Tecwyn Roberts (10 October 1925 – 27 December 1988) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

spaceflight Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly spacecraft into or through outer space, either with or without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly with spacecraft such as satellites in o ...

engineer who in the 1960s played important roles in designing the Mission Control Center at

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...

Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

, Texas and creating NASA's worldwide tracking and communications network. Roberts served as NASA's first

Flight Dynamics Officer Flight controllers are personnel who aid space flight by working in such Mission Control Centers as NASA's Mission Control Center or ESA's European Space Operations Centre. Flight controllers work at computer consoles and use telemetry t ...

with

Project Mercury Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet U ...

that put the first American into space. He later joined NASA's

Goddard Space Flight Center The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC emp ...

where he served as Director and Manager of the Goddard Space Flight Center's global tracking and communications system supporting NASA's manned and unmanned low earth orbiting flight programs."Tecwyn Roberts."
''llanddaniel.co.uk.'' Retrieved: 5 May 2011.

Early years

Roberts, alternately nicknamed "Tec" and "Tex", was born 10 October 1925 in Liverpool to William and Grace Roberts, from Anglesey. He lost his father c. 1936 and he moved with his mother to live with her parents i
Rhos-y-bol
Anglesey. His name appears in the school log-book several times during 1936 and 1937 as he and his mother moved back and forth between Rhos-y-bol and Liverpool. While at Liverpool he attended Girton House School, Shiel Rd. The family settled on Anglesey and the records show that he successfully sat his Scholarship Exam in Ysgol Parc y Bont,

Llanddaniel Fab Llanddaniel Fab (or Llanddaniel-fab) is a village and community in Anglesey, Wales. At the 2001 census it had a population of 699, increasing to 776 at the 2011 census. It is near the prehistoric monument of Bryn Celli Ddu which was constructe ...

in July 1938. At the time he lived with his mother and step-father at Trefnant Bach cottage. He continued his studies at the Beaumaris Grammar School, from which he graduated in 1942."Roberts’ early years in Llanddaniel."
''llanddaniel.co.uk.'' Retrieved: 5 May 2011. After leaving Beaumaris Grammar School, he began an engineering apprenticeship with the aero- and marine-engineering company

Saunders-Roe Saunders-Roe Limited, also known as Saro, was a British aero- and marine-engineering company based at Columbine Works, East Cowes, Isle of Wight. History The name was adopted in 1929 after Alliott Verdon Roe (see Avro) and John Lord took ...

at Fryars Bay,

Llanfaes Llanfaes (formerly also known as Llanmaes) is a small village on the island of Anglesey, Wales, located on the shore of the eastern entrance to the Menai Strait, the tidal waterway separating Anglesey from the north Wales coast. Its natural har ...

, Anglesey, some eight miles from Llanddaniel Fab."Roberts’ Engineering Apprenticeship with Saunders-Roe."
''llanddaniel.co.uk.'' Retrieved: 5 May 2011. He is known to have returned to Anglesey at least once in July 1970.

Aerospace career

United Kingdom

After serving briefly in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

(RAF), Roberts was released in 1944 and resumed work with Saunders-Roe at their

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

works, from where he was transferred to the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

in 1946. At that time, he also attended the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

where he obtained a degree in

Aeronautical Engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is sim ...

in 1948 and was awarded the

Institute of Mechanical Engineers The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 120,000 membe ...

Special Award. Whilst working for Saunders-Roe on the Isle of Wight, Roberts met Doris Sprake whom he later married."Roberts’ in Southampton and the Isle."
''llanddaniel.co.uk.'' Retrieved: 5 May 2011.

Canada

In December 1952, Roberts and his wife left England for Canada to take up a position with the

aircraft manufacturing An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

company

Avro Canada Avro Canada was a Canadian aircraft manufacturing company. It was founded in 1945 as an aircraft plant and within 13 years became the third-largest company in Canada, one of the largest 100 companies in the world, and directly employing over 5 ...

near

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

. From 1952 to 1959, he was a member of the engineering team that developed the

CF-105 Arrow The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was a delta-winged interceptor aircraft designed and built by Avro Canada. The CF-105 held the promise of Mach 2 speeds at altitudes exceeding and was intended to serve as the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) pr ...

