We were headed into space in 1962 but the going was slow and the money was hard to come by. Then in an address to the American people, President John F. Kennedy provided the push we needed to get things rolling in the right direction and The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was charged with the duty to land men on the moon and bring them back safely to the earth, before the end of the decade. I was working at Kelley Air Force Base in San Antonio Texas. However, I felt that I would have a hand in the space program some way.
I had told my Dad when I was only 10 years old that I was not going to be a rancher like the rest of our family. In a very loud voice he said: “Then what are going to do, “Boy”? I told him I was going to be and Electronics Engineer and he said; well that’s not ever going to amount to anything! I didn’t reply, but I said to myself “we will see”. I transferred from Kelly AFB in San Antonio, TX to NASA in the summer of 1962 and was Assigned to the work at the manned spacecraft center (MSC) now called the Johnson Space Center (JSC) located in Houston Texas. The rest of my life is history, I will however highlight a few of the assignments NASA assigned to me. The Mercury program was about over so they decided to assign me to work on the Gemini program.
Pacetronics Research is a non-profit organization dedicated to preservation and education concerning NASA space projects and efforts.
Founded by Robert L. Pace, Mustang, Oklahoma