985.November 03, 2010
He was director of the Lunar Module program for Apollo. In that capacity he managed the team of 7,500 people which oversaw landing of the lunar module on the Sea of Tranquility on the Moon, on July 20, 1969. He was also critical to saving the Apollo 13 mission. Gavin was also in charge of development of Orbiting Astronomical Observatory at Grumman.
In 1971, Gavin received NASA's Distinguished Public Service Medal for his role in resolving the Apollo 13 crisis. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1974 "for leadership in the design and the production of the Apollo Lunar Module". Neil Armstrong called him a "highly regarded aerospace engineer".
Chronology 1920: born on September 18 in Somerville, Massachusetts 1937: graduated Boston Latin School 1941: B.S. in aeronautical engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1942: M.S. in aeronautical engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1942–1946: officer with U.S. Navy 1946–1985: career with Grumman 1946: joined Grumman, a design engineer 1957: chief missile and space engineer at Grumman, in charge of development of Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 1962-1972: Vice President and Director, Lunar Module Program, Project Apollo 1974: elected to the National Academy of Engineering 1976: president and Chief Operating Officer of Grumman 1985: retirement from Grumman 2010: died on October 30
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