, a highly advanced

delta-wing A delta wing is a wing shaped in the form of a triangle. It is named for its similarity in shape to the Greek uppercase letter delta (Δ). Although long studied, it did not find significant applications until the Jet Age, when it proved suitab ...

interceptor aircraft An interceptor aircraft, or simply interceptor, is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically for the defensive interception role against an attacking enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Aircraft that are ...

."Roberts’ with Avro Canada."
''llanddaniel.co.uk.'' Retrieved: 5 May 2011. When the Avro Arrow project was suddenly cancelled by the Canadian government on 20 February 1959, many Avro Canada engineers including Roberts followed the lead of

Jim Chamberlin James Arthur Chamberlin (May 23, 1915 – March 8, 1981) was a Canadian engineer who contributed to the design of the Canadian Avro Arrow, NASA's Gemini spacecraft and the Apollo program. In addition to his pioneering air and space efforts, h ...

and moved to the United States to join

Space Task Group The Space Task Group was a working group of NASA engineers created in 1958, tasked with managing America's human spaceflight programs. Headed by Robert Gilruth and based at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, it managed Project Me ...

Langley Research Center The Langley Research Center (LaRC or NASA Langley), located in Hampton, Virginia, United States of America, is the oldest of NASA's field centers. It directly borders Langley Air Force Base and the Back River on the Chesapeake Bay. LaRC has f ...

Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the 7th most populous city in Virginia and 204th most populous city in the nation. Hampton ...

United States

Langley Research Center

Created in November 1958, the

under the leadership of

Robert Gilruth Robert Rowe Gilruth (October 8, 1913 – August 17, 2000) was an American aerospace engineer and an aviation/space pioneer who was the first director of NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center, later renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. He worked ...

was tasked with superintending America's human spaceflight program,

, having been given the responsibility of placing a human in orbit around the Earth. Of its original 37 engineers, 27 were from

and 10 had been assigned from Lewis Research Center in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

, Ohio. In 1959, Gilruth's group was greatly expanded by the addition of the engineers from Canada who had been left without jobs when the Avro Arrow project was cancelled."Roberts in America's Space Task Group."
''llanddaniel.co.uk.'' Retrieved: 5 May 2011. Roberts joined NASA in April 1959, one of a group of 25 engineers and technicians hired from Avro Canada by NASA. He was involved immediately in formulating the requirements for the tracking and communications network, and the Mercury Mission Control Center to provide the flight control of the missions.

Mission Control Centers

In 1960,"Roberts interview."
''llanddaniel.co.uk.'' Retrieved: 5 May 2011. Roberts became NASA's first

Kranz 2000, p. 17. at the Mercury Control Center,"Mercury."
''llanddaniel.co.uk.'' Retrieved: 5 May 2011. where his tasks centered on controlling the

trajectory A trajectory or flight path is the path that an object with mass in motion follows through space as a function of time. In classical mechanics, a trajectory is defined by Hamiltonian mechanics via canonical coordinates; hence, a complete ...

of the spacecraft and planning adjustments to it. Roberts may have popularised the use of the phrase "A-OK", making those three letters a universal symbol meaning "in perfect working order." The first documented use of the English language phrase "A-OK" is contained within a ''memo from Tecwyn Roberts, Flight Dynamics Officer, to Flight Director (entitled "Report on Test 3805", dated 2 February 1961) in penciled notes on the countdown of MR-2, dated 31 January 1961''.“A OK”
''llanddaniel.co.uk.'' Retrieved: 5 May 2011.

