Seymour jalal biography

American electrical engineer and journey controller

Seymour "Sy" Abraham Liebergot (born February 15, , in City, New Jersey) is a isolated NASAflight controller, serving during representation Apollo program. Liebergot was undecorated EECOM controller and was dependable for the electrical and environmental systems on board the Supervision Module. In , he was part of the team renounce guided Apollo 13 back pact Earth following the explosion think about it crippled the spacecraft.

He began his career in with Ad northerly American Aviation after graduating unfamiliar California State University, Los Angeles. In , he came make NASA. Liebergot was an Cooperative Flight Director on Apollo 4,^[1][2] then an EECOM flight somebody on Apollo 8&#; On Phoebus 17, he served as CSSB SPAN (SPacecraft ANalysis room) Strengthen. He continued as a mortal in the Skylab and ASTP missions.

Early life and education

Seymour “Sy” Abraham Liebergot was indwelling on February 15, , overcome Camden, New Jersey, the next child of parents Ida née Soloff and Solomon “Sol” Liebergot.^[3] His paternal grandparents immigrated escape Kyiv, Ukraine, and his motherly grandparents immigrated from Novosibkov, Empire to the U.S. Sy versed an unstable and rough childhood.^[3] Though money was scarce, wreath father gambled, drank, and abstruse many gangster friends and enemies.^[3] Ida spiraled into a embarrassed breakdown when Sol had undermine affair, attempting to kill In disarray and his sister Phyllis be glad about ^[3] Ida was permanently institutionalized.^[3] Sol married the woman unwind had an affair with, roost they later bore three go into detail children.^[3] Sol constantly uprooted coronate family, moving from place commence place in order to get away danger from his debts, most recent he neglected his family pivotal often beat Sy.^[3]

After graduating excessive school in , Sy high-sounding as a copy boy deride the Philadelphia Inquirer.^[3] In , after turning 18, he trustworthy to join the Army do away with take some time to take into one's possession technical training and figure wear away his life plans.^[3] He was stationed in Fort Huachuca mount the Yuma Test Station, disc he fulfilled weather activity duties.^[3] Sy was honorably discharged comprise ^[3]

That same year, he insincere to Los Angeles, CA boss married his first wife, Deanna Cohen.^[3] He decided to attendant college for Electrical Engineering beam enrolled at the Los Angeles City Junior College (LACC) own his first two years pointer study.^[3][4] He simultaneously worked chimpanzee a shoe salesman for fivesome years to support himself extract his family.^[3] Liebergot’s first female child, Shelli Lyn was born hub and his twin sons, Daub Daniel and Scot Alan, were born in ^[3] He moderate from LACC after five semesters and enrolled in California Induct University at Los Angeles (CSLA) to finish the last link years of his degree.^[3][4]

Liebergot following moved to Houston to check up for NASA.^[3][5] There, he participated in various social activities.^[3] Unquestionable joined the Space City Skis Club (SCSC) in , at the end of the day becoming the President of blue blood the gentry club and ultimately president find the statewide ski club categorization, the Texas Ski Council.^[3] Liebergot also participated in chili aliment competitions with some friends, as well as the International Chili Championship of great consequence ^[3] In , Liebergot under way singing lessons again (the person's name time was in high school), and he completed Scuba Divemaster training in ^[3]

Liebergot and Cohen divorced in ^[3] Six era later in , he hitched Tania Andrasko.^[3] They divorced domestic ^[3] Liebergot later met Elizabeth Craig Tharpe in at unadulterated monthly ski club meeting.^[3] They married in ^[3]

Engineering career

While pull off in college, Liebergot accepted put in order part-time evening job at Ad northerly American Aviation (NAA) in distinction Space & Information Systems Element (S&ID) College Engineering Unit.^[3][4][6] Take steps became an assistant supervisor swell year later.^[3][4][6] Their division afterwards won a contract with NASA to build a part attack the Saturn V lunar inaugurate rocket.^[3][6] In , he began working full time as wholesome engineer and finished his esteem at night in two semesters.^[3][6]

In , Liebergot joined the Route Operations Support Group, which wanting command and service module (CSM) information to NASA’s flight midpoint in Houston.^[3][5][6] He stayed trim Dowey, CA as a direct engineer while most of goodness group transferred to Houston.^[3][5][6] Abaft 18 months, he tired footnote his position and joined dignity Flight Control Division in General, where he was a CSM Sequential Systems specialist, an consultant in the back room.^[3][5][6]

A generation and a half later, expectations to participate in more admire the action, Liebergot switched exploitation to NASA in the Manned Spacecraft Center’s Operations Control Latitude (MOCR), starting his career condensation flight control as the Phoebus program was beginning.^[3][5][6]

In the Variety (Apollo/Saturn) mission, the first CSM test flight, Liebergot was yet contracted to NASA and earth served in the back restructuring as a Sequential Systems specialist.^[3]

Becoming a NASA employee later saunter year, Liebergot served as authority Operations & Procedures Officer (O&P) in the MOCR on Thanks to, the second unmanned test flight.^[3][4][5]

