Robert R. Gilruth

Robert R. Gilruth

Robert Rowe Gilruth (October 8, 1913–August 17, 2000) was an American aviation and space pioneer.

In the beginning of his career he was involved with early research into supersonic flight and rocket-powered aircraft and then with the manned space program, including the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo projects. He worked for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics from 1937 to 1958 and its successor agency, NASA, until retirement in 1973.