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|occupation =[[Aerospace_manufacturer|Aerospace Executive Manager]]
|occupation =[[Aerospace_manufacturer|Aerospace Executive Manager]]
}}
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'''John P. Healey''' (born March 7, 1922 in Baltimore, MD) is an executive manager best known for his role in the redesign and manufacture of the [[Apollo Command/Service Module|command modules]] for the [[Project Apollo|Apollo program]] after the catastrophic launch pad fire that took the lives of Command Pilot [[Gus Grissom|Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom]], Senior Pilot [[Edward Higgins White|Ed White]] and Pilot [[Roger B. Chaffee]] on January 27, 1967 ([[Apollo-1|Apollo 1]]).<ref>Swenson, Jr., Loyd S.; Courtney G Brooks and James M. Grimwood (1979). Chariots for Apollo: A History of Manned Lunar Spacecraft. NASA. http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4205/contents.html.</ref>
'''John P. Healey''' (born March 7, 1922 in [[Baltimore, Maryland|Baltimore]], [[Maryland]], [[United States]]) is an executive manager best known for his role in the redesign and manufacture of the [[Apollo Command/Service Module|command modules]] for the [[Project Apollo|Apollo program]] after the catastrophic launch pad fire that took the lives of Command Pilot [[Gus Grissom|Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom]], Senior Pilot [[Edward Higgins White|Ed White]] and Pilot [[Roger B. Chaffee]] on January 27, 1967 ([[Apollo-1|Apollo 1]]).<ref>Swenson, Jr., Loyd S.; Courtney G Brooks and James M. Grimwood (1979). Chariots for Apollo: A History of Manned Lunar Spacecraft. NASA. http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4205/contents.html.</ref>


==Early Life and Education==
==Early life and education==
Healey grew up on Normal Ave. in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Irish immigrants<ref name="Helen" />. His father was a stone cutter and his mother worked as a maid.<ref name="Helen" /> As a boy, he attended St. Paul’s elementary school where he played ice hockey and baseball while working for the local grocer after school.<ref name="Helen">Helen J. Peoples [Healey], interview, Denver, Colorado, 3 March 2009.</ref> He attended [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_City_College Baltimore City College] and played soccer in the state tournament against Annapolis.<ref name="Helen" />
Healey grew up on Normal Ave. in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Irish immigrants.<ref name="Helen" /> His father was a stone cutter and his mother worked as a maid.<ref name="Helen" /> As a boy, he attended St. Paul’s elementary school where he played ice hockey and baseball while working for the local grocer after school.<ref name="Helen">Helen J. Peoples [Healey], interview, Denver, Colorado, 3 March 2009.</ref> He attended [[Baltimore City College]] and played [[Association football|soccer]] in the state tournament against Annapolis.<ref name="Helen" />
⚫
==From Aircraft to Missles==
⚫
After serving in the Navy during WWII, Healey went to work for the [[Martin_Company|Glen L. Martin Company]] in Baltimore, MD.<ref name="Helen" /> From his start as an aircraft quality inspector to his role leading manufacturing and quality control for the [[Titan missile]] program, he gained a reputation for being tough but fair, and for his ability to motivate the organization to get the job done right.<ref>Barton, Rusty (2003-11-18). "Titan 1 Chronology". Titan 1 ICBM History Website. Geocities.com. http://www.geocities.com/titan_1_missile/chronology.htm. Retrieved on 2005-06-05.</ref>


⚫
[[File:Titan2_color_silo.jpg|thumb|right|Titan II missile launch]]
⚫
The lifting power and reliability of [[Titan_II_(rocket)|Titan missiles]] led to its selection and use in the [[NASA]] [[Gemini program]] of manned space capsules in the mid-1960s. Twelve Titan IIs were used to launch two U.S. unmanned Gemini test launches and ten manned capsules with two-man crews. All of the launches were successes!<ref>David K. Stumpf. Titan II: A History of a Cold War Missile Program. University of Arkansas Press, 2000. ISBN 1-55728-601-9 (cloth). Pages 63-67.</ref>


