Kelly, Thomas Joseph

▪ 2003

      American aerospace engineer (b. June 14, 1929, New York, N.Y.—d. March 23, 2002, Cutchogue, N.Y.), led the team of engineers that designed the Lunar Excursion Module Eagle, in which Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin (“Buzz”) Aldrin, Jr., landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969. Kelly spent virtually his entire career as an engineer for the Grumman Aircraft Corp. In 1962 NASA contracted Grumman to develop the Lunar Module, and Kelly was given charge of the project. The result of his team's work was a spiderlike two-stage landing vehicle that ultimately proved successful in descending to the Moon's surface and then returning the astronauts to the Apollo Command Module for the flight back to Earth. In 1972 NASA bestowed its Distinguished Public Service Medal on Kelly, and he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1991. He recounted his experiences on the historic project in Moon Lander: How We Developed the Apollo Lunar Module (2001).

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