Jack Kinzler
Jack Albert Kinzler | |
---|---|
Born | January 9, 1920 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Died | March 4, 2014 | (aged 94)
Other names | Mr. Fix It |
Occupation | Engineer |
Jack Kinzler (January 9, 1920 – March 4, 2014) was a
Early life and NASA career
Kinzler was born in Pittsburgh, the son of a photoengraver and inventor who patented several photoengraving devices.[2]
As a young man, Kinzler built
He established the Technical Services Division at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, which included approximately 180 technicians skilled in the various tasks required by the space program, including machining and sheet metal work, welding, electronics, modeling, plastics, and electroplating, along with a field test branch.[3] Kinzler led the Division from 1961 until his retirement in 1977.[2]
Apollo program contributions
Asked by NASA officials for ideas about how to make a commemorative U.S. flag "fly" on the airless Moon for the planned Apollo landings, it was Kinzler who invented and oversaw the design and implementation of the system ultimately used.[3]
As the Moon had no atmosphere that would allow a flag to fly on a traditional flagstaff, NASA had originally planned only to imprint a flag on the lower section of the
Kinzler also designed the commemorative plaque installed on the Lunar Module for each of the Apollo landing missions. The stainless steel plaque included facsimiles of the signatures of all mission astronauts and of the president of the United States along with a depiction of the Eastern and Western Hemisphere of the Earth. The Apollo 11 plaque included the inscription, "Here men from the Planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon. July 1969 AD. We came in peace for all mankind."[3]
Kinzler also helped to fabricate the specially modified six-iron golf club head that Apollo 14 astronaut Alan Shepard attached to the handle of a lunar sampling scoop and used to drive two golf balls on the Moon.[2]
Kinzler's technical services division was responsible for a variety of other space program tools and innovations, including the
Skylab
On May 14, 1973, NASA launched Skylab, the United States' first space station. During the launch, a meteorite shield prematurely deployed, which ripped off the shield and one of the station's solar panels, and the debris prevented another solar panel from fully deploying. Without protection from the solar heat and low on electricity due to the lost and damaged solar panels, the temperature inside the station rose dangerously, threatening to ruin on-board film and food and eventually make the station uninhabitable as overheated plastic components would exude toxic gases.[2][4]
Kinzler sought a solution that did not require a dangerous
Kinzler's greatest source of pride was that the parasol was conceived and executed almost entirely by government employees. "We stayed awake and worked for six solid days, around the clock," he said. "We had a hundred employees working on this thing, and we did everything. We made all the parts. We demonstrated how it's to be done. And we completely pulled that thing off without any outside help."[4]
For his contribution that saved Skylab, Kinzler was awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal in 1973.[4]
References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the
- ^ Barnes, Bart (19 March 2014). "Jack A. Kinzler, NASA's 'Mr. Fix-it,' dies at 94". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
- ^ a b c d e Fox, Margalit (14 March 2014). "Jack Kinzler, Whose Ingenuity Saved Skylab, Dies at 94". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
- ^ a b c d Johnson, Sandra L. (Fall 2008). "Red, White & Blue: U.S. Flag at Home on the Moon" (PDF). Houston History Magazine. 6 (1): 60. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f Collins, Craig. "Jack A. Kinzler: The Man Who Saved Skylab". NASA. Retrieved 17 March 2014.