⚫
==From aircraft to missles==
<gallery>
⚫
After serving in the Navy during WWII, Healey went to work for the [[Martin_Company|Glen L. Martin Company]] in Baltimore, MD.<ref name="Helen" /> From his start as an aircraft quality inspector to his role leading manufacturing and quality control for the [[Titan missile]] program, he gained a reputation for being tough but fair, and for his ability to motivate the organization to get the job done right.<ref>Barton, Rusty (2003-11-18). "Titan 1 Chronology". Titan 1 ICBM History Website. Geocities.com. http://www.geocities.com/titan_1_missile/chronology.htm. Retrieved on 2005-06-05.</ref>
⚫
Image:Titan2_color_silo.jpg|Titan II missile launch
Image:Gemini_3.jpg|Gemini 3 manned spacecraft launch
Image:Gemini_6_7.jpg|Gemini 6 capsule in orbit
</gallery>


⚫
The lifting power and reliability of [[Titan_II_(rocket)|Titan missiles]] led to its selection and use in the [[NASA]] [[Gemini program]] of manned space capsules in the mid-1960s. Twelve Titan IIs were used to launch two U.S. unmanned Gemini test launches and ten manned capsules with two-man crews. All of the launches were successes.<ref>David K. Stumpf. Titan II: A History of a Cold War Missile Program. University of Arkansas Press, 2000. ISBN 1-55728-601-9 (cloth). Pages 63-67.</ref>
⚫
==The Apollo Program==
⚫
[[File:Apollo_7_launch.jpg|thumb|Apollo 7 launch]]

⚫
After the catastrophic launch pad fire that took the lives of Command Pilot [[Gus Grissom|Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom]], Senior Pilot [[Edward Higgins White|Ed White]] and Pilot [[Roger B. Chaffee]] (January 1967), Healey was recruited by Bill Bergen, President of [[North American Aviation|North American Aviation Space Division]], as the spacecraft manager for the redesign of the [[Project_Apollo|Apollo]] [[Apollo_Command_Module|Command Module]] (November 1967).<ref name="Bergen">William B. Bergen, interview, El Segundo, Calif., 2l June 1971.</ref>


