Joseph Francis Shea
After receiving his doctorate, Shea took a position at Bell Labs in Whippany, New Jersey. There he first worked as systems engineer on the hybrid radio-inertial guidance system of the Titan I intercontinental ballistic missile. He then became the development and program manager on the inertial guidance system of the Titan II ICBM. Shea's specialty was systems engineering, a new type of engineering developed in the 1950s. It focused on the management and integration of large-scale projects. This approach turned the work of engineers and contractors into one functioning whole. He played a significant role in the Titan I project. George Mueller wrote that Shea contributed considerable engineering innovation and project management skill. He was directly responsible for the successful development of this pioneering guidance system. During critical days of the Titan project, Shea moved into the plant. He slept on a cot in his office so as to be available at all hours if needed. Having brought in the project on time and on budget, Shea established a reputation in the aerospace community. In 1961, he accepted a position with Space Technology Laboratories where he continued working on ballistic missile systems.
When Shea was hired by NASA, President John F. Kennedy's commitment to landing men on the Moon was still only seven months old. Many major decisions shaping the Apollo program were yet to be made. Foremost among these was the mode NASA would use to land on the Moon. When Shea first began to consider the issue in 1962, most NASA engineers favored direct ascent or Earth orbit rendezvous. Wernher von Braun directed the Marshall Space Flight Center and supported those approaches. However, dissenters like John Houbolt favored lunar orbit rendezvous. This approach used two spacecraft. A command service module remained in orbit around the Moon while a lunar module landed and returned to dock. In November 1961, John Houbolt sent a paper advocating lunar orbit rendezvous to Robert Seamans. Seamans gave a copy of Houbolt's letter to Brainerd Holmes. Holmes put the letter on Shea's desk and said figure it out. Shea became involved in the decision as a result of this letter. He traveled to NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. There he met with John Houbolt and the Space Task Group. He became convinced LOR was an option worth considering. NASA announced its decision at a press conference on the 11th of July 1962.
In October 1963, Shea became the new manager of the Apollo Spacecraft Program Office in Houston. Although technically a demotion, this position gave him responsibility for managing design and construction. Of particular concern to Shea was the performance of North American Aviation. He later recounted that their first program manager was a first-class jerk. They had no discipline or concept of change control. It was Shea's responsibility to bring engineering discipline to North American and NASA management. Any change to the design of the Apollo spacecraft required final approval from Shea himself. He kept control using a looseleaf notebook over one hundred pages long. This notebook summarized important developments each week. Presented with the notebook on Thursday evenings, Shea studied and annotated it over the weekend. His relationship with engineers at North American was difficult. Project leader Harrison Storms felt NASA itself was far from blameless. It delayed making key design decisions. The friction between Shea and Marshall continued after he moved to his new position. Von Braun's philosophy differed from Shea's approach. Von Braun took a consensual rather than top-down approach. As one historian recounts, von Braun felt Shea had bitten off too much work. He believed Shea would wreck the centers engineering capabilities.
On the 25th of January 1967, the Apollo 1 crew began countdown tests in the spacecraft on the pad at Cape Kennedy. A plugs-out spacecraft test simulating launch occurred on January 27. While Shea was in Florida for the beginning of the test, he decided to leave before it concluded. He arrived back at his office in Houston at about 5:30 p.m. CST. At 5:31 p.m. CST a massive fire broke out in the Apollo command module. Unable to escape, three astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee were killed. Immediately after the fire, Shea and colleagues boarded a NASA plane to the Kennedy Space Center. They landed at about 1:00 a.m., only five hours after the fire. Shea helped determine individuals who would be on the review board. He persuaded George Mueller to allow him to act as deputy in Florida supervising progress. Named to the advisory group, Shea threw himself into the investigation working eighty-hour weeks. Although the precise source of ignition was never found, an electrical short started the fire. Shea remained haunted by the feeling that he personally was responsible for the deaths. For years after the fire, he displayed the portrait given to him by the Apollo 1 crew in the front hallway of his own home.
The pressure of the investigation took a psychological toll on Shea. He had trouble sleeping and began resorting to barbiturates and alcohol. A few weeks after the fire, colleagues noticed he was behaving erratically. Chris Kraft recalled Shea getting up calmly with a report before rambling and becoming incoherent. NASA administrator James Webb became increasingly worried about Shea's mental state. In March, Webb sent Robert Seamans and Charles Berry to speak with Shea. They asked him to take an extended voluntary leave of absence. Shea refused, threatening to resign rather than take leave. On April 7, it was announced Shea would be transferred to NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. He was replaced as chief of the Apollo Spacecraft Program Office by George Low. Once in the job, he grew dissatisfied with a posting he considered a non-job. Only six months after being fired, Shea left NASA to become vice president at Polaroid Corporation in Waltham, Massachusetts. He was never called to testify before the congressional inquiry into the fire.
In 1968, Shea took a position at Raytheon in Lexington, Massachusetts. He remained with the company until retirement in 1990. He served as senior vice president for Engineering from 1981 through 1990. After leaving Raytheon, Shea became adjunct professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT. In February 1993, NASA administrator Daniel Goldin appointed Shea to chairmanship of technical review board for International Space Station redesign. However, Shea was hospitalized shortly after appointment. By April he attended a meeting where design team presented preliminary results. The Washington Post reported his presentation was rambling and sometimes barely audible. On the day following the meeting, Shea offered resignation becoming special advisor to Goldin. Shea died on the 14th of February 1999, at his home in Weston, Massachusetts. He was survived by wife Carol, six daughters, and one son.
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Common questions
When was Joseph Francis Shea born and where did he grow up?
Joseph Francis Shea was born on the 5th of September, 1925, in the Bronx borough of New York City. He grew up as the eldest son in a working-class Irish Catholic family.
What role did Joseph Francis Shea play in selecting the lunar orbit rendezvous method for Apollo?
Joseph Francis Shea became convinced that lunar orbit rendezvous was an option worth considering after meeting with John Houbolt at NASA's Langley Research Center. NASA announced its decision to use this approach at a press conference on the 11th of July 1962.
How did Joseph Francis Shea manage the Apollo Spacecraft Program Office starting in October 1963?
Joseph Francis Shea managed design and construction using a looseleaf notebook over one hundred pages long to summarize important developments each week. He required final approval from himself for any change to the design of the Apollo spacecraft.
Why did Joseph Francis Shea leave his position as chief of the Apollo Spacecraft Program Office in April 1967?
The pressure of the investigation into the Apollo 1 fire took a psychological toll on Joseph Francis Shea causing him to behave erratically. NASA administrator James Webb sent Robert Seamans and Charles Berry to speak with Shea and asked him to take an extended voluntary leave of absence which led to his transfer on the 7th of April 1967.
When did Joseph Francis Shea die and who survived him?
Joseph Francis Shea died on the 14th of February 1999, at his home in Weston, Massachusetts. He was survived by wife Carol, six daughters, and one son.