Tecwyn Roberts
Encyclopedia
Tecwyn Roberts was a Welsh-born, American spaceflight
engineer who in the 1960s played important roles in designing the Mission Control Center at NASA
's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas
and creating NASA’s worldwide tracking and communications network
.
As NASA’s first Flight Dynamics Officer with Project Mercury
that put the first American into space, Roberts was "the voice of Mercury Control", and popularized the use of phrase "A-OK"
, making those three letters a universal symbol meaning "in perfect working order." He later joined NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
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.
, Anglesey
, Wales
. He received his early education at Ysgol Parc y Bont, the small local primary school there. He left the school in 1938 after a successful Scholarship Examination
and continued his studies at the Beaumaris Grammar School, from which he graduated in 1942. After leaving Beaumaris Grammar School, he began an engineering apprenticeship
with the aero- and marine-engineering company Saunders-Roe
at Fryars Bay, Llanfaes
, Anglesey, some eight miles from Llanddaniel Fab.
works, from where he was transferred to the Isle of Wight
in 1946. At that time, he also attended the University of Southampton
where he obtained a degree in Aeronautical Engineering in 1948 and was awarded the Institute of Mechanical Engineers Special Award. Whilst working for Saunders-Roe on the Isle of Wight, Roberts met Doris Sprake whom he later married.
to take up a position with the aircraft manufacturing company Avro Canada near Toronto
. From 1952 to 1959, he was a member of the engineering team that developed the CF-105 Arrow,a highly advanced delta-winged interceptor aircraft
. 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
and moved to the United States
to join NASA
's Space Task Group
at Langley Research Center
in Hampton, Virginia
.
under the leadership of Robert Gilruth was tasked with superintending America's manned spaceflight program, Project Mercury
, having been given the responsibility of placing a man in orbit around the Earth. Of its original 37 engineers, 27 were from Langley Research Center
and 10 had been assigned from Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, 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 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.
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. US Air Force Lt. Col. John "Shorty" Powers
popularized the expression while NASA
's public affairs
officer for Project Mercury.
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 and also at the subsequent Mission Control Center
at the Manned Spacecraft Center (later Johnson Space Center) in Houston, 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
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 Goddard Space Flight Center
in Greenbelt, Maryland
. 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
.
, a set of tracking stations built to support the American space efforts of Mercury
, Gemini
, Apollo and Skylab
. There were two other space communication networks at this time, the Spacecraft Tracking and Data Acquisition Network
(STADAN) for tracking unmanned satellites in low Earth orbit, and the Deep Space Network
(DSN) for tracking more distant unmanned missions.
Also in summer 1964, he was honoured by Gilruth with the NASA Special Service Award for his important 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 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 85 ft, (26 m) antennas that would be equally spaced around the world. These were in Madrid (Spain), Goldstone in California (USA)
and at Honeysuckle Creek
in Australia. Roberts was present when the Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station
was opened by Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt
on 17 March 1967.
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
for his work in support of the Apollo 8
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 in July 1975. His chief responsibility in this role was to ensure that contact was maintained between the orbiting U.S.
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
.
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.
Four years later, Tecwyn Roberts died on 27 December 1988, aged 63 years. He was buried at St. Stephens Episcopal Cemetery, Crownsville, Maryland
. Inscribed upon his gravestone is "Tecwyn Roberts, Husband of Doris & father of Michael".
Spaceflight
Spaceflight is the act of travelling into or through outer space. Spaceflight can occur with spacecraft which may, or may not, have humans on board. Examples of human spaceflight include the Russian Soyuz program, the U.S. Space shuttle program, as well as the ongoing International Space Station...
engineer who in the 1960s played important roles in designing the Mission Control Center at 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...
's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
and creating NASA’s worldwide tracking and communications network
Manned Space Flight Network
The Manned Space Flight Network was a set of tracking stations built to support the American space efforts of Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Skylab...
.
As NASA’s first Flight Dynamics Officer with Project Mercury
Project Mercury
In January 1960 NASA awarded Western Electric Company a contract for the Mercury tracking network. The value of the contract was over $33 million. Also in January, McDonnell delivered the first production-type Mercury spacecraft, less than a year after award of the formal contract. On February 12,...
that put the first American into space, Roberts was "the voice of Mercury Control", and popularized the use of phrase "A-OK"
A-ok
An A-OK is both a saying, derived from okay, and a hand-gesture done by connecting the thumb and forefinger in to a circle , and holding the other fingers straight or relaxed in the air.Unicode symbol U+1F44C represents this gesture....
, making those three letters a universal symbol meaning "in perfect working order." He later joined NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Goddard Space Flight Center
The Goddard Space Flight Center is a major NASA space research laboratory established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center. GSFC employs approximately 10,000 civil servants and contractors, and is located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, USA. GSFC,...
where he served as Director and Manager of the Goddard Space Flight Center’s global tracking and communications system
Manned Space Flight Network
The Manned Space Flight Network was a set of tracking stations built to support the American space efforts of Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Skylab...
supporting NASA's manned and unmanned low earth orbiting flight programs.