⚫
==Apollo program==
⚫
After the catastrophic launch pad fire that took the lives of Command Pilot [[Gus Grissom|Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom]], Senior Pilot [[Edward Higgins White|Ed White]] and Pilot [[Roger B. Chaffee]] (January 1967), Healey was recruited by Bill Bergen, President of [[North American Aviation|North American Aviation Space Division]], as the spacecraft manager for the
⚫
[[File:Apollo_7_launch.jpg|thumb|right|Apollo 7 launch]]
redesign of the [[Project_Apollo|Apollo]] [[Apollo_Command_Module|Command Module]] (November 1967).<ref name="Bergen">William B. Bergen, interview, El Segundo, Calif., 2l June 1971.</ref>
Healey was expected to set precedents in guiding a nearly perfect spacecraft through the factory.<ref name="Bergen" /> Many doubted, Bergen later said, that the recovery could be made in a reasonable time because "everything had come to a screeching halt."<ref name="Bergen" /> Bergen credited the assignment of [[Frank_Borman|Borman]] and his group, and Healey's performance as manager of spacecraft as the keys to getting command module production back into line.<ref name="Bergen" /> When the command module ([http://www.astronautix.com/craft/apolocsm.htm Block II Apollo CSM-101]) arrived at the Cape (May 1968), the receiving inspectors found fewer discrepancies than on any spacecraft previously delivered to [[Kennedy space center]].<ref>Quarterly Status Rept. no. 25, pp. 28, 33; Low to Kleinknecht, "Mod period activities on CSM 103," 21 Sept. 1968; Kleinknecht memo, "Review of S/C 103 on October 29, 1968, with Dr. Mueller," 18 Oct. 1968, with enc.; minutes of Spacecraft 103 Systems Review, 29 Oct. 1968; OMSF Weekly Reports, 30 Sept., 21 Oct. 1968.</ref> By the end of the program, Healey was [[Rockwell_International|Rockwell]]'s VP for Apollo and [[Saturn_V#S-II_second_stage|Stage II]] of the [[Saturn V]] rocket.<ref>Beirne Lay, Jr., Earth-Bound Astronauts: The Builders of Apollo-Saturn (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1971), pp. 124-37.</ref>
Healey was expected to set precedents in guiding a nearly perfect spacecraft through the factory.<ref name="Bergen" /> Many doubted, Bergen later said, that the recovery could be made in a reasonable time because "everything had come to a screeching halt."<ref name="Bergen" /> Bergen credited the assignment of [[Frank_Borman|Borman]] and his group, and Healey's performance as manager of spacecraft as the keys to getting command module production back into line.<ref name="Bergen" /> When the command module ([http://www.astronautix.com/craft/apolocsm.htm Block II Apollo CSM-101]) arrived at the Cape (May 1968), the receiving inspectors found fewer discrepancies than on any spacecraft previously delivered to [[Kennedy space center]].<ref>Quarterly Status Rept. no. 25, pp. 28, 33; Low to Kleinknecht, "Mod period activities on CSM 103," 21 Sept. 1968; Kleinknecht memo, "Review of S/C 103 on October 29, 1968, with Dr. Mueller," 18 Oct. 1968, with enc.; minutes of Spacecraft 103 Systems Review, 29 Oct. 1968; OMSF Weekly Reports, 30 Sept., 21 Oct. 1968.</ref> By the end of the program, Healey was [[Rockwell_International|Rockwell]]'s VP for Apollo and [[Saturn_V#S-II_second_stage|Stage II]] of the [[Saturn V]] rocket.<ref>Beirne Lay, Jr., Earth-Bound Astronauts: The Builders of Apollo-Saturn (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1971), pp. 124-37.</ref>
[[File:Apollo7_Prime_Crew_(May_22,_1968).jpg|thumb|left|Eisele, Schirra, Cunningham]]
[[File:Apollo7_Prime_Crew_(May_22,_1968).jpg|thumb|left|Eisele, Schirra, Cunningham]]
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
[[Apollo 7]] (October 1968), the first manned Apollo mission, was a test flight and confidence-builder with the extensively redesigned command module.
[[Apollo 7]] (October 1968), the first manned Apollo mission, was a test flight and confidence-builder with the extensively redesigned command module. [[Schirra]], who would be the only astronaut to fly [[Mercury_Program|Mercury]], [[Gemini_Program|Gemini]] and Apollo missions, commanded this Earth-orbital shakedown of the command and service modules (with [[Donn Eisele]] and [[Walt Cunningham]]). The Apollo hardware and all mission operations worked without any significant problems and Schirra and Healey remained lifelong friends.<ref name="Chariots">Chariots for Apollo… http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4205/ch7-4.html.</ref>
<blockquote>[[Schirra]], who would be the only astronaut to fly [[Mercury_Program|Mercury]], [[Gemini_Program|Gemini]] and Apollo missions, commanded this Earth-orbital shakedown of the command and service modules (with [[Donn Eisele]] and [[Walt Cunningham]]). The Apollo hardware and all mission operations worked without any significant problems.<ref name="Chariots">Chariots for Apollo… http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4205/ch7-4.html.</ref>
</blockquote>


[[Apollo 8]] (December 1968), was the first manned spacecraft to orbit another celestial body.<ref name="Chariots" />
[[Apollo 8]] (December 1968), was the first manned spacecraft to orbit another celestial body.<ref name="Chariots" />
Line 40: Line 32:
[[Apollo 11]] (July 1969), was the first landing of a man on the surface of the moon.<ref name="Chariots" />
[[Apollo 11]] (July 1969), was the first landing of a man on the surface of the moon.<ref name="Chariots" />


