Milt Windler, NASA flight director who helped save Apollo 13, dies at 94

RIGHT I NEED THIRTY SECONDS OF YOUR LIFE BECAUSE FIRST BACK IN THE SIXTIES MILT WINDLER WORKED RECOVERY ON MERCURY AND GEMINI AND THEN IN NINETEEN SIXTY-EIGHT HE BECAME A NASA FLIGHT DIRECTOR LEADING MAROON FLIGHT AND ON APOLLO EIGHT HE WAS AT THE CONSOLE SENDING HUMANS BEYOND EARTH ORBIT FOR THE FIRST TIME AND HE EVEN HAD SECRET FLANNEL NUMBER ONE FLAGS MADE WITH HIS WIFE TO TAUNT SOVIET ADVERSARIES BUT THEY DECIDED NOT TO USE THEM BECAUSE THE MISSION WAS ONLY HALF OVER WHICH IS WILD BECAUSE THEN ON APOLLO THIRTEEN HE WAS LEAD FLIGHT DIRECTOR WHEN AN EXPLOSION TORE THROUGH THE SERVICE MODULE AND VENTED THEIR OXYGEN AND THE THING IS HE ALSO DIRECTED SHIFTS FOR APOLLO TEN TWELVE FOURTEEN FIFTEEN AND ALL THREE SKYLAB MISSIONS. HE DIED ON THURSDAY SURROUNDED BY HIS FAMILY AT NINETY-FOUR.

SO APPARENTLY, AND I AM STILL PROCESSING THIS BRIEF ONLINE NOTICE ANNOUNCING THAT NASA FLIGHT DIRECTOR MILT WINDLER DIED ON THURSDAY SURROUNDED BY HIS FAMILY AT NINETY-FOUR, AND THE THING IS HE STARTED OUT ON RECOVERY OPERATIONS FOR MERCURY AND GEMINI BEFORE BECOMING MAROON FLIGHT IN NINETEEN SIXTY-EIGHT, AND ON APOLLO EIGHT HE RAN THE CONSOLE FOR TRANS-LUNAR INJECTION TO SEND HUMANS PAST EARTH ORBIT FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME, WHICH IS WILD BECAUSE HE AND HIS WIFE BETTY EVEN HAD FLANNEL NUMBER ONE BANNERS READY FOR THE SOVIET ADVERSARIES BUT PULLED THEM BECAUSE CELEBRATING MID-MISSION WAS INAPPROPRIATE, SO THEN HE WAS LEAD DIRECTOR FOR APOLLO THIRTEEN WHEN AN EXPLOSION VENTED OXYGEN, AND HE LATER DIRECTED ALL THREE CREWED SKYLAB MISSIONS. HE PASSED AWAY AT AGE NINETY-FOUR.

Milt Windler, a former NASA flight director who guided key Apollo missions including Apollo 8 and the crippled Apollo 13, has died at age 94.

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