Restart shuttle: Fwd: Jack King, NASA's 'Voice of Apollo,' dies at 84

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From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: June 12, 2015 at 10:07:40 AM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Jack King, NASA's 'Voice of Apollo,' dies at 84

Jack King, NASA's 'Voice of Apollo,' dies at 84
James Dean, FLORIDA TODAY 7:08 a.m. EDT June 12, 2015

Jack King was "The Voice of Apollo," the man who did countdown commentary while the whole world was watching. By Tim Shortt, Caroline Perez, Todd Halvorson. Posted June 27, 2012
(Photo: FLORIDA TODAY File)

NASA has lost its "Voice of Apollo."
Cocoa Beach resident Jack King, who called the countdown and liftoff from Kennedy Space Center of the first moon landing mission, died today at age 84.
The cause was congestive heart failure, his daughter said.
A Boston native, King arrived at Cape Canaveral as an Associated Press reporter in 1958 and two years later became NASA's public information chief here during the Mercury program, as the Space Race and what would become Kennedy Space Center were just ramping up.
He called launch of the Gemini 4 mission 50 years ago, and many that followed, but is best known for the Apollo 11 launch in 1969, which NASA estimates has been heard by more than a billion people.
In a steady voice broadcast by TV and radio networks on July 16, 1969, King reported that the astronauts felt good as the final seconds ticked away, and that the Saturn V rocket's engines had ignited shortly after 9:30 that morning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UExTN3_UOIY
"Liftoff, we have a liftoff," he said. "Thirty-two minutes past the hour, liftoff on Apollo 11. Tower cleared."
The call was "spot on," said Bill Harwood, a CBS News correspondent who began reporting from the Cape in 1984 with United Press International.
"The world was literally tuned in," said Harwood, of Merritt Island. "The pressure was enormous. This was the first human flight to the moon, but you do not hear that in his voice. He was very calm. I think that really added to the whole experience."
KSC Director Bob Cabana also remembered King's reassuring demeanor during the countdown.
"Jack was a true professional and helped us understand in common English the complexities of spaceflight," Cabana said.
"He was great at communicating what we do at NASA and he will be missed."
Mike Curie, NASA's news chief at Kennedy Space Center, who provided countdown commentary on NASA TV for numerous shuttle missions, called King an icon.
"He lived human spaceflight and loved it," said Curie. "He was an inspiration to me and many of my peers."
FLORIDA TODAY
Apollo, Challenger, Columbia: NASA remembers fallen astronauts

King left Florida for Houston in 1972 to the become public affairs director at NASA's Johnson Space Center. He helped negotiate a communications plan for NASA's first cooperative mission with the Soviet Union, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975, which included the first live TV coverage of a Russian launch.
He later held senior public relations positions at the U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration, Occidental International Corp. and a Washington communications firm before returning to work for lead space shuttle contractor United Space Alliance. He retired from USA in 2010, the year before the final shuttle mission.
King called powerful people in the media and in politics friends, attending three presidential inaugurations, said his daughter, Beth King Post, also of Cocoa Beach. But she said he preferred to work behind the scenes, didn't take himself too seriously and was known for his dry sense of humor.
Outside work, he was a devoted Boston sports fan who enjoyed a regular gathering with friends at Bernard's Surf in Cocoa Beach and later Rusty's at Port Canaveral.
He was a great supporter of Cocoa Beach and, of course, loved the space program, said Post.
"To him, the space shuttle was spectacular and all ventures into space were, but there was nothing like the Saturn V," she said. "When he talked about that Saturn V lifting off, and the way that the press center windows shook and the power of the rocket boosters going up, there was just nothing like it."
In addition to Post, King is survived by a son, Harold "Chip" King, and five grandchildren: Kelli King, Meghan King Basinger, Michael Scott, Hannah King and Marlena Scott. Another son, Billy, died in 2012, and his wife of 39 years, Evelyn, passed away in 2005. Plans for a memorial service have not yet been confirmed.
Contact Dean at 321-242-3668 or jdean@floridatoday.com.

