Glynn Lunney

Glynn Lunney
Glynn Lunney in 1974, as manager of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
Born	(1936-11-27) November 27, 1936 (age 80) Old Forge, Pennsylvania
Alma mater	UDM, B.S. 1958
Occupation	NASA manager and flight director
Spouse(s)	Marilyn Kurtz Lunney
Awards	Presidential Medal of Freedom

Glynn S. Lunney (born November 27, 1936) is a retired NASA engineer. An employee of NASA since its creation in 1958, Lunney was a flight director during the Gemini and Apollo programs, and was on duty during historic events such as the Apollo 11 lunar ascent and the pivotal hours of the Apollo 13 crisis. At the end of the Apollo program, he became manager of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, the first collaboration in spaceflight between the United States and the Soviet Union. Later, he served as manager of the Space Shuttle program before leaving NASA in 1985 and later becoming a vice president of the United Space Alliance.

Lunney was a key figure in the US manned space program from Project Mercury through the coming of the Space Shuttle. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the National Space Trophy, which he was given by the Rotary Club in 2005. Chris Kraft, NASA's first flight director, described Lunney as "a true hero of the space age", saying that he was "one of the outstanding contributors to the exploration of space of the last four decades".

Glynn Lunney grew up in the coal city of Old Forge, Pennsylvania. He was the eldest son of William Lunney, a welder and former miner who encouraged his son to get an education and to find a job beyond the mines. Lunney graduated from the Scranton Preparatory School in 1953. A childhood interest in model airplanes prompted Lunney to study engineering in college. After attending the University of Scranton from 1953 through 1955, he transferred to the University of Detroit, where he enrolled in the cooperative training program run by the Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The center was a part of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), a United States federal agency founded to promote aeronautical research. Cooperative students at NACA took part in a program that combined work and study, providing a way for them to fund their college degrees while gaining experience in aeronautics. Lunney graduated from college in June 1958, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace engineering.