Changemakers

The Apollo program was made possible by many contractors and government agencies throughout the United States. There were significant concentrations of effort in many regions, one of which was Western New York between Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and Rochester. Steering of all three stages of the Saturn V was provided by Moog thrust vector actuation. Contributions by Bell Aerosystems were especially notable, from the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle that gave the astronauts the training required to land on the Moon to the Lunar Module ascent engine that returned them to orbit afterwards. The ascent engine was one of the most critical items in the entire Apollo stack as it had to work – there was no backup. Once back in Lunar orbit the astronauts knew they could rendezvous and dock with the Command Module because it was proven during Project Gemini with the Gemini Agena Target Vehicle powered by Bell primary and secondary propulsion systems.

- Space race beginning with Sputnik
- JFK speech committing US to put a man on the moon before the decade is out
- Description of Saturn V stack and how it was employed for a lunar mission
- Apollo 1 fire
- Moog thrust vector control contributions to Apollo 7 and 8
- Bell Agena contributions to rendezvous and docking on Apollo 9 and 10 and Project Gemini
- Bell Lunar Landing Research and Training Vehicle contribution to Apollo 11
- Bell Lunar Module Ascent Engine contribution to Apollo 11
- Other Western New York contributions to the Apollo program.

About Walter Gordon
Walter Gordon, MS '93, BS '80, worked as an engineer in Western New York from 1979 to 2020 at four different aerospace firms, retiring recently as a business development manager in the Moog Space and Defense Group. He is also retired from a parallel 30-year career in the Air Force Reserve, serving as commander of the 328th Airlift Squadron and 914th Airlift Wing in Niagara Falls, New York. Colonel Gordon is a veteran of Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom and has over 2,000 hours flying time in the C-130.

Walter has a long-time interest in aerospace and aerospace history, joining AIAA at age 17 and currently serving as chairman of the Niagara Frontier Section and deputy chair of the History Committee. He is also the chairman of the Niagara Frontier Aviation and Space Hall of Fame nominating committee and a past president of the Niagara Aerospace Museum and Aero Club of Buffalo. He has B.S. and M.S. degrees in Aerospace Engineering from the University at Buffalo and an M.S. in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Air Force Air War College.