Friday,
September 01, 2006
Obit:Rocco Petrone, 80; Key Figure in Apollo Moon Missions
The
ANNOTICO Report
Rocco
Petrone, who played a key role in NASA
Petrone was born March 31, 1926, to Italian immigrants in
Young Petrone, who delivered ice to help his mother
make ends meet, won a scholarship to the U.S. Military Academy at
After graduation in 1946, he received a master
By
Thomas H. Maugh II, Times Staff Writer
September 1, 2006
Rocco
Petrone, who played a key role in NASA
An
Army engineer on loan to NASA, Petrone helped develop
the Saturn rocket that played a crucial role in the Apollo missions.
As director of launch operations at
the
After the Apollo program ended, he became director of the Marshall Space Flight
Center in
In a later incarnation as head of shuttle programs at Rockwell International,
he recommended against the Jan. 28, 1986, launch of the shuttle Challenger a recommendation that was tragically
ignored.
In the early stages of the Apollo program, Petrone
oversaw the construction of the massive
As the program evolved, he became the ultimate arbiter of day-to-day operations
during each of the "five-month marathons" preceding launches.
Ever a stickler for details, he became even more unrelenting after the 1967 launchpad fire that killed astronauts Virgil Grissom, Ed
White and Roger Chafee.
Retired NASA manager Humboldt C. Mandell Jr. recalled
a meeting at which Petrone questioned a young
engineer who worked for a contractor. Unsure of himself, the engineer made the
mistake of trying to bluff Petrone.
Mandell said Petrone
physically removed the engineer from the podium and told the man
"Brutal? Maybe, but it all made us know our subjects thoroughly from then
on," Mandell told the Washington Post.
An exceptionally private man who managed to stay f! ar from the limelight, Petrone
nevertheless became well-known for guiding visiting presidents, congressmen and
other dignitaries through the space center, explaining NASA
His contacts served him well when he moved to
He was an effective liaison to politicians during the 1970 Apollo 13 crisis,
explaining to them what was being done to return the astronauts after an
explosion two days into the mission.
After a short stint in private industry, Petrone
returned to NASA as director of the Marshall Space Flight Center, where he had
begun his career 20 years earlier working on the Redstone rocket.
Unfortunately, the Apollo program was winding down, NASA
During the May 14, 1973, launch of the Skylab orbiti!
ng laboratory, a small
explosion ripped off a shield designed to protect the laboratory from
micrometeorites and destroyed one of the solar panel arrays, leaving the space
station grossly underpowered. As a result, temperatures inside the craft
soared.
Petrone was in charge of a team at
After being promoted to associate administrator of NASA, Petrone
retired in 1975 and ultimately moved to
On the morning of Challenger
His concerns were forwarded to NASA officials, but they later tes! tified
that they did not view this as a "no-go" order from Rockwell and they
proceeded with the launch. The ice proved not to be a problem. Instead, the
cold weather shrank rubber joints on the solid fuel booster rockets, allowing
fire to escape and ignite the main fuel tank, destroying Challenger.
Petrone retired from Rockwell in 1989.
Rocco Anthony Petrone was born March 31, 1926, to
Italian immigrants in
Young Petrone, who delivered ice to help his mother
make ends meet, won a scholarship to the U.S. Military Academy at
After graduation in 1946, he received a master
Intensely devoted to his work, he had few outside interests other than reading,
said his wife of 50 years, Ruth Holley Petrone.
After his retirement, she said, "he spent a lot of time at the
library," where he nurtured his interest in the Civil War.
In addition to his wife, Petrone is survived by a
brother, John, of
thomas.maugh@latimes.com
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