Thomas J. Kelly (aerospace engineer)

For other people named Tom Kelly, see Tom Kelly (disambiguation).

Thomas Joseph Kelly (June 14, 1929 – March 23, 2002) was an American aerospace engineer.

Kelly led the team at Grumman that designed and built the Lunar Module (LM2 shown)

Thomas J. Kelly graduated from Cornell University in 1951, where he was a member of the Quill and Dagger society. Kelly later completed graduate studies at Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, graduating in 1958.

Kelly was the Project Engineer, Engineering Manager and Deputy Program Manager for Grumman Aircraft's Apollo Lunar Module (1962–1970). His 2001 book Moon Lander: How We Developed the Apollo Lunar Module documents the process of designing, building and flying the Lunar Module.

Kelly was portrayed by Matt Craven in the 1998 miniseries From the Earth to the Moon.

External links

• 'Father of the Lunar Module' Thomas Kelly Dies @ Space.com
• Johnson Space Centre oral history entry