Joseph Francis Shea

<p>Joseph Francis Shea (September 5, 1925 – February 14, 1999) was an American <a href="/facts/Aerospace_engineer/2Ib02w7f">aerospace engineer</a> and <a href="/facts/NASA/TIMCV0yV">NASA</a> manager. Born in the <a href="/facts/New_York_City/YlyvFmVC">New York City</a> <a href="/facts/Borough_(New_York_City)/D1m6uCGd">borough</a> of <a href="/facts/The_Bronx/yVMesM0v">the Bronx</a>, he was educated at the <a href="/facts/University_of_Michigan/6e1Ea5xh">University of Michigan</a>, receiving a <a href="/facts/Doctor_of_Philosophy/paJumdN8">Ph.D.</a> in <a href="/facts/Applied_mechanics/rUlbDdob">Engineering Mechanics</a> in 1955. After working for <a href="/facts/Bell_Labs/fKP5Gk0H">Bell Labs</a> on the radio <a href="/facts/Inertial_guidance_system/UzUTMhK2">inertial guidance system</a> of the <a href="/facts/Titan_I/GNwCyjTG">Titan I</a> <a href="/facts/Intercontinental_ballistic_missile/0vKnj2Y7">intercontinental ballistic missile</a>, he was hired by NASA in 1961. As Deputy Director of NASA's Office of Manned Space Flight, and later as head of the Apollo Spacecraft Program Office, Shea played a key role in shaping the course of the <a href="/facts/Project_Apollo/IC1Ek1Ao">Apollo program</a>, helping to lead NASA to the decision in favor of <a href="/facts/Lunar_orbit_rendezvous/tQNlpJS1">lunar orbit rendezvous</a> and supporting "all up" testing of the <a href="/facts/Saturn_V/WhpUEFJM">Saturn V</a> rocket. While sometimes causing controversy within the agency, Shea was remembered by his former colleague <a href="/facts/George_Mueller_(NASA)/awpdtXDb">George Mueller</a> as "one of the greatest <a href="/facts/Systems_engineering/gFwRmkDp">systems engineers</a> of our time".
</p><p>Deeply involved in the investigation of the 1967 <a href="/facts/Apollo_1/aJEvDnBM">Apollo 1</a> fire, Shea suffered from <a href="/facts/Stress_(biological)/H29jPp2B">stress</a>. He was moved to an alternative position in Washington and left NASA shortly afterwards. From 1968 until 1990 he worked as a senior manager at <a href="/facts/Raytheon/wGGxdMoD">Raytheon</a> in <a href="/facts/Lexington%2c_Massachusetts/QEMK79lc">Lexington, Massachusetts</a>, and thereafter became an adjunct professor of <a href="/facts/Aeronautics/yu2YEPv9">aeronautics</a> and <a href="/facts/Astronautics/uT1nlI0F">astronautics</a> at <a href="/facts/MIT/Xk49vNA8">MIT</a>. While Shea served as a consultant for NASA on the redesign of the <a href="/facts/International_Space_Station/VNPUBz9m">International Space Station</a> in 1993, he was forced to resign from the position due to health issues.
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Joseph Francis Shea