Early years
Roberts, alternately nicknamed "Tec" and "Tex", was born 10 October 1925 at Trefnant Bach cottage in Llanddaniel FabLlanddaniel Fab
Llanddaniel Fab is a village in the ward of Llanidan, southern Anglesey, Wales.It is near the prehistoric monument of Bryn Celli Ddu which was constructed in the late neolithic period....
, Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. He received his early education at Ysgol Parc y Bont, the small local primary school there. He left the school in 1938 after a successful Scholarship Examination
Scholarship Examination
The Scholarship Examination is a highly competitive Sri Lankan examination conducted by the Department of Examinations of the Ministry of Education. It is optional for students to undertake it during the final year of primary school . Based on the results of the exam, students could transfer to...
and continued his studies at the Beaumaris Grammar School, from which he graduated in 1942. After leaving Beaumaris Grammar School, he began an engineering apprenticeship
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
with the aero- and marine-engineering company Saunders-Roe
Saunders-Roe
Saunders-Roe Limited 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 Alliot Verdon Roe and John Lord took a controlling interest in the boat-builders S.E. Saunders...
at Fryars Bay, Llanfaes
Llanfaes
Llanfaes 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.- History :...
, Anglesey, some eight miles from Llanddaniel Fab.
United Kingdom
After serving briefly in the RAF, Roberts was released in 1944 and resumed work with Saunders-Roe at their SouthamptonSouthampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
works, from where he was transferred to the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
in 1946. At that time, he also attended the University of Southampton
University of Southampton
The University of Southampton is a British public university located in the city of Southampton, England, a member of the Russell Group. The origins of the university can be dated back to the founding of the Hartley Institution in 1862 by Henry Robertson Hartley. In 1902, the Institution developed...
where he obtained a degree in Aeronautical Engineering in 1948 and was awarded the Institute of Mechanical Engineers Special Award. Whilst working for Saunders-Roe on the Isle of Wight, Roberts met Doris Sprake whom he later married.
Canada
In December 1952, Roberts and his wife left England for CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
to take up a position with the aircraft manufacturing company Avro Canada near Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. From 1952 to 1959, he was a member of the engineering team that developed the CF-105 Arrow,a highly advanced delta-winged interceptor aircraft
Interceptor aircraft
An interceptor aircraft is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically to prevent missions of enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Interceptors generally rely on high speed and powerful armament in order to complete their mission as quickly as possible and set up...
. 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
Jim Chamberlin
James A. "Jim" Chamberlin was a Canadian aerodynamicist who contributed to the design of the Canadian Avro Arrow; and NASA's Gemini spacecraft and the Apollo program...
and moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to join 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...
's Space Task Group
Space Task Group
The Space Task Group was a working group of NASA engineers created in 1958, tasked with superintending America's manned spaceflight programs. It was headed by Robert Gilruth andbased at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. After President John F...
at Langley Research Center
Langley Research Center
Langley Research Center is the oldest of NASA's field centers, located in Hampton, Virginia, United States. It directly borders Poquoson, Virginia and Langley Air Force Base...
in Hampton, Virginia
Hampton, Virginia
Hampton is an independent city that is not part of any county in Southeast Virginia. Its population is 137,436. As one of the seven major cities that compose the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, it is on the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula. Located on the Hampton Roads Beltway, it hosts...
.
Langley Research Center
Created in November 1958, the Space Task GroupSpace Task Group
The Space Task Group was a working group of NASA engineers created in 1958, tasked with superintending America's manned spaceflight programs. It was headed by Robert Gilruth andbased at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. After President John F...
under the leadership of Robert Gilruth was tasked with superintending America's manned spaceflight program, Project Mercury
Project Mercury
In January 1960 NASA awarded Western Electric Company a contract for the Mercury tracking network. The value of the contract was over $33 million. Also in January, McDonnell delivered the first production-type Mercury spacecraft, less than a year after award of the formal contract. On February 12,...
, having been given the responsibility of placing a man in orbit around the Earth. Of its original 37 engineers, 27 were from Langley Research Center
Langley Research Center
Langley Research Center is the oldest of NASA's field centers, located in Hampton, Virginia, United States. It directly borders Poquoson, Virginia and Langley Air Force Base...
and 10 had been assigned from Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. 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 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
Manned Space Flight Network
The Manned Space Flight Network was a set of tracking stations built to support the American space efforts of Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Skylab...
, and the Mercury Mission Control Center to provide the flight control of the missions.
Mission Control Centers
In 1960, Roberts became NASA's first ever Flight Dynamics Officer at the Mercury Control Center, where his tasks centered on controlling the trajectory of the spacecraft and planning adjustments to it.The first documented use of the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
phrase "A-OK"
A-ok
An A-OK is both a saying, derived from okay, and a hand-gesture done by connecting the thumb and forefinger in to a circle , and holding the other fingers straight or relaxed in the air.Unicode symbol U+1F44C represents this gesture....
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. US Air Force Lt. Col. John "Shorty" Powers
John A. Powers
John Anthony Powers , better known as Shorty Powers, was an American public affairs officer for NASA from 1959 to 1963 during Project Mercury...
popularized the expression while 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...
