posted 11-22-2007 12:39 AM               

Mercury manager Kenny Kleinknecht (1919-2007)

Mercury Project Manager Kenneth "Kenny" Samuel Kleinknecht passed away on Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2007 in Colorado.

NASA's brief biography of Kleinknecht cites:

Kenneth S. Kleinknecht started his career in 1942 at the Lewis Research Center after graduating from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering. In 1951, Kleinknecht transferred to the Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. After NASA formed, he then transferred to the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston in 1959.

Before being named the manager of the Mercury project, Kleinknecht was active in the National Air Races, served as supervisor for a number of avionics tests at Lewis, and was the Head of the Project Engineering Station for the X-1E.

Additionally, Kleinknecht served as the Advanced Projects Management Officer on the X-15 project and as the Technical Assistant to the Director of the Manned Spacecraft Center.

Kleinknecht later was named Deputy Manager of the Gemini Project Office; Manager for the Command and Service Modules in the Apollo Spacecraft Office; Manager of the Skylab Program Office; and Asst. Manager for the Space Shuttle Orbiter Project.

Before departing NASA in 1981 to work for Martin Marietta (Lockheed Martin) until he retired in 1990, Kleinknecht served as Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Flight in the Space Transportation Systems Division for European Operations and the Spacelab Program.

His final position with NASA after 22 years of service was as shuttle Columbia's first vehicle manager, leading up to its maiden launch.

Among Kleinknecht's many honors were the NASA Medal for Outstanding Leadership from the President of the United States (1963); the NASA Exceptional Service Medal (1969); and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal (1969, 1973).

Before his passing, Kleinknecht participated in two NASA oral history interviews, first in September 1998, and then again in July 2000.

Kleinknecht (left) shares breakfast with Apollo 7 crew members Donn Eisele, Wally Schirra and Walt Cunningham (not pictured) before their launch in 1968.

posted 12-07-2007 09:09 AM               

I read the NASA bio with some puzzlement, however.

Kenny Kleinknecht was named to NASA's vaunted Space Task Group (STG) in an urgently needed staffing up, official as of September 1959.

He was requested specifically either by Abe Silverstein (Lewis) or Gilruth (Langley). He and Walt Williams had both been based--prior to their assignments to the STG--at the NACA facility at Edwards.

Here's an account from THIS NEW OCEAN.

Here's the thing: Kleinknecht joined the new space administration not in Houston (as the bio states), where NASA had no presence yet, but at Langley. I do wish official biographies would get these historically important places right.

Now of course NASA is synonymous with the Cape or Houston. But at the beginning, NASA really meant HQ in Washington or Langley and the STG gang, and official histories (in which biographies figure) should strive to get these geographical and organizational facts right, imho.

Anyway, his importance to Project Mercury and Gemini can't be overstated, and of course he was critical in getting Apollo back on track after the fire. A great man.