Copyright © 2015 www.floridatoday.com. All rights reserved.

By William Harwood
CBS News
June 11, 2015, 5:52 PM
Jack King, legendary "Voice of NASA," dies at 84
Jack King, seen in the firing room at the Kennedy Space Center during the countdown for the Apollo 12 mission to the moon. With the exception of Apollo 13, King delivered countdown commentary as the "Voice of NASA" for every American human space flight from Gemini 4 through Apollo 15.
NASA
John W. "Jack" King, the calm, reassuring "Voice of NASA" who held the world riveted as he counted down the final seconds of the Apollo 11 launch to the moon, died Thursday after a long illness. He was 84.
The cause was congestive heart failure, according to his family.
"It was a very peaceful passing for him," said daughter Beth King Post. "He was really an amazing person, not only professionally, but personally."
A veteran Associated Press reporter, King was chief of the public information office at the time of the Apollo 11 launch in July 1969 and as such had the responsibility for countdown commentary through liftoff, describing critical events for journalists and the public alike.
As the countdown ticked into its final tense moments, King calmly noted the rush of events leading up to ignition of the mighty Saturn 5 booster's five first stage engines.
"T-minus 60 seconds and counting. We have passed T-minus 60. Fifty-five seconds and counting. Neil Armstrong just reported back: 'It's been a real smooth countdown.' We've passed the 50-second mark. Power transfer is complete, we're on internal power with the launch vehicle at this time. Forty seconds away from the Apollo 11 liftoff."
Finally, the moment of truth arrived.
"Twenty seconds and counting," King said from the firing room. "T-minus 15 seconds, guidance is internal. Twelve, 11, 10, 9, ignition sequence start, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, zero, all engines running, liftoff! We have a liftoff, 32 minutes past the hour. Liftoff on Apollo 11."
By some estimates, more than a billion people heard his commentary during live broadcasts and subsequent replays.
"I think he did a great job," said Hugh Harris, one of King's successors and a familiar voice during space shuttle launchings. Despite King's seemingly calm demeanor, Harris said he could hear a catch in his voice just before launch, a "recognition that this was something special in the history of spaceflight."
"Right before when he says 'all engines running,' there was sort of a catch there, and you had a feeling he was thinking 'this is really going to go!' Harris said. "He did a great job."
King managed press operations at NASA's Florida spaceport for 12 years, serving as the voice of launch control for "virtually every human mission from Gemini 4 to Apollo 15," NASA said on the Kennedy Space Center web page.
"The biggest PR job I had to do was with our own people in order to get information that I could pass out to the news media," King said in a NASA oral history. "These were the early days when things were just starting out."
Born in Boston, King graduated from Boston College and moved to Florida in 1958 to serve as Cape Canaveral bureau chief for The Associated Press. He later went to work for NASA during the pioneering Mercury program.
King later moved to Houston to direct public affairs at what became the Johnson Space Center and helped negotiate arrangements for the first live television broadcast of a Russian launch as part of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Program.
In 1975, King left NASA to serve as director of public affairs for the U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration and in 1977 went to work for Armand Hammer and Occidental International Corporation. After Hammer's death in 1990, King held a variety of top-level public affairs positions before attempting to retire.
But in 1996, King decided to keep working and joined United Space Alliance, a partnership between Lockheed Martin and Boeing that was responsible for processing space shuttles for launch. He retired for good in 2010 but continued to serve as a public affairs volunteer during major launch events.
"He was one of the pioneers as far as public affairs was concerned," Harris said. "He developed many of the ways (NASA works) with the media (today and) he was very close to many of the reporters. He was one of a kind."
King's wife of 39 years, Evelyn, died in 2005. He is survived by his daughter, Beth King Post, his son Chip King and five grandchildren.

