Gene Kranz

Biography

Eugene Francis Kranz is an American aerospace engineer who served as NASA's second Chief Flight Director, directing missions of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs, including the first lunar landing mission, Apollo 11. He directed the successful efforts by the Mission Control team to save the crew of Apollo 13, and was portrayed in the 1995 film of the same name by actor Ed Harris. He characteristically wore a close-cut flattop hairstyle and the dapper "mission" vests (waistcoats) of different styles and materials made by his wife, Marta Kranz, for his Flight Director missions.