Gerald D. "Gerry" Griffin (born 1934) is a former a NASA

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

 flight director

Flight director

The term flight director can refer to any one of the following:* the flight controller of a space flight* the flight director of an aviation navigation system...

 and director of Johnson Space Center.

Born in Athens, Texas

Athens, Texas

Athens is a city in Henderson County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,710. It is the county seat of Henderson County. According to the Texas Legislature, Athens is the "Original Home of the Hamburger"...

, Griffin attended Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...

, where he studied aeronautical engineering. He joined NASA in 1960 and became a flight controller, specializing in guidance and navigation systems. In 1967, he became a flight director. He was lead flight director for Apollo 12

Apollo 12

Apollo 12 was the sixth manned flight in the American Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon . It was launched on November 14, 1969 from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, four months after Apollo 11. Mission commander Charles "Pete" Conrad and Lunar Module Pilot Alan L...

, Apollo 15

Apollo 15

Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the American Apollo space program, the fourth to land on the Moon and the eighth successful manned mission. It was the first of what were termed "J missions", long duration stays on the Moon with a greater focus on science than had been possible on previous...

, and Apollo 17

Apollo 17

Apollo 17 was the eleventh and final manned mission in the American Apollo space program. Launched at 12:33 a.m. EST on December 7, 1972, with a three-member crew consisting of Commander Eugene Cernan, Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans, and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt, Apollo 17 remains the...

, and played an important role in the resolution of the Apollo 13

Apollo 13

Apollo 13 was the seventh manned mission in the American Apollo space program and the third intended to land on the Moon. The craft was launched on April 11, 1970, at 13:13 CST. The landing was aborted after an oxygen tank exploded two days later, crippling the service module upon which the Command...

 crisis.

From August 1982 until January 1986, Griffin served as director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

.

Griffin was a technical adviser for the films Apollo 13

Apollo 13 (film)

Apollo 13 is a 1995 American drama film directed by Ron Howard. The film stars Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Kathleen Quinlan and Ed Harris. The screenplay by William Broyles, Jr...

, Contact

Contact (film)

Contact is a 1997 American science fiction drama film adapted from the Carl Sagan novel of the same name and directed by Robert Zemeckis. Both Sagan and wife Ann Druyan wrote the story outline for the film adaptation of Contact....

, Deep Impact

Deep Impact (film)

Deep Impact is a 1998 science-fiction disaster-drama film released by Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks in the United States on May 8, 1998. The film was directed by Mimi Leder and stars Robert Duvall, Elijah Wood, Téa Leoni, and Morgan Freeman...

and Apollo 18

Apollo 18 (film)

Apollo 18 is a 2011 American science fiction horror film directed by Gonzalo López-Gallego and produced by Timur Bekmambetov and Ron Schmidt. The film's premise is that the officially canceled Apollo 18 mission was actually launched in December 1973 but never returned, and as a result the United...

. In the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, he was played by actor David Clyde Carr.