Last month, former NASA engineer Ed Smylie passed away at the age of 95. He is best known for his efforts leading a NASA team that saved the Apollo 13 crew after the capsule experienced the onboard explosion of an oxygen canister. His quick efforts saved the crew, allowing them to return home safely. You can see it all in color by watching the film Apollo 13.
Mr. Smylie left Douglas Aircraft Company and joined NASA after President Kennedy made it clear that the nation would put a man on the Moon. Luckily, he was there at NASA when he was needed.
In a 1999 interview about his efforts to save the Apollo 13 mission, he was very self-effacing about his role in the entire effort:
It was pretty straightforward, even though we got a lot of publicity for it and [President Richard M.] Nixon even mentioned our names. I always argued that that was because that was one you could understand nobody really understood the hard things they were doing. Everybody could understand a filter. I said a mechanical engineering sophomore in college could have come up with it. It was pretty straightforward. But it was important.
You can also read more on Mr. Smylie’s life and career at these sites:
Rest in peace.
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