Seymour Liebergot
Seymour "Sy" Abraham Liebergot (born February 15, 1936 in Camden, New Jersey) is a retired NASA flight controller, serving during the Apollo program. Liebergot was an EECOM controller and was responsible for the electrical and environmental systems on board the Command Module. In 1970, he was part of the team that guided Apollo 13 back to Earth following the explosion that crippled the spacecraft.
Seymour Liebergot | |
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| Born | February 15, 1936 |
| Alma mater | California State University, Los Angeles, California |
| Occupation | Flight controller - Apollo era thru Apollo-Soyuz Test Project |
| Years active | 1964–1996 |
| Employer | NASA (Retired) |
| Spouse | Deanna Liebergot (m. 1957- div. 1972) |
He began his career in 1963 with North American Aviation after graduating from California State University, Los Angeles. In 1964, he came to NASA. Liebergot was a Deputy Flight Director on Apollo 4,[1][2][3] then an EECOM flight controller on Apollo 8–15. On Apollo 17, he served as CSSB SPAN (SPacecraft ANalysis room) Support.[4] He continued as a controller in the Skylab and ASTP missions.
In popular culture
In the 1995 film Apollo 13, Liebergot was played by Clint Howard, the brother of director Ron Howard.
References
- "Flight Controller Assignments" (PDF). p. 48. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
- Seymour Liebergot NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project, transcript, Interviewed by Michelle Kelly in Houston, Texas on 27 April 1998. Quote,
Liebergot: "That's why I could never be a flight director. It's too much to juggle, a lot." - Gerry Griffin Oral History, Part 1, (C-SPAN3, March 12, 1999)
At 3m50s - Gerry Griffin (Flight Director, Apollo 13): "I think [Christopher] Kraft was particularly adept at testing people in simulations and all that sort of thing, and picking out the ones that he thought could cut it and those that he [determined] couldn't... might not. ... As you know, we didn't have too many washouts in Mission Control." - "Flight Controller Assignments" (PDF). p. 198. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
External links
- Sy Liebergot's homepage
- Information on Liebergot's book Apollo EECOM
- Interview with Sy Liebergot (SpaceVidcast)
- Recording of a talk by Liebergot. He described his Apollo 13 experience in a 48-minute talk in 2006.
- Detailed behind-the-scenes tour by Sy of NASA's Mission Control Center.