 KEYNOTE
Wednesday, April 8
Gerald D. “Gerry” Griffin is the former Director of the NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston. He also served as the Deputy Director of the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida and the Hugh F. Dryden Flight Research Center in California.
During NASA’s Apollo Program, Griffin was a flight director in Mission Control and served in this capacity for all the Apollo manned missions. He was Lead Flight Director for three lunar landing missions: Apollo’s 12, 15 and 17. During the flight of Apollo 13, Griffin was scheduled to lead the lunar landing team in Mission Control. When the landing wascanceled as a result of the oxygen tank explosion, he led one of the teams of flight controllers who were responsible for the safe return of the astronauts. This real-life experience led to Griffin being a technical advisor for the movie “Apollo 13” (Universal). Later, he was a technical advisor for and an actor in “Contact” (Warner Brothers) and “Deep Impact,” (Dreamworks/SKG). Griffin is a member of the Screen Actors Guild.
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