[[Apollo 17]] (December 1972), was the last of the Apollo missions. It marks the time of the last moonwalk and also the last manned mission beyond [[low Earth orbit]].<ref name="Chariots" />
[[Apollo 17]] (December 1972), was the last of the Apollo missions. It marks the the last moonwalk and also the last manned mission beyond [[low Earth orbit]].<ref name="Chariots" />
</blockquote>
</blockquote>


==From Lancer to System Development==
==Lancer to system development==
⚫
After Apollo, Healey was assigned to the Rockwell [[B-1 Lancer]] program; a supersonic [[strategic bomber]] designed to replace the aging [[B-52]].<ref name="Lancer" />
<gallery>
Image:B1s.jpg|B-1 Lancer "Bone"
[[File:B1s.jpg|thumb|left|B-1 Lancer "Bone"]]
⚫
Image:A-10_Thunderbolt_II_In-flight-2.jpg|A-10 Thunderbolt II "Warthog"
Image:VHZWM.JPG|Rockwell Commander 112
</gallery>
⚫
After Apollo, Healey took on the Rockwell [[B-1 Lancer]] program; a supersonic [[strategic bomber]] designed to replace the aging [[B-52]].<ref name="Lancer" />
The B-1A mockup review had occurred in late October 1971 and there had been 297 requests for alterations. Under Healey’s management, the first of four prototype B-1A models (s/n 74-0158) flew on 23 December 1974. Due to the politics of the era and programs competing for funding, it would be more than a decade before the first production B-1B aircraft would fly.<ref name="Lancer">Jenkins, Dennis R. B-1 Lancer, The Most Complicated Warplane Ever Developed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999. ISBN 0-07-134694-5.</ref>
The B-1A mockup review had occurred in late October 1971 and there had been 297 requests for alterations. Under Healey’s management, the first of four prototype B-1A models (s/n 74-0158) flew on 23 December 1974. Due to the politics of the era and programs competing for funding, it would be more than a decade before the first production B-1B aircraft would fly.<ref name="Lancer">Jenkins, Dennis R. B-1 Lancer, The Most Complicated Warplane Ever Developed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999. ISBN 0-07-134694-5.</ref>


In the meantime, Healey took on the challenge of upgrading Rockwell’s civilian aircraft, the [[Rockwell_Commander_112|Commander 112/114]], and bringing them to an efficient production level. Engines were replaced with more powerful versions, the wing was redesigned internally to increase fuel capacity, and a turbo-charged model was introduced. As the market potential for this class of civilian aircraft declined, Rockwell sold this line to [[Gulfstream_Aerospace|Gulfstream American]] who did not continue production.
During this period Healey was responsible for upgrading Rockwell’s civilian aircraft, the [[Rockwell_Commander_112|Commander 112/114]], and bringing them to an efficient production level. Engines were replaced with more powerful versions, the wing was redesigned internally to increase fuel capacity, and a turbo-charged model was introduced. As the market potential for this class of civilian aircraft later declined, Rockwell sold this line to [[Gulfstream_Aerospace|Gulfstream American]] who discontinued production.
⚫
[[File:A-10_Thunderbolt_II_In-flight-2.jpg|thumb|right|A-10 Thunderbolt II "Warthog"]]
⚫
Healey left Rockwell to manage a military aircraft program taking the [[Fairchild_(aircraft_manufacturer)|Fairchild-Republic]] [[A-10 Thunderbolt II]] , a [[close air support]] (CAS) aircraft, from prototype to production. Selected by the Air Force over its rival from [[Northrop]], the [[Northrop_YA-9|YA-9]], in January 1973, the first production A-10 flew in October 1975 and deliveries to operational units commenced within 6 months.