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

Lt. Col. John "Shorty" Powers popularised the expression while

's public affairs officer for Project Mercury."Calm Voice from Space."
''Time'', 2 March 1962. Retrieved 5 May 2011. In 1962, Roberts was appointed head of the Mission Control Center Requirements Branch, as which he played a key role in the design and further development of the Mercury Control Center at

Cape Kennedy , image = cape canaveral.jpg , image_size = 300 , caption = View of Cape Canaveral from space in 1991 , map = Florida#USA , map_width = 300 , type =Cape , map_caption = Location in Florida , location ...

and also at the subsequent Mission Control Center at the Manned Spacecraft Center (later

) in

, Texas, where NASA's manned spaceflight program had been transferred in 1961. NASA's concept of Mission Control had previously been developed under the leadership of Christopher C. Kraft. When Roberts assumed his new position,

Glynn Lunney Glynn Stephen Lunney (November 27, 1936 – March 19, 2021) was an American NASA engineer. An employee of NASA since its creation in 1958, Lunney was a flight director during the Gemini and Apollo programs, and was on duty during historic even ...

succeeded him as Flight Dynamics Officer. As head of the Mission Control Center Requirements Branch, he was assigned responsibilities for determination, coordination and implementation of all design requirements for the construction of the new Mission Control Center in Houston. For his accomplishments in that area, Roberts received the NASA Outstanding Achievement Award. On 21 May 1962, Roberts was appointed head of Manned Flight Division at the

Greenbelt, Maryland Greenbelt is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and a suburb of Washington, D.C. At the 2020 census, the population was 24,921. Greenbelt is the first and the largest of the three experimental and controversial New De ...

. At that time, Roberts and his wife also resided in Maryland. Their only child, Michael (born about 1960), attended Spalding High School in

Severn, Maryland Severn is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population of Severn is 57,118, a 22.6% increase from 44,231 according to the 2010 census. The zip code is 21144. Geogra ...

Goddard Space Flight Center

In July 1964, Roberts became Technical Assistant to the Deputy Assistant Director of Tracking and Data systems at Goddard Space Flight Center, and chief of the Manned Flight Engineering Division. This put Roberts in charge of NASA's

Manned Space Flight Network The Manned Space Flight Network (abbreviated MSFN, pronounced "''misfin''") was a set of tracking stations built to support the American Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab space programs. There were two other NASA space communication networks a ...

, a set of

tracking station A ground station, Earth station, or Earth terminal is a terrestrial radio station designed for extraplanetary telecommunication with spacecraft (constituting part of the ground segment of the spacecraft system), or reception of radio waves fro ...

s built to support the American space efforts of Mercury, Gemini,

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

and

Skylab Skylab was the first United States space station, launched by NASA, occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. It was operated by three separate three-astronaut crews: Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and Skylab 4. Major operation ...

. There were two other space communication networks at this time, the

Spacecraft Tracking and Data Acquisition Network The Spacecraft Tracking and Data (Acquisition) Network (STADAN or STDN) was established by NASA in the early 1960s to satisfy the requirement for long-duration, highly available space-to-ground communications. The network was the “follow-on” ...

(STADAN) for tracking unmanned satellites in low Earth orbit, and the

Deep Space Network The NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) is a worldwide network of American spacecraft communication ground segment facilities, located in the United States (California), Spain (Madrid), and Australia (Canberra), that supports NASA's interplanetar ...

(DSN) for tracking more distant unmanned missions. Tec award

Also in summer 1964, he was honoured by Gilruth with the NASA Special Service Award for his contribution to the manned space flight program in the area of flight operations. The award was primarily for his determining the technical requirements of the Manned Spaceflight Control Center."Roberts at the Manned Flight Support Division."
''llanddaniel.co.uk.'' Retrieved: 5 May 2011. Apollo Road in Tennent, ACT

Roberts became chief of the Manned Flight Support Division at the Goddard Space Flight Center during the Apollo program in 1965. To support the Apollo program, Goddard commissioned three antennas that would be equally spaced around the world. These were in Madrid (Spain), Goldstone in California (USA) and at

Honeysuckle Creek Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station (Honeysuckle Creek) was a NASA Earth station in Australia near Canberra, and was instrumental to the Apollo Program. The station was opened in 1967 and closed in 1981. History Honeysuckle Creek – with a ...

in Australia. Roberts was present when the

Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station (Honeysuckle Creek) was a NASA Earth station in Australia near Canberra, and was instrumental to the Apollo Program. The station was opened in 1967 and closed in 1981. History Honeysuckle Creek – with a ...

