Albert Joseph Kelley Jr. (27 July 1924 – 8 December 2004) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

officer and guidance systems engineer who worked at

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

from 1960 to 1967, supervising electronics research for the

Apollo program The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the United States human spaceflight program led by NASA, which Moon landing, landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969. Apollo followed Project Mercury that put the first Americans in sp ...

. He later served as the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for International Programs from 1990 to 1993.

Early life and education

Born in the

West Roxbury West Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, bordered by Roslindale and Jamaica Plain to the northeast, the village of Chestnut Hill and the town of Brookline to the north, the city of Newton to the northwest, t ...

neighborhood of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Kelley graduated from

Boston Latin School The Boston Latin School is a Magnet school, magnet Latin schools, Latin Grammar schools, grammar State school, state school in Boston, Massachusetts. It has been in continuous operation since it was established on April 23, 1635. It is the old ...

in 1942. Appointed to the Class of 1946 at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

, he played running back on offense and linebacker on defense for the football team. Kelley completed his B.S. degree in 1945 and became a naval aviator. He studied electronics engineering at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

from 1947 to 1948 and later returned to earn a Doctor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering in 1956. His doctoral thesis was entitled ''Tactical and weapons system requirements for manned supersonic fighter-interceptor aircraft'' and his thesis advisor was Walter Wrigley, who later served as a doctoral advisor for astronauts Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and

Edgar Mitchell Edgar Dean "Ed" Mitchell (September 17, 1930 – February 4, 2016) was a United States Navy officer and United States Naval Aviator, aviator, test pilot, Aerospace engineering, aeronautical engineer, Ufology, ufologist, and NASA astronaut. ...

Career

Kelley flew carrier-based aircraft from 1945 to 1947 during the military occupation of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and again during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, earning the

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establi ...

. Between these deployments, he was assigned to the aviation test center at

Naval Air Station Patuxent River Naval Air Station Patuxent River , also known as NAS Pax River, is a United States naval air station in St. Mary’s County, Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patuxent River. It is home to Headquarters, Naval Air Systems Comm ...

. After his Korean War combat experience, Kelley transferred from naval aviation to aeronautical engineering. Upon completing his doctorate, he was assigned to the Navy Bureau of Weapons where he worked on the design of high-performance aircraft and missile systems. Kelley was promoted to lieutenant commander effective 1 April 1957. In 1960, Kelley was assigned to active detached duty with NASA. He became director of electronics and control at the NASA Office of Advanced Research and Technology and then served as deputy director of the NASA

Electronics Research Center The Electronics Research Center (ERC) was a NASA research facility located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, established in 1964 to serve the agency's need for internal expertise in electronics. It also administered contracts, grants, and other NASA ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

from 1964 to 1967. He was promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

effective 1 July 1961. Kelley retired from the Navy in 1965. From 1967 to 1977, Kelley served as Dean of the Boston College School of Management. From 1977 to 1988, he served as senior vice president for management at Arthur D. Little Inc. From 1988 to 1990, Kelley was a senior vice president at the

United Technologies Corporation United Technologies Corporation (UTC) was an American multinational corporation, multinational list of conglomerates, conglomerate headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut. It researched, developed, and manufactured products in numerous are ...

. During the

George H. W. Bush administration George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

, Kelley served as a Deputy Under Secretary of Defense from 1990 to 1993.

Awards

Kelley was elected to the Boston Latin School Athletics Hall of Fame. He later received the

NASA Exceptional Service Medal The NASA Exceptional Service Medal is an award granted to U.S. government employees for significant sustained performance characterized by unusual initiative or creative ability that clearly demonstrates substantial improvement in engineering, a ...

. Kelley was a Fellow of the

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an American 501(c)(3) public charity professional organization for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and other related disciplines. The IEEE has a corporate office ...

Personal

Kelley had two sisters and a younger brother, General

Paul X. Kelley Paul Xavier Kelley (November 11, 1928December 29, 2019) was a United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 28th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps from July 1, 1983, to June 30, 1987. Kelley served 37 years active du ...

, who served as commandant of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

. Kelley was married to Virginia M. Riley. They had three sons. After having lived in

Reston, Virginia Reston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, and a principal city of both Northern Virginia and the Washington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Reston's population was 63,226. Founded in 1964, Rest ...

, Kelley died from pneumonia in Arlington, Virginia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelley, Albert Joseph 1924 births 2004 deaths Engineers from Boston Boston Latin School alumni United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy officers United States Naval Aviators MIT School of Engineering alumni United States Navy personnel of the Korean War Recipients of the Air Medal NASA people Recipients of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal Boston College faculty Fellows of the IEEE United States Department of Defense officials George H. W. Bush administration personnel People from Reston, Virginia Deaths from pneumonia in Virginia