Father of the space shuttle, George Mueller, dies at 97

New Delhi: George Mueller, the leader of NASA’s human spaceflight programs in the 1960s, passed away on October 12 following a short illness.

Mueller headed the Office of Manned Space Flight at NASA and was responsible for overseeing the completion of Project Apollo and starting the development of the Skylab and the Space Shuttle projects.

Called the ‘father of the space shuttle,’ Mueller joined NASA in 1963 after serving at the Space Technology Laboratories (STL) as Vice President, Research and Development.

At NASA, he introduced a series of management changes that not only assured the achievement of landing on the Moon by the end of the decade, but also had a long-lasting impact on the agency.

He is best known for his daring solutions to the schedule programs in the Apollo Program. Mueller’s impact extended to Project Gemini, Skylab, and groundwork for the Space Shuttle.

George Mueller briefs President John F. Kennedy and other officials on the Saturn V rocket. Front row, left to right: George Low, Kurt Debus, Robert Seamans, James Webb, President Kennedy, Hugh Dryden, Wernher von Braun, General Leighton Davis, and Senator George Smathers.

Credits: NASA

His controversial ‘all-up’ approach was a radical change to the ‘building block’ approach in use while developing the Saturn V rocket. He insisted that testing each stage of the rocket before adding the next wasn’t necessary and it would make it impossible to finish the project in time. Mueller’s argument won and his calculated risk made possible the successful completion and landing on the Moon before the end of the decade.

His many awards and honors include three NASA Distinguished Service Medals and the National Medal of Science (1970).

Mueller is survived by his wife, Darla, his son Bill Schwartzman, and his three daughters, Karen Hyvonen, Jean Porter and Wendy Schwartzman, and also by his 13 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren.