Firing Room

Area A

Operations Management Room

Operations Support Room

VIPs

The senior leadership of KSC, Launch Vehicle Operations, and the stage contractors ran tests and countdowns from Area A of the Firing Room.

The senior leaders sat in Row A, the top row of the section, adjacent to the large window that looked out toward the launch pads.

NASA's test supervisor and launch vehicle test conductor were among those in row B.

The contractor test managers for the various stages sat in row C. The astronaut communicator ("Stoney") also sat here during tests and countdowns.

NASA's directors for electrical systems, mechanical and propulsion systems, instrumentation, guidance and control systems, security, and other support functions occupied row D. Support contractor managers (Bendix, IBM) also sat here, as did the range safety liaison.

This diagram shows Area A in Firing Rooms 1 and 3. In Firing Room 2, the positions of the OMR and OSR were reversed.

Throughout 2015, we will be updating this site with detailed information about each control console in Area A, with photographs and descriptions! Check back often.

Apollo 11 Launch Management Team

The listing below, mostly taken from a July 3, 1969 KSC press release, documents the Area A personnel officially scheduled to be on duty at T-0 during the Apollo 11 countdown.


Row A

1.  Isom A. “Ike” Rigell, KSC launch vehicle operations (LVO) chief engineer

2.  Lee B. James, MSFC Saturn V program manager

3.  Andrew J. Pickett, LVO test operations manager

4.  Dr. Hans F. Gruene, LVO director

5.  Rocco A. Petrone, director, KSC launch operations

6.  Dr. Kurt Debus, director, KSC

7.  Walt “Kappy” Kapryan, deputy director, KSC launch operations

8.  John J. Williams, director, KSC spacecraft operations

9.  George M. Low, MSC Apollo program manager

10. John W. “Jack” King, KSC public affairs officer


Row B

1. Randy E. Youmans, LVO chief test conductor

2. Norman M. Carlson, launch vehicle test conductor for Apollo 11

3. E. Ronald “Ron” Bentti, launch vehicle test conductor

4. William H. Schick, space vehicle test supervisor for Apollo 11

5. Bert L. Grenville, space vehicle test supervisor

6. Paul C. Donnelly, launch operations manager

7. Robert E. Moser, launch operations test planning

8. Willie A. Fuller, space vehicle engineer, Boeing-TIE

9. John Heard, KSC spacecraft operations (SCO) CSM test conductor

10. Mack L. Martin, spacecraft test manager, North American Rockwell

11. Marcus Goodkind, spacecraft test manager, Grumman

12. John D. Beeson, SCO LM test conductor

Row C

1. John H. Lundy, senior test conductor, Boeing

2. James Rogers, test conductor engineer, Boeing

3. Robert P. Verdier, test conductor, Boeing

4. W. R. Brown, test conductor engineer, Boeing

5. T. E. Martin, S-II test conductor, North American Rockwell

6. Edwin L. Carpenter, assistant test conductor, North American Rockwell

7. Ronald C. Shane, S-IVB test conductor, McDonnell Douglas

8. George V. Barnum, assistant S-IVB test conductor, McDonnell Douglas

9. Robert C. Bulkley, operations engineer, IBM

10. Thomas R. Kitchens, instrument unit test conductor, IBM

11. Edd C. Witt, complex manager, IBM

12. Robert D. Brooks, electrical engineer, North American Rockwell

13. John A. Gulsby, Sr., SCO ground support equipment engineer

14. David C. Dunn, ACE engineer, North American Rockwell

15. D. R. Moore, SCO ACE ground support equipment engineer

16. William R. Pogue, MSC astronaut communicator

17. Donald K. “Deke” Slayton, director, flight crew operations, MSC; astronaut communicator

18. Joseph F. Battaglia, SCO LC-39 operations

19. Dr. A. C. Harter, MSC biomedical

20. Dr. H. S. Brownstein, NASA HQ biomedical

Row D

Table( end of row) Kelly Fiorentino and John Conaway, LVO instrumentation

0. David C. Moja, LVO electrical networks (end of row; no console)

1. Nels E. Roseland, LVO electrical networks

2. Frank G. Bryan, LVO engineering staff chief

3. Roy Lealman, LVO electrical guidance and control systems chief

4. Lionel E. “Ed” Fannin, LVO mechanical and propulsion systems director

5. Marion D. Edwards, LVO instrumentation chief

6. Donald R. Oswald, LVO quality assurance chief

7. William C. Holmes, launch operations site manager, Boeing

8. John J. Cully, Saturn V program manager, Boeing

9. Albert C. Martin, S-II operations manager, North American Rockwell

10. Harold Eaton Jr., Saturn/Apollo program director, McDonnell Douglas

11. George M. Smith, IBM test operations manager

12. Robert G. Young, display coordinator, KSC technical support

13. Albert M. Koller, Jr., LVO technical assistant

14. Eidophor controller, KSC technical support

15. JoAnn Morgan, chief instrumentation controller, KSC technical support

16. Joseph R. Smith, alternate instrumentation controller, KSC technical support

17. Jansen R. Davenport, communications controller, KSC technical support

18. Joseph N. Barfus, test support controller, KSC technical support

19. G. E. Artley, chief test support manager, KSC technical support

20. Raymond L. Clark, director, technical support directorate

21. Sherman J. Evans, KSC security and safety office

22. Alfred A. Carroll, KSC security

23. Robert E. Woods, KSC safety

24. R. L. DeBendictis, systems safety, Bendix

25. Floyd M. Falkenberry, systems safety, Bendix

26. L. S. Eads, AFETR superintendent of range operations, Pan American

Operations Management Room


Below is a partial listing of the senior leaders manning the OMR, taken from the July 3, 1969 press release and photos from the Apollo 11 launch countdown.


Dr. George E. Mueller, associate administrator for manned spaceflight

Lt. Gen. Sam L. Phillips, Apollo program director, office of manned spaceflight

Charles W. “Chuck” Mathews, deputy associate administrator, office of manned spaceflight

Dr. Wernher von Braun, director, MSFC

Dr. Robert R. Gilruth, director, MSC

Rear Adm. Roderick O. Middleton, KSC Apollo program office manager

Miles Ross, deputy director, KSC operations

Chester M. Lee, Apollo program deputy director