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\u201cWe had to come up with a system that would allow us to plan in real time and accommodate the science people. If something interesting happened on the sun, which it did several times, then we needed to be able to schedule the ATM [Apollo Telescope Mount] work,\u201d he said in 2006.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe invented a way of flight planning in real time, or cycles,\u201d said Windler, where one day the science people talked about what they wanted to do, and the \u2018Science Czar\u2019 got with them and said, \u2018All right, then, we need these particular objectives for tomorrow.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
After the Skylab missions ended, Windler went to work on the space shuttle and the development of the remote manipulator system or \u201cCanadarm,\u201d the winged orbiters\u2019 robotic arm contributed to the program by Canada. He then retired from NASA and joined private industry to work on what would become the International Space Station, consulting on the operations aspect of the orbiting laboratory, and later, as modules were produced, on some of the verification procedures.<\/p>\n
Born on Jan. 10, 1932 in Hampton, Virginia, Milton Windler graduated from Virginia Tech (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University) in 1954 with a degree in aeronautical engineering. He joined the U.S. Air Force\u2019s Reserve Officers\u2019 Training Corps (ROTC) while still in school and then worked for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), NASA\u2019s predecessor, before serving in the Air Force for four years.<\/p>\n
Windler rejoined NACA at Langley Research Center in Virginia and was there for its transition to becoming a NASA facility. He relocated to Houston, Texas, just as the Manned Spacecraft Center (today, Johnson Space Center) was being established.<\/p>\n
Milt Windler stands with fellow flight directors Glynn Lunney, Gene Kranz and Gerry Griffin for President Richard Nixon\u2019s presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to NASA\u2019s Apollo 13 mission operations team on April 18, 1970.<\/p>\n
\n Credit:
\n NASA\n <\/p>\n
\n Milt Windler stands with fellow flight directors Glynn Lunney, Gene Kranz and Gerry Griffin for President Richard Nixon\u2019s presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to NASA\u2019s Apollo 13 mission operations team on April 18, 1970.<\/p>\n
NASA<\/p>\n <\/span>\n <\/p>\n As a member of Mission Control during the Apollo 13 mission, Windler and his fellow flight directors and controllers were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then-President Richard Nixon in 1970. Windler was also honored with NASA\u2019s Exceptional Service Medal.<\/p>\n Milton and Betty (n\u00e9e Selby) Windler had three children and eight grandchildren. A memorial service will take place in the coming weeks at the family\u2019s former church in Friendswood, Texas.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I did it again, I\u2019d probably try to do something more about trying to pay more attention,\u201d said Windler. \u201cApollo was \u2014 well, all of [the missions] were \u2026 bang-bang-bang. You couldn\u2019t enjoy, really, in a way you couldn\u2019t savor it, like maybe it would have been better to have done.\u201d<\/p>\n
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