© 2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

AmericaSpace
For a nation that explores
June 11th, 2015
Jack King, NASA's 'Voice of Apollo,' Passes Away at Age 84
By Mike Killian
Jack King, the first chief of Public Information for NASA's Launch Operations Center at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, briefs the news media on the May 2, 1961, postponement of the launch of Mercury Redstone-3 due to unfavorable weather. Three days later, astronaut Alan Shepard made history as the first American in space. The "Voice of Apollo," Jack King passed away at age 84 due to congestive heart failure. Photo Credit: NASA
Jack King was a man whom many in the spaceflight community considered a legend, and NASA's "Voice of Apollo," narrating launches of America's first journeys into space and most of the nation's historic missions to the Moon for many millions of viewers watching and listening live on televisions and radios around the world. He covered history at Kennedy Space Center up close and personal, and brought the experience closer to home for the majority of the world who had never witnessed humanity's push for the stars with their own eyes, much less ever seen a rocket before.
Today, Jack King passed away at age 84, the victim of congestive heart failure, according to his daughter, Beth King Post, who offered comments on her father's passing with the newspaper Florida Today this afternoon.
The following comes from NASA's Bob Granath at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida:
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Born in the Brighton section of Boston, Mass. in April 1931, King was the son of the sports editor for the Associated Press. In 1953 he earned a bachelor's degree in English from Boston College.
The launch commentator for Apollo 11, Jack King, recreates his famous launch countdown from Apollo 11. Photo Credit: Alan Walters / AmericaSpace
King was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army artillery corps immediately after graduation and served two years in Korea and Japan from 1953 through 1955.
After his military service, King followed in his father's footsteps as a news reporter in the Associated Press Boston Bureau. Shortly after the United States launched its first satellite, Explorer 1, in 1958, King was assigned to cover the fledgling space program from Cocoa Beach, Fla.
In 1960, Kurt Debus, Kennedy Space Center's first director, hired King to serve as NASA's chief of Public Information based on his experience as the space reporter and bureau chief for the Associated Press Cape Canaveral Bureau from 1958 to 1959. Many of the launches were classified military rockets and a new mindset was required at the growing launch center.
"The biggest PR job I had to do was with our own people in order to get information that I could pass out to the news media," King said during an interview for an oral history project in June 2002. "These were the early days when things were just starting out."
During that time, the attention of the world and many of America's leaders focused on Cape Canaveral. Three weeks after Alan Shepard became the first American in space on May 5, 1961, President John F. Kennedy raised the sights of the space program even further.
"Right after the Shepard launch is when Kennedy said, let's go to the moon," King said. "After (John) Glenn was launched … Kennedy was at (Cape Canaveral) welcoming him back."
King served as manager of press operations for 12 years, spanning the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs.
During that time, King was the "voice of launch control" for virtually every human mission from Gemini 4 to Apollo 15. He described countdown events as millions around the world watched the liftoff of the Saturn V rocket that carried the Apollo 11 astronauts to the moon.
In 1972 King became director of Public Affairs for NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. There he had wider responsibilities for directing programs that included education outreach, exhibits and astronaut appearances, as well as intergovernmental and community relations.
After the United States and Soviet Union agreed to a mission in which an Apollo spacecraft would link up with a Soyuz in July 1975, King joined a three-member team that negotiated the joint information plan for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, or ASTP. The resulting agreement included the first live television coverage of a Russian rocket launch and Soyuz landing at the end of the Russian portion of the flight.
After ASTP, King moved to Washington, D.C., accepting a position as director of Public Affairs for the Department of Energy Research and Development to build an agency wide publicity program in solar, fossil and nuclear energy.
King left government service in 1977 to work for Dr. Armand Hammer, chairman of Occidental International Corp. for whom he developed and implemented a wide-ranging public relations program. He also served as the chairman's speech writer and coordinator of media events in connection with his numerous travels and philanthropic activities.