was opened by Australian Prime Minister

Harold Holt Harold Edward Holt (5 August 190817 December 1967) was an Australian politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Australia from 1966 until his presumed death in 1967. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party. Holt was born in ...

on 17 March 1967."Roberts at the Opening of Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station."
''llanddaniel.co.uk.'' Retrieved: 5 May 2011. Later in 1967, Roberts became Chief of the Network Engineering Division, which he headed during the first landing on the moon. In 1969, he 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, aer ...

for his work in support of the

Apollo 8 Apollo 8 (December 21–27, 1968) was the first crewed spacecraft to leave low Earth orbit and the first human spaceflight to reach the Moon. The crew orbited the Moon ten times without landing, and then departed safely back to Earth. The ...

flight. In 1972, Roberts became Director of Networks at the Goddard Space Flight Center, a position he still held by the time of the

Apollo–Soyuz Test Project Apollo–Soyuz was the first crewed international space mission, carried out jointly by the United States and the Soviet Union in July 1975. Millions of people around the world watched on television as a United States Apollo spacecraft docked ...

in July 1975. His chief responsibility in this role was to ensure that contact was maintained between the orbiting US and Soviet spacecraft. This was to be his last direct involvement with NASA's manned space flights. In 1976, Roberts and Robert S. Cooper, the Director of the Goddard Space Flight Center, were elected Fellows of the

American Astronautical Society Formed in 1954, the American Astronautical Society (AAS) is an independent scientific and technical group in the United States dedicated to the advancement of space science and space exploration. AAS supports NASA's Vision for Space Explorati ...

."Roberts at the Network Engineering Division."
''llanddaniel.co.uk.'' Retrieved: 5 May 2011.

Retirement and death

In 1979, Roberts retired as Director of Networks at Goddard and from NASA and became a consultant to the Bendix Field Engineering Corporation. On 26 November 1984, the Goddard Space Center honoured a group of 34 individuals including Roberts with the Robert H. Goddard Award of Merit, the highest level of recognition the Goddard Space Center can bestow on its employees.
''llanddaniel.co.uk.'' Retrieved: 5 May 2011. Four years later, Tecwyn Roberts died on 27 December 1988, aged 63 years. He was buried at St. Stephens Episcopal Cemetery,

Crownsville, Maryland Crownsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,757 at the 2010 census. It hosts the Anne Arundel County Fair each September, as well as the annual Maryland Renaissance Festival ...

. Inscribed upon his gravestone is "Tecwyn Roberts, Husband of Doris & father of Michael"."Tecwyn Roberts dies."
''llanddaniel.co.uk.'' Retrieved: 5 May 2011.

Awards and citations

* 1964 NASA Exceptional Service Award * 1967 NASA Outstanding Achievement Award * 1969

* 1976 Fellow of the American Astronautical Society * 1980 NASA Distinguished Service Award * 1984 Robert H. Goddard Award of Merit

References

;Notes ;Citations ;Bibliography * Gainor, Chris. ''Arrows to the Moon: Avro's Engineers and the Space Race.'' Burlington, Ontario: Apogee Books, 2001, . * Kranz, Gene. ''Failure is not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13.'' New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000. . * Stewart, Greig. ''Shutting Down the National Dream: A.V. Roe and the Tragedy of the Avro Arrow.'' Toronto: McGraw-Hill-Ryerson, 1991. . * Tsiao, Sunny. ''Read You Loud and Clear: The Story of NASA's Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network: The Story of NASA's Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network.'' Washington, DC: NASA & Government Printing Office, 2008. . * Whitcomb, Randall. ''Avro Aircraft and Cold War Aviation.'' St. Catharine's, Ontario: Vanwell, 2002. . * Zuk, Bill. ''Avrocar, Canada's Flying Saucer...'' Erin, Ontario: Boston Mills Press, 2001. .

External links

Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Tecwyn Rocket scientists 1925 births 1988 deaths Early spaceflight scientists People educated at Ysgol David Hughes People from Anglesey People from Crownsville, Maryland NASA people Royal Air Force personnel of World War II