T. J. O'Malley | |
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Born | Thomas Joseph O'Malley October 15, 1915[1] Montclair, New Jersey, U.S. |
Died | November 6, 2009 Cape Canaveral Hospital, Cocoa Beach, Florida, U.S. | (aged 94)
Alma mater | Newark College of Engineering, B.S. 1936 |
Occupation | aerospace engineer |
Spouse | Anne O'Malley |
Thomas Joseph O'Malley (October 15, 1915 – November 6, 2009) was an Irish-American aerospace engineer who, as chief test conductor for the Convair division of General Dynamics, was responsible for pushing the button on February 20, 1962, launching the Mercury-Atlas 6 space flight carrying astronaut John Glenn, the first American in orbit.[1][2] Five years later, NASA asked North American Aviation to hire him as director of launch operations to help get the Apollo program back on track after the Apollo 1 command module fire on the launch pad killed three astronauts.[2] O'Malley continued to play a leadership role in the United States' space program through the first Space Shuttle launch in 1981.[3]
O'Malley is perhaps best known as the man who pushed the button to launch the Atlas rocket that carried astronaut John Glenn into orbit on Feb. 20, 1962.
Thomas J. O'Malley, the aviation engineer who pushed the button that launched the rocket that carried John Glenn into orbit in 1962, and who five years later played a major role in reviving the Apollo moon program after a launch-pad fire killed three astronauts, died Nov. 6 in Cocoa Beach, Florida
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