⚫
Healey then joined [[System Development Corporation]] (SDC) as an executive manager for ongoing government contracts with the [[Department of Defense]] (DoD), National Aeronautics and Space Administration ([[NASA]]), [[United_States_Department_of_Energy|Department of Energy]] (DoE), and other government agencies. In 1980, SDC was acquired by the [[Burroughs Corporation]] and later merged with the [[Sperry Corporation]] to form [[Unisys]]. Healey promoted the development of program control systems and the automation of project management throughout his career and was retired from Unisys.<ref>Claude Baum, The System Builders: The Story of SDC, System Development Corp., Santa Monica, CA, 1981. ISBN 0-916368-02-5.</ref>
⚫
Healey was once again recruited to manage a military aircraft program taking the [[Fairchild_(aircraft_manufacturer)|Fairchild-Republic]] [[A-10 Thunderbolt II]] , a [[close air support]] (CAS) aircraft, from prototype to production. Selected by the Air Force over its rival from [[Northrop]], the [[Northrop_YA-9|YA-9]], in January 1973, the first production A-10 flew in October 1975 and deliveries to operational units commenced within 6 months.

⚫
Healey then joined [[System Development Corporation]] (SDC) as an executive manager for ongoing government contracts with the [[Department of Defense]] (DoD), National Aeronautics and Space Administration ([[NASA]]), [[United_States_Department_of_Energy|Department of Energy]] (DoE), and other government agencies. In 1980, SDC was acquired by the [[Burroughs Corporation]] and later merged with the [[Sperry Corporation]] to form [[Unisys]]. Healey promoted the development of program control systems and the automation of project management throughout his career and eventually retired from Unisys.<ref>Claude Baum, The System Builders: The Story of SDC, System Development Corp., Santa Monica, CA, 1981. ISBN 0-916368-02-5.</ref>


==Back to ''Our'' Future (Orion)==
==Back to ''Our'' Future (Orion)==
⚫
[[File:EDS_LSAM_CEV.jpg|thumb|right|Orion CM docked with LSAM in orbit]]
<gallery>
⚫
Healey, coming out of retirement, joined the [http://www.lockheedmartin.com/products/Orion/index.html Lockheed Martin Orion team] in 2008.
⚫
Image:Orion_capsule_at_KSC.JPG|Orion CM
⚫
The [[Orion_(spacecraft)|Orion]] Crew and Service Module (CSM) designs are based substantially on the [[Apollo_Command/Service_Module|Apollo Command and Service Modules]] (Apollo CSM) flown between 1967 and 1975, but include advances derived from other technology programs, including; control systems from the [[Boeing 787]], “autodock” features from Russian/European spacecraft, waste-management systems based on [[Skylab]], the [[Space Shuttle]], and the [[International Space Station]], and the most advanced computers ever put into a spacecraft.<ref>Coppinger, Rob (2006-10-06). "NASA Orion crew vehicle will use voice controls in Boeing 787-style Honeywell smart cockpit". Flight International. http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2006/10/06/209724/nasa-orion-crew-vehicle-will-use-voice-controls-in-boeing-787-style-honeywell-smart.html. Retrieved on 2006-10-06.</ref> "Going with known technology and known solutions lowers the risk," according to Neil Woodward, director of the integration office in the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate.<ref>NASA (2006-08-22). NASA Names New Crew Exploration Vehicle Orion. Press release. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/exploration/mmb/orion_announcement.html. Retrieved on 2006-08-23.</ref>
⚫
Image:EDS_LSAM_CEV.jpg|Orion CM docked with LSAM in orbit
⚫
[[File:Orion_capsule_at_KSC.JPG|thumb|left|Orion CM]]
Image:787-flight-deck.jpg|Boeing 787 flight deck
The goals of [[Orion_(spacecraft)|Orion]] include:
</gallery>
On August 31, 2006, NASA awarded [[Lockheed Martin Corporation]] the contract to design, develop, and build [[Orion_(spacecraft)|Orion]], a [[spacecraft]] being designed to carry a crew of up to six [[astronauts]].<ref>"NASA Selects Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle Prime Contractor". NASA. http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2006/aug/HQ_06305_Orion_contract.html.
⚫
</ref><ref>"Lockheed to build Nasa 'Moonship'". BBC News. 2006-08-31. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5304086.stm. Retrieved on 2007-03-01.</ref> It is an element of NASA's [[Project Constellation]], which plans to send [[human_spaceflight|human explorers]] back to the [[Moon]] by 2020, and then onward to [[Mars]] and other destinations in the [[Solar System]].<ref name="Constellation">"NASA - Constellation Program: Orion Crew Vehicle". NASA. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/orion/index.html. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.</ref>

