Source: Collect Space
Guenter Wendt, the original pad leader for NASA’s manned space program who was the last man the Apollo astronauts saw before launching to the moon, died at his home in Merritt Island, Fla., early Monday morning after being hospitalized for congestive heart failure and then suffering a stroke. He was 85.
Reporting to Cape Canaveral as a McDonnell Aircraft Corp engineer working on missile projects soon after gaining his American citizenship in 1955, Wendt, who was born and educated in Berlin, became part of the effort to launch the first U.S. astronauts into space.
As pad leader — or “pad führer” as the astronauts came to affectionally call him due to his strong German accent and unwavering rules — Wendt oversaw the spacecraft on the launch pads and all who had access to them to ensure the safety of all those involved.
To continue reading this story: http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-050310a.html