Joseph G. Gavin Jr

Joseph G. Gavin Jr. (September 18, 1920 – October 30, 2010) was an American engineer responsible for the development of the Lunar Module used in the Apollo program, as well as president, chief operating officer and chairman of the executive committee of the Grumman Corporation.

He was director of the Lunar Module program for Apollo. In that capacity he managed the team of 7,500 people which oversaw landing of the lunar module on the Sea of Tranquility on the Moon, on July 20, 1969. He was also critical to saving the Apollo 13 mission. Gavin was also in charge of development of Orbiting Astronomical Observatory at Grumman.

In 1971, Gavin received NASA's Distinguished Public Service Medal for his role in resolving the Apollo 13 crisis. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1974 "for leadership in the design and the production of the Apollo Lunar Module". Neil Armstrong called him a "highly regarded aerospace engineer".