⚫
The Orion Crew and Service Module (CSM) designs are based substantially on the [[Apollo_Command/Service_Module|Apollo Command and Service Modules]] (Apollo CSM) flown between 1967 and 1975, but include advances derived from other technology programs, including; control systems from the [[Boeing 787]], “autodock” features from Russian/European spacecraft, waste-management systems based on [[Skylab]], the [[Space Shuttle]], and the [[International Space Station]], and the most advanced computers ever put into a spacecraft.<ref>Coppinger, Rob (2006-10-06). "NASA Orion crew vehicle will use voice controls in Boeing 787-style Honeywell smart cockpit". Flight International. http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2006/10/06/209724/nasa-orion-crew-vehicle-will-use-voice-controls-in-boeing-787-style-honeywell-smart.html. Retrieved on 2006-10-06.</ref> "Going with known technology and known solutions lowers the risk," according to Neil Woodward, director of the integration office in the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate.<ref>NASA (2006-08-22). NASA Names New Crew Exploration Vehicle Orion. Press release. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/exploration/mmb/orion_announcement.html. Retrieved on 2006-08-23.</ref>

⚫
To anyone who knows Healey it was no surprise that he came out of retirement to join the [http://www.lockheedmartin.com/products/Orion/index.html Lockheed Martin Orion team] in this challenge:
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
“to bring to bear the nation's premier human space flight and exploration expertise in the development of NASA's next generation crew transportation system”<ref name="Constellation" />
“to bring to bear the nation's premier human space flight and exploration expertise in the development of NASA's next generation crew transportation system”<ref name="Constellation" />
Line 80: Line 61:
“to provide a critical foundation for NASA's vision for space exploration to design, develop and successfully return the only deep space capsule missions since the Apollo era”<ref name="Constellation" />
“to provide a critical foundation for NASA's vision for space exploration to design, develop and successfully return the only deep space capsule missions since the Apollo era”<ref name="Constellation" />
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
⚫
It is an element of NASA's [[Project Constellation]], which plans to send [[human_spaceflight|human explorers]] back to the [[Moon]] by 2020, and then onward to [[Mars]] and other destinations in the [[Solar System]].<ref name="Constellation">"NASA - Constellation Program: Orion Crew Vehicle". NASA. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/orion/index.html. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.</ref>


==In Popular Culture==
==In popular culture==
In the [[HBO]] miniseries [[From_the_Earth_to_the_Moon_(miniseries)|From the Earth to the Moon]], episode entitled [[From_the_Earth_to_the_Moon_(miniseries)|"We Have Cleared the Tower"]], the role of John Healey was played by [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0807503/ Brandon Smith].
In the [[HBO]] miniseries [[From_the_Earth_to_the_Moon_(miniseries)|From the Earth to the Moon]], episode entitled [[From_the_Earth_to_the_Moon_(miniseries)|"We Have Cleared the Tower"]], the role of John Healey was played by [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0807503/ Brandon Smith].


==Notes==
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist|2}}


[[Category:Space launch vehicles]]
[[Category:Space launch vehicles]]

Revision as of 01:24, 12 April 2009

John P. Healey
OccupationAerospace Executive Manager
Space career
Attending the launch of USNS Wally Schirra (March 2009)

John P. Healey (born March 7, 1922 in Baltimore, Maryland, United States) is an executive manager best known for his role in the redesign and manufacture of the command modules for the Apollo program after the catastrophic launch pad fire that took the lives of Command Pilot Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Senior Pilot Ed White and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee on January 27, 1967 (Apollo 1).[1]

Early life and education

Healey grew up on Normal Ave. in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Irish immigrants.[2] His father was a stone cutter and his mother worked as a maid.[2] As a boy, he attended St. Paul’s elementary school where he played ice hockey and baseball while working for the local grocer after school.[2] He attended Baltimore City College and played soccer in the state tournament against Annapolis.[2]

