Guenter Wendt

Engineer

Birthday August 28, 1923

Birth Sign Virgo

Birthplace Germany

DEATH DATE May 3, 2010 (86)

#243,791 Most Popular

About

Engineer who worked for the US manned spaceflight program and was in charge of the launch pads. He supervised spacecraft launch pad preparations at Cape Canaveral during the Mercury and Gemini manned space programs, which began with the flight of Ham the chimpanzee in 1961.

Before Fame

He studied mechanical engineering in Germany before fighting for Nazi Germany during World War II, serving as a flight engineer aboard Luftwaffe night fighters.

Trivia

He received a NASA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009 and he was played by Endre Hules in the 1995 film Apollo 13.

Family Life

He married Herma Riggert who died in 1993 after more than 40 years of marriage.

Associated With

He was given the nickname "Der Führer of Der Launch Pad" by John Glenn.