About Robert R. Gilruth
Robert Rowe Gilruth was an American aerospace engineer and an aviation/space pioneer who was the first director of NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center, later renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. Robert Rowe Gilruth (October 8, 1913 – August 17, 2000) was an American aerospace engineer and an aviation/space pioneer who was the first director of NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center, later renamed the Lyndon B. Gilruth also pioneered the recording of data from instruments during flight test, to be later correlated with the pilot's experience. When NASA was created, Gilruth became head of the Space Task Group, tasked with putting a man in space before the Soviet Union. In 1962, he was awarded the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service by President John F.
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