Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
John Houbolt
open-in-new
<p>John Cornelius Houbolt (April 10, 1919 – April 15, 2014) was an <a href="/facts/Aerospace_engineer/2Ib02w7f">aerospace engineer</a> credited with leading the team behind the <a href="/facts/Lunar_orbit_rendezvous/tQNlpJS1">lunar orbit rendezvous</a> (LOR) mission mode, a concept that was used to successfully land humans on the Moon and return them to Earth. This flight path was chosen for the <a href="/facts/Apollo_program/IC1Ek1Ao">Apollo program</a> in July 1962. The critical decision to use LOR was viewed as vital to ensuring that man reached the Moon by the end of the decade as proposed by President <a href="/facts/John_F._Kennedy/1cdDaswg">John F. Kennedy</a>. In the process, LOR saved time and billions of dollars by efficiently using the available rocket and spacecraft technologies. </p>