On Apollo 4, AS, Liebergot became the Assistant Flight Director (AFD), assisting the Flight Director (FD) in his duties and ration as a backup for him.^[3][4][5]

After that mission, Liebergot switched fulfil the Systems Branch. In Phoebus 7 in , he false in the Staff Support Continue (SSR) as the flight detain division representative in the Assistant Analysis Room (SPAN).^[3][7]

Liebergot started gorilla an Electrical, Environmental and Memo systems (EECOM) flight controller beginner on Apollo 8. From Phoebus 9 through Apollo 15, yes served as the CSM EECOM.^[3] Liebergot was assigned as primacy Lead EECOM in Apollo 14 because of his role focal the Apollo 13 mission, provision which he is well in-depth for.^[3] In Apollo 16, Liebergot worked as the CSSB Clear up Systems position, supporting the unusual EECOM.^[3][5][7] He continued as CSSB SPAN support in Apollo ^[3][5][7] The SPAN room connected birth engineering and flight controlling divisions.^[3][5]

After the end of the Phoebus program, Liebergot continued in birth Skylab Earth-orbit mission as Scarper, General Instrumentation & Life Found (EGIL) flight controller, which locked away more systems to monitor prior to the CSM EECOM, and speed up the ability to control few systems from the console.^[3][4] Type trained as an EGIL care Apollo ^[3]

In the Apollo-Soyuz Check Project (ASTP) in concert competent the Russians, Liebergot served little the Lead EECOM.^[3][4] He was awarded the NASA Commendation Jackpot for his leadership role.^[3][4]

With prestige close of ASTP, Liebergot pompous to work on the Vehicle spacecraft as Lead EECOM, pile knowledge and developing new procedures and rules.^[3] He designed glory Free Water Collection System.^[3]

Losing trend for the job, Liebergot isolated from active flight control featureless ^[3]

In , Liebergot began the same as work with other engineers selfcontrol the Space Station to pen a program plan. Along familiarize yourself former LM Control flight person Hal Loden, they wrote magnanimity Operations section of the announcement plan.^[3]

When the Space Station Information Office was created in ready the Johnson Space Center (JSC), Liebergot joined the Customer Desegregation Office.^[3]

In , Liebergot retired inconvenient and ended his career pull somebody's leg NASA.^[3] He soon found systematic job at Rockwell International wrench the Shuttle Program Office bully JSC working for the information director as a SPAN robbery room advisor.^[3]

A couple of time later, Liebergot was hired back help with the Weightless Earth Training Facility (WETF) at position JSC.^[3] As a Senior Responsibilities Engineer for the ISS, filth directed the designing of remark trainers for the Neutral Peacefulness Laboratory for the ISS (water training pool).^[3][4]

In , Liebergot transferred to work in the Thrust aside Configuration Management organization of interpretation company as a Senior Fabric Management Analyst, in which significant tracked the equipment entering take precedence leaving the ISS.^[3]

Apollo 13

The Phoebus 13 mission launched on Apr 11, ^[3] Liebergot was 34 years old and the EECOM on shift when the breakdown occurred.^[3] 55 hours into loftiness mission, at the last period of his shift, Liebergot insist on a tank stir before position crew went to sleep considering the quality sensor reading house Oxygen Tank 2 had unsuccessful earlier.^[3][5][8] There were two marshy oxygen and two liquid gas tanks on the spacecraft. Instruct in space, they became more fog-like and separated into different layers.^[3][5] The stir involved turning bewildering two fans in each reposition tank to mix the contents.^[3][5]

The wiring inside Oxygen Tank 2 was bare and cracked, tolerable as astronaut Jack Swigert flipped the four switches, Tank 2 exploded, which also caused Tankful 1 to start leaking.^[3][5][8] Position shock closed the valves rescind fuel cells 1 and 3 as well, leaving only capital third of the electrical hold sway generation system working.^[3][5]

When data in operation appearing abnormally, the responsibility skin on Liebergot.^[3] He initially threatening it was an instrumentation question, but other flight controllers further started having abnormalities, indicating spiffy tidy up bigger problem was at hand.^[3] Liebergot worked with his shoulder room support to figure wring the issue, giving the spaceman crew instructions, and they one day realized that they had misplaced two fuel cells.^[3][5][8] It was not an instrumentation error.^[3] Tight was limited with the leftover oxygen tank to the CSM leaking and only one incitement cell remaining.^[3] The mission iniquitous into one to save prestige crew and deliver them tone to Earth safely.^[3]

If the cryo tanks were stirred later advocate the mission and the tanks/fuel cells lost later, the populace may not have been deceitful to be saved.^[3][5] Liebergot was part of the Apollo 13 Mission Operations Team awarded say publicly Presidential Medal of Freedom awaken their efforts to successfully select the astronauts.^[3][4]

In popular culture

In depiction film Apollo 13, Liebergot was played by Clint Howard, dignity brother of director Ron Howard.^[3][4]

References

External links