Titan II missile launch

From aircraft to missles

After serving in the Navy during WWII, Healey went to work for the Glen L. Martin Company in Baltimore, MD.[2] From his start as an aircraft quality inspector to his role leading manufacturing and quality control for the Titan missile program, he gained a reputation for being tough but fair, and for his ability to motivate the organization to get the job done right.[3]

The lifting power and reliability of Titan missiles led to its selection and use in the NASA Gemini program of manned space capsules in the mid-1960s. Twelve Titan IIs were used to launch two U.S. unmanned Gemini test launches and ten manned capsules with two-man crews. All of the launches were successes.[4]

Apollo program

After the catastrophic launch pad fire that took the lives of Command Pilot Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Senior Pilot Ed White and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee (January 1967), Healey was recruited by Bill Bergen, President of North American Aviation Space Division, as the spacecraft manager for the

Apollo 7 launch

redesign of the Apollo Command Module (November 1967).[5] Healey was expected to set precedents in guiding a nearly perfect spacecraft through the factory.[5] Many doubted, Bergen later said, that the recovery could be made in a reasonable time because "everything had come to a screeching halt."[5] Bergen credited the assignment of Borman and his group, and Healey's performance as manager of spacecraft as the keys to getting command module production back into line.[5] When the command module (Block II Apollo CSM-101) arrived at the Cape (May 1968), the receiving inspectors found fewer discrepancies than on any spacecraft previously delivered to Kennedy space center.[6] By the end of the program, Healey was Rockwell's VP for Apollo and Stage II of the Saturn V rocket.[7]

Eisele, Schirra, Cunningham

Apollo 7 (October 1968), the first manned Apollo mission, was a test flight and confidence-builder with the extensively redesigned command module. Schirra, who would be the only astronaut to fly Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions, commanded this Earth-orbital shakedown of the command and service modules (with Donn Eisele and Walt Cunningham). The Apollo hardware and all mission operations worked without any significant problems and Schirra and Healey remained lifelong friends.[8]

Apollo 8 (December 1968), was the first manned spacecraft to orbit another celestial body.[8]

Apollo 11 (July 1969), was the first landing of a man on the surface of the moon.[8]

Apollo 17 (December 1972), was the last of the Apollo missions. It marks the the last moonwalk and also the last manned mission beyond low Earth orbit.[8]

Lancer to system development

After Apollo, Healey was assigned to the Rockwell B-1 Lancer program; a supersonic strategic bomber designed to replace the aging B-52.[9]

B-1 Lancer "Bone"

The B-1A mockup review had occurred in late October 1971 and there had been 297 requests for alterations. Under Healey’s management, the first of four prototype B-1A models (s/n 74-0158) flew on 23 December 1974. Due to the politics of the era and programs competing for funding, it would be more than a decade before the first production B-1B aircraft would fly.[9]

During this period Healey was responsible for upgrading Rockwell’s civilian aircraft, the Commander 112/114, and bringing them to an efficient production level. Engines were replaced with more powerful versions, the wing was redesigned internally to increase fuel capacity, and a turbo-charged model was introduced. As the market potential for this class of civilian aircraft later declined, Rockwell sold this line to Gulfstream American who discontinued production.

A-10 Thunderbolt II "Warthog"

Healey left Rockwell to manage a military aircraft program taking the Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II , a close air support (CAS) aircraft, from prototype to production. Selected by the Air Force over its rival from Northrop, the YA-9, in January 1973, the first production A-10 flew in October 1975 and deliveries to operational units commenced within 6 months.

