Eugene Kranz
Farthest Reaches is thrilled to be
handling dozens of exciting artifacts from the personal
collection of Flight Controller and Flight Director,
Eugene F. Kranz. Gene is also the author of the best selling autobiography “Failure
Is Not An Option”
As a NASA Flight Director Gene served as successor to
NASA founding Flight Director Chris Kraft, during the
Gemini and Apollo programs, and is best known for his
role in directing the successful Mission Control team
efforts to save the crew of Apollo 13, which later
became the subject story of a major motion picture of
the same name. Gene was played by actor Ed Harris.
He is also noted for his trademark close-cut flattop
hairstyle, and the wearing of dapper white "mission"
vests (waistcoats), of different styles and materials
made by his wife, Marta Kranz, during missions for which
he acted as Flight Director. Eugene Kranz is a
prominent and colorful figure in the history of U.S.
manned space exploration, the embodiment of "NASA
tough-and-competent" of the Kranz Dictum. Kranz has been
the subject of movies, documentary films, and books and
periodical articles. Kranz is a recipient of a
Presidential Medal of Freedom. In a 2010 Space
Foundation survey, Kranz was ranked as the #2 most
popular space hero.
Please note that Eugene Kranz's proceeds from the
sale of his personal artifacts and memoribilia are
donated to the Shrine of the True Cross, Dickinson,
Texas.
Gerry Griffin
Farthest Reaches is honored to be working with
former NASA Flight Director Gerry Griffin. Gerry first
joined NASA in 1964 as a Project Gemini Flight
Controller, specializing in guidance and navigation
systems. In 1968 he became a Flight Director and served
in that role for Apollo 7 through Apollo 17. Gerry
led his "Gold Team" of flight controllers as they played
an important role in the resolution of
the Apollo
13 crisis. For those extraordinary
efforts he was awarded the prestigious Presidential
Medal of Freedom as a member of the Apollo 13
Mission Operations Team. From August 1982 until January 1986, Griffin served as
Director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
Griffin provided his expertise as a technical
adviser for the films Apollo
13, Contact (also
in front of the camera portraying a mission
controller), Deep
Impact (in front of the camera again as a
flight controller) and Apollo
18. In the HBO mini series From
the Earth to the Moon, he was portrayed by actor
David Clyde Carr.
After retiring from NASA Gerry assumed the role
of senior executive in the private sector with several
companies and organizations. Today Gerry is a technical
and management consultant for a broad range of clients.
He is an active general aviation pilot/aircraft owner
with a commercial license and instrument rating for
single engine aircraft, multi-engine aircraft and
helicopters.
Sy Liebergot
Farthest Reaches is most pleased to offer artifacts
for sale, from the personal collection of Apollo 13
EECOM Sy Liebergot. Sy was the Lead EECOM Flight
Controller for Apollo missions 12 - 15 and an EGIL
(Skylab EECOM) for all of the Skylab program missions.
On the international scene, Sy was the Lead EECOM for
the American-Russian Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP)
mission.
As EECOM in Mission Control during Apollo 13, Sy was
at the focal point of the crisis when the spacecraft
oxygen tank exploded. He has advised and contributed to
several books concerning Apollo 13 including the movie, Apollo 13.
