Reported by: Bill Kallus
Merritt Island, FL -- From Mercury, to Gemini, to Apollo, to the Space Shuttle.
Guenter Wendt, was an icon of American space history, even though he never took one flight into space.
The legendary launch pad leader died at his Merritt Island home on Monday.
He was 85 years old.
Wendt was in charge of Kennedy Space Center's close out crew.
They are the team in charge of making sure the astronauts board their vehicle safely.
Wendt was affectionately called the "Pad Fuhrer" because of his thick German accent and his strict rules and attention to detail.
After the Apollo program Wendt was put in charge of flight crew safety for the Space Shuttle program.
But Hollywood needed him too.
He served as a consultant for Tom Hanks' popular space series "From the Earth to the Moon."
Wendt was also portrayed in the Hanks film "Apollo 13."
No comments:
Post a Comment