Public Affairs Series: Gerald D. Griffin, NASA Flight Director Apollo Program

About This Event

Gerry joined NASA in 1964 as a flight controller in Mission Control, specializing in guidance, navigation and control systems for Project Gemini and the early unmanned missions of the Apollo Program. Before the first crewed Apollo mission, Apollo 7, he was selected to be a flight director and served in that role for all of the Apollo Program crewed missions, including all nine crewed missions to the moon, six of which included lunar landings. Gerry’s Gold Team conducted half of the six lunar landings made during Apollo. His team also was scheduled to conduct the landing of Apollo 13, but when the landing was canceled as a result of an oxygen tank explosion his Gold team was one of four teams who played key roles in the safe return of the astronauts.

Gerry earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Texas A&M University (TAMU) and was commissioned as an officer in the United States Air Force. He served four years on active duty, first in flight training, then flying as a weapon systems officer in jet fighter-interceptors. Gerry left active duty and joined the space program as a systems engineer/flight controller at the USAF Satellite Test Center in Sunnyvale, California. He also was a senior aerospace engineer with General Dynamics/Fort Worth before joining NASA.

Gerry left NASA in 1986 for the private sector to become President and CEO of the Greater Houston Chamber of Commerce, a post he held until he joined Korn/Ferry International, a worldwide executive search firm, as the Managing Director of the firm’s Houston office.

Today Gerry is a technical and management consultant for a broad range of clients. He also is a member of the Board of Advisors, Aegis Aerospace and a director of The Bank and Trust, an area-wide bank headquartered in Del Rio, Texas. He is a former trustee of Schreiner University, a former member of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and a former trustee of the Universities Space Research Association.

Gerry received numerous awards during his years with NASA including the Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded to the Apollo 13 Mission Operations Team, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, two NASA Exceptional Service Medals, the Meritorious Executive Rank Award, and the Distinguished Executive Rank Award. The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation and the Share Space Foundation awarded Gerry the 2018 Pioneer Award in recognition of his contributions to the Apollo program, and the National Space Society awarded him their 2019 Pioneer Award for Service to the Space Community. In 2024 Gerry received the Corona Award from the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation. In 2026 Gerry was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society. He also is the recipient of numerous honors from his alma mater, Texas A&M University, including the Distinguished Alumnus Award, the Corps of Cadets Hall of Honor Award, the College of Engineering Alumni Honor Award, and the Aerospace Engineering Department Distinguished Alumnus Award. Gerry received the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from the University
of Houston Clear Lake and is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the American Astronautical Society, and the British Interplanetary Society.

Because of his real-life role as a Flight Director during the flight of Apollo 13 Gerry was a technical advisor for the movie Apollo 13. Later he was a technical advisor for and an actor in the movies Contact and Deep Impact, then the technical advisor for the movie Apollo 18. Gerry worked on his fifth feature film as a technical advisor and actor in Fly Me to the Moon which was released in July 2024. Gerry is a member of the Screen Actors Guild.

Gerry lives in Hunt, Texas. He is an active general aviation pilot and aircraft owner and holds a commercial license with an instrument rating for single engine aircraft, multi-engine aircraft and helicopters.

Each ticket includes a glass of wine after the event.

The talk is open to ROSL members and their named guests only.

This talk will not be live-streamed or recorded.