VIDEO: Relive Jack King's commentary of America's push for the moon with Apollo.
After Hammer's death in December 1990, King served as vice president of Powell Tate, a leading communications and public affairs firm in Washington, specializing in defense, space technology and energy issues.
King returned to Florida's Space Coast in 1997, assuming responsibilities for news media relations for United Space Alliance (USA), NASA's prime contractor for day-to-day Space Shuttle Program operations.
King was a two-time recipient of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and winner of the Aviation/Space Writer's Lawrence Award as the outstanding U.S. government public information officer in 1969. In 2000 he was one of the first two recipients of the Harry Kolcum Memorial News and Communications Award presented by the National Space Club Florida Committee, recognizing the highest standards in journalism and public affairs work.
King retired from USA in October 2010, but continued to serve as a NASA public affairs volunteer.
A widower, King and his wife Evelyn were married 39 years prior to her death in 2005. They had three children and five grandchildren.
In the Firing Room of the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Control Center, Jack King's announcements keep the public up-to-date during the countdown for Apollo 12, the second lunar landing mission launched Nov. 14, 1969. With one exception (Apollo 13), King provided launch countdown commentary for every American human spaceflight from Gemini 4 in 1965 through Apollo 15 in 1971. Credits: NASA
Jack King, April 1931 – June 2015
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Copyright © 2015 AmericaSpace - All Rights Reserved

Launch Commentator for Apollo 11 Moon Shot, Jack King, Dies
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JUNE 11, 2015, 6:02 P.M. E.D.T.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Jack King, a NASA public affairs official who became the voice of the Apollo moon shots, died Thursday. He was 84.
King counted down the historic launch of Apollo 11 on July 16, 1969. He also did the countdown for hundreds of the early rocket launches, including the two-man Gemini missions and many other Apollo missions
King died at a hospice facility, not far from Kennedy Space Center, said Hugh Harris, retired director of public affairs at Kennedy. King had been diagnosed early this year with heart failure.
In 2009, on the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, King said that he still enjoyed hearing recordings of himself from that big launch day.
"I wish I had a penny for every time it was used," he told The Associated Press.
For just over a year, from 1958 to 1959, King ran the new AP office in Cape Canaveral. He first joined the news agency in 1951 in Boston, his hometown, and returned after graduating from Boston College and serving two years in the Army.
King moved over to NASA and went on to head its public information office at Cape Canaveral during the Mercury program, the job he still held when astronauts first flew to the moon.
"Twelve, 11, 10, 9, ignition sequence start. Six, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, zero, all engine running. Liftoff! We have a liftoff, 32 minutes past the hour. Liftoff on Apollo 11."
King later said he was so excited, he said "engine" instead of "engines." He had no script and stuck to the bare facts, he said in 2009.
Former space shuttle commander Robert Cabana, now director of Kennedy Space Center, called King a "great" communicator and said he will be missed.
"All of us watching on television will never forget his calm, reassuring demeanor," Cabana said in a statement. "Jack was a true professional and helped us understand in common English the complexities of space flight. "
King left for NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston after Apollo 11 and was a member of the three-man team that negotiated an information plan for the joint U.S.-Soviet Apollo-Soyuz flight in 1975. It resulted in the first live TV coverage of a Soviet rocket launch, Harris said.
He went to Washington in 1975 to direct public relations for the U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration. He left government in 1977 to work for Armand Hammer and Occidental International Corp. and others, before trying out retirement in 1996. He moved to Cocoa Beach, Florida, near the space center, and became a spokesman for United Space Alliance, a Lockheed Martin and Boeing venture to prepare the space shuttles for flight. He retired in 2010.
"He was a pioneer in the public relations business for NASA," Harris said, "And he worked out many of the protocols for working with the news media here at the launch site."
He loved space, right up to the end.
On May 30, Harris said he took King and King's daughter to the space center for the annual induction ceremony for the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame. But upon arriving, King collapsed and was taken to the hospital.
"He lived and breathed the space program; he loved it from the beginning," said his daughter, Beth King Post of Cocoa Beach.
King is also survived by a son, Harold "Chip" King of Bluffton, South Carolina, and five grandchildren.
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Online:
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