Healey then joined System Development Corporation (SDC) as an executive manager for ongoing government contracts with the Department of Defense (DoD), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Department of Energy (DoE), and other government agencies. In 1980, SDC was acquired by the Burroughs Corporation and later merged with the Sperry Corporation to form Unisys. Healey promoted the development of program control systems and the automation of project management throughout his career and was retired from Unisys.[10]

Back to Our Future (Orion)

Orion CM docked with LSAM in orbit

Healey, coming out of retirement, joined the Lockheed Martin Orion team in 2008. The Orion Crew and Service Module (CSM) designs are based substantially on the Apollo Command and Service Modules (Apollo CSM) flown between 1967 and 1975, but include advances derived from other technology programs, including; control systems from the Boeing 787, “autodock” features from Russian/European spacecraft, waste-management systems based on Skylab, the Space Shuttle, and the International Space Station, and the most advanced computers ever put into a spacecraft.[11] "Going with known technology and known solutions lowers the risk," according to Neil Woodward, director of the integration office in the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate.[12]

Orion CM

The goals of Orion include:

“to bring to bear the nation's premier human space flight and exploration expertise in the development of NASA's next generation crew transportation system”[13]

“to span five decades in large-scale systems integration, planetary exploration, human space flight systems and operations, launch vehicles, military aircraft, and autonomous flight systems”[13]

“to provide a critical foundation for NASA's vision for space exploration to design, develop and successfully return the only deep space capsule missions since the Apollo era”[13]

It is an element of NASA's Project Constellation, which plans to send human explorers back to the Moon by 2020, and then onward to Mars and other destinations in the Solar System.[13]

In popular culture

In the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, episode entitled "We Have Cleared the Tower", the role of John Healey was played by Brandon Smith.

Notes

  1. ^ Swenson, Jr., Loyd S.; Courtney G Brooks and James M. Grimwood (1979). Chariots for Apollo: A History of Manned Lunar Spacecraft. NASA. http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4205/contents.html.
  2. ^ a b c d e Helen J. Peoples [Healey], interview, Denver, Colorado, 3 March 2009.
  3. ^ Barton, Rusty (2003-11-18). "Titan 1 Chronology". Titan 1 ICBM History Website. Geocities.com. http://www.geocities.com/titan_1_missile/chronology.htm. Retrieved on 2005-06-05.
  4. ^ David K. Stumpf. Titan II: A History of a Cold War Missile Program. University of Arkansas Press, 2000. ISBN 1-55728-601-9 (cloth). Pages 63-67.
  5. ^ a b c d William B. Bergen, interview, El Segundo, Calif., 2l June 1971.
  6. ^ Quarterly Status Rept. no. 25, pp. 28, 33; Low to Kleinknecht, "Mod period activities on CSM 103," 21 Sept. 1968; Kleinknecht memo, "Review of S/C 103 on October 29, 1968, with Dr. Mueller," 18 Oct. 1968, with enc.; minutes of Spacecraft 103 Systems Review, 29 Oct. 1968; OMSF Weekly Reports, 30 Sept., 21 Oct. 1968.
  7. ^ Beirne Lay, Jr., Earth-Bound Astronauts: The Builders of Apollo-Saturn (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1971), pp. 124-37.
  8. ^ a b c d Chariots for Apollo… http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4205/ch7-4.html.
  9. ^ a b Jenkins, Dennis R. B-1 Lancer, The Most Complicated Warplane Ever Developed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999. ISBN 0-07-134694-5.
  10. ^ Claude Baum, The System Builders: The Story of SDC, System Development Corp., Santa Monica, CA, 1981. ISBN 0-916368-02-5.
  11. ^ Coppinger, Rob (2006-10-06). "NASA Orion crew vehicle will use voice controls in Boeing 787-style Honeywell smart cockpit". Flight International. http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2006/10/06/209724/nasa-orion-crew-vehicle-will-use-voice-controls-in-boeing-787-style-honeywell-smart.html. Retrieved on 2006-10-06.
  12. ^ NASA (2006-08-22). NASA Names New Crew Exploration Vehicle Orion. Press release. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/exploration/mmb/orion_announcement.html. Retrieved on 2006-08-23.
  13. ^ a b c d "NASA - Constellation Program: Orion Crew Vehicle". NASA. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/orion/index.html. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.
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