Joseph Francis Shea

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Joseph Francis Shea
Shea demonstrates a docking between the Apollo lunar module and command module
Born September 5, 1926
Bronx, New York
Died February 14, 1999
Weston, Massachusetts
Occupation NASA manager

Joseph Francis Shea (September 5, 1926- February 14, 1999) was manager of the Apollo Spacecraft Program Office (ASPO) during the early years of the Apollo program, at the height of America's efforts to land a man on the Moon. His former colleague George Mueller remembered him as "one of the greatest systems engineers of our time".[1]

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[edit] Early life and career

Shea was born and grew up in the Bronx, New York. He was the eldest son in a working-class Irish Catholic family, with a father who worked as a mechanic on the New York subways. As a teenager, Shea had no interest in engineering; rather, he hoped to become a track star. He attended a Catholic high school, and graduated when he was only sixteen.[2]

On graduating in 1943, Shea enlisted in the US Navy and enrolled in a program that would put him through college. He began at Dartmouth College, later moving to MIT and finally to the University of Michigan, where he would remain until he earned his doctorate in 1955.[2] In 1946, he was commissioned as an ensign in the Navy, and received a bachelor of science degree in Mathematics in the same year.[1] Shea went on to earn a MSc (1950) and a PhD (1955) in Engineering Mechanics from the University of Michigan, while simultaneously working at Bell Labs and teaching at the university.[2][1]

[edit] Systems engineer

Shea at an engineering meeting during the Apollo program.
Enlarge
Shea at an engineering meeting during the Apollo program.

On receiving his doctorate, Shea took a position at Bell Labs in Whippany, New Jersey, where he worked as an engineer on the radio inertial guidance system of the Titan I intercontinental ballistic missile.[3] Shea's speciality was systems engineering, a new type of engineering that focused on the management and integration of large-scale projects, turning the contributions of engineers and contractors into one functioning whole. His contribution to the Titan I project was significant; as George Mueller writes, "he contributed a considerable amount of engineering innovation and project management skill and was directly responsible for the successful development of this pioneering guidance system."[3]

[edit] NASA career

Shea was manager for the lunar landing module and the capsule. He was instrumental in the decision to use a lunar orbit rendezvous.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c Mueller, "Joseph F. Shea," in Memorial Tributes: National Academy of Engineering, Volume 10, p. 211.
  2. ^ a b c Murray and Cox, Apollo, p. 121.
  3. ^ a b Mueller, "Joseph F. Shea," in Memorial Tributes: National Academy of Engineering, Volume 10, p. 212.

[edit] References

  • "2 Space Aides Decided Not to Join Apollo Test", New York Times, February 12, 1967, pp. 32.
  • Gray, Mike (1992). Angle of Attack: Harrison Storms and the Race to the Moon. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-140-23280-X.
  • Kraft, Chris (2001). Flight: My Life in Mission Control. New York: Dutton. ISBN 0-525-94571-7.
  • Murray, Charles, Catherine Bly Cox (1989). Apollo: The Race to the Moon. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-671-61101-1.
  • Sawyer, Kathy. "Space Station Redesign Chief Steps Down", Washington Post, April 23, 1993, pp. A15.
  • Shea, Joseph F. (PDF). NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project Biographical Data Sheet.
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