About
The Landing and Recovery Division (LRD) was a NASA division-level organization in the Flight Operations Directorate supporting the Gemini and Apollo Programs at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) in 1964 through April, 1972. Prior to NASA establishing the Manned Spacecraft Center at Houston, the Langley Research Center Space Task Group worked Project Mercury recoveries from 1961 through 1963. In November 1963, MSC Director Bob Gilruth reorganized MSC into seven directorates, and within the Flight Operations Directorate headed by Chris Kraft was the Recovery Operations Division headed by Bob Thompson. In early 1964, the division name changed to Landing and Recovery Division (LRD), and by the end of June the division had moved from their temporary Houston office location on the Gulf Freeway into their new onsite MSC Building 30 offices at Clear Lake. Peak staffing for LRD during the Apollo Program was approximately 125 civil service personnel, who were responsible for everything concerning the safe recovery of spacecraft and crew and the interface between NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) for the military support of recoveries.
With the recovery experience of Project Mercury, LRD planned and executed recovery operations for the Gemini Program beginning with the unmanned Gemini-Titan 2 mission in January 1965 through Gemini 12 in November 1966. Based on the Gemini recovery successes, LRD successfully planned and executed recovery operations for the Apollo Program beginning with the unmanned Apollo-Saturn 201 on February 26, 1966, through Apollo 14 in January/February 1971. Subsequent to Apollo 14, LRD was downsized to a branch (Recovery Operations Branch) in April 1972 to support the remaining Apollo missions, and then a section (Mission Planning and
Recovery Section) in 1973 to support Skylab and ASTP recoveries.
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Gemini 9A awaiting recovery by USS Wasp
in Eastern Atlantic Ocean on June 6, 1966
(Photo Credit: NASA S66-34126) |
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Apollo 17 awaiting recovery by USS Ticonderoga
in South Pacific Ocean on December 19, 1972
(Photo Credit: NASA S72-56147) |
Throughout all of the organizational transitions, recovery personnel continued on with core essential recovery assignments and equally successful operations throughout Apollo, Skylab, and ASTP. The successful water recovery operations of the Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and ASTP crews and spacecraft are clear evidence of the dedication and contributions of LRD personnel to the U.S. human spaceflight
program.
Currently, LRD holds an annual reunion event in July the first week of the dates for the Apollo 11 mission (July 16-24).
(A more detailed LRD history may be found at A Brief History of LRD.)
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The LRD website (http://www.landingandrecoverydivision.org) is maintained by C. Mac Jones (NASA-MSC/LRD Vehicle Project Engineer in 1964-71, Retired NASA-Johnson Space Center/Houston in January 2003). Contact him at cmjesq@comcast.net with comments.
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