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 (aged 94) Cape Canaveral Hospital, Cocoa Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| 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]
- ^ a b Siceloff, Steve (2009-11-13). "Famed Engineer O'Malley Dies at age 94". NASA News & Features. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
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.
- ^ a b Hevesi, Dennis (2009-11-12). "Thomas J. O'Malley, 1915-2009: Engineer helped launch John Glenn's historic orbit flight". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
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
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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