Guenter wendt biography sample

Wendt had been hospitalized with congestive heart failure and suffered a stroke.

Guenter wendt biography sample: NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History

He was He worked at Kennedy for 34 years. Wendt, a naturalized American originally from Germany, spoke with a thick accent and made a reputation as a strict overseer of the launch pads and of the spacecraft the astronauts flew. Those traits earned him the nickname "Pad Fuhrer. He stood watch over the Mercury and Gemini missions. The contractor for the Apollo spacecraft did not retain him as a full pad leader, Wendt recorded in his memoirs.

Afterward, astronauts including Wally Schirra insisted on Wendt's return. Wendt was in charge of the White Room and launch pad when Schirra and his crew lifted off on Apollo 7, the first crewed Apollo mission after the fire. Wendt saw all the Apollo astronauts off on their way to the moon, too, before working as the head of flight crew safety for the Space Shuttle Program.

He later served on the investigation board that reviewed the Challenger accident. He retired in , but still didn't leave the space program far behind.