Post #291

It's official! The Launch Control Center (LCC) was officially renamed after one of NASA’s pioneers in America's quest for space exploration – Rocco Petrone. The LCC serves as a nerve center where engineers and the launch director will monitor their flight consoles and give the “go” for the upcoming launch of #Artemis I and later missions that will establish a sustainable presence on the Moon to prepare for missions to Mars. It was from this same building that Petrone oversaw the launches of the early Apollo lunar missions, and later launch directors launched NASA’s shuttles into space. Petrone was instrumental in America’s first voyages to the Moon. He directed the first five human-tended Apollo launches, culminating in the Apollo 11 lunar flight. In 1969, he was named director of the Apollo Program for NASA with overall responsibility for the direction and management of the Apollo Space Flight Program.