's public affairs
Office of Public Affairs
The NASA Office of Public Affairs is tasked with media and public relations. Its mission is to "provide for the widest practicable and appropriate dissemination of information to the media and general public concerning NASA activities and results" The function was created in the National...
officer for Project Mercury.
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 and also at the subsequent Mission Control Center
Mission Control Center
A mission control center is an entity that manages aerospace vehicle flights, usually from the point of lift-off until the landing or the end of the mission. A staff of flight controllers and other support personnel monitor all aspects of the mission using telemetry, and send commands to the...
at the Manned Spacecraft Center (later Johnson Space Center) in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, 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
Christopher C. Kraft, Jr.
Christopher Columbus Kraft, Jr. is a retired NASA engineer and manager who was instrumental in establishing the agency's Mission Control operation...
. When Roberts assumed his new position, Glynn Lunney
Glynn Lunney
Glynn S. Lunney is a retired NASA engineer. An employee of NASA since its foundation in 1958, Lunney was a flight director during the Gemini and Apollo programs, and was on duty during historic events such as the Apollo 11 lunar ascent and the pivotal hours of the Apollo 13 crisis...
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 Goddard Space Flight Center
Goddard Space Flight Center
The Goddard Space Flight Center is a major NASA space research laboratory established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center. GSFC employs approximately 10,000 civil servants and contractors, and is located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, USA. GSFC,...
in Greenbelt, Maryland
Greenbelt, Maryland
Greenbelt is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Contained within today's City of Greenbelt is the historic planned community now known locally as "Old Greenbelt" and designated as the Greenbelt Historic District...
. At that time, Roberts and his wife also resided in Maryland. Their only child, Michael (born about 1960), attended Spalding High School
Archbishop Spalding High School
Archbishop Spalding High School is a private, Catholic co-educational high school located in Severn, Maryland. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore. Most of its students live in Annapolis, Crownsville, Arnold, Pasadena, Severna Park, Crofton, Millersville, Glen Burnie, or...
in Severn, Maryland
Severn, Maryland
Severn is a census-designated place in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 35,076 at the 2000 census, which is a 30 percent increase over the 24,499 population of 1990...
.
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 NetworkManned Space Flight Network
The Manned Space Flight Network was a set of tracking stations built to support the American space efforts of Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Skylab...
, a set of tracking stations built to support the American space efforts of Mercury
Project Mercury
In January 1960 NASA awarded Western Electric Company a contract for the Mercury tracking network. The value of the contract was over $33 million. Also in January, McDonnell delivered the first production-type Mercury spacecraft, less than a year after award of the formal contract. On February 12,...
, Gemini
Project Gemini
Project Gemini was the second human spaceflight program of NASA, the civilian space agency of the United States government. Project Gemini was conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, with ten manned flights occurring in 1965 and 1966....
, Apollo and Skylab
Skylab
Skylab was a space station launched and operated by NASA, the space agency of the United States. Skylab orbited the Earth from 1973 to 1979, and included a workshop, a solar observatory, and other systems. It was launched unmanned by a modified Saturn V rocket, with a mass of...
. There were two other space communication networks at this time, the Spacecraft Tracking and Data Acquisition Network
Spacecraft Tracking and Data Acquisition Network
The Spacecraft Tracking and Data Network was established by NASA to satisfy the requirement for long-duration, highly-available space-to-ground communications...
(STADAN) for tracking unmanned satellites in low Earth orbit, and the Deep Space Network
Deep Space Network
The Deep Space Network, or DSN, is a world-wide network of large antennas and communication facilities that supports interplanetary spacecraft missions. It also performs radio and radar astronomy observations for the exploration of the solar system and the universe, and supports selected...
(DSN) for tracking more distant unmanned missions.
Also in summer 1964, he was honoured by Gilruth with the NASA Special Service Award for his important 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.
Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex
The Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex — commonly called the Goldstone Observatory — is located in California's Mojave Desert. Operated by ITT Corporation for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, its main purpose is to track and communicate with space missions. It includes the Pioneer...
and at Honeysuckle Creek
Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station
Honeysuckle Creek was a NASA tracking station near Canberra, Australia, which played an important role in supporting Project Apollo. The station was opened in 1967 and closed in 1981....
in Australia. Roberts was present when the Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station
Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station
Honeysuckle Creek was a NASA tracking station near Canberra, Australia, which played an important role in supporting Project Apollo. The station was opened in 1967 and closed in 1981....
was opened by Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt
Harold Holt
Harold Edward Holt, CH was an Australian politician and the 17th Prime Minister of Australia.His term as Prime Minister was brought to an early and dramatic end in December 1967 when he disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria, and was presumed drowned.Holt spent 32 years...
on 17 March 1967.
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
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, aeronautics, space flight, administration, support, or...
for his work in support of the Apollo 8
Apollo 8
Apollo 8, the second manned mission in the American Apollo space program, was the first human spaceflight to leave Earth orbit; the first to be captured by and escape from the gravitational field of another celestial body; and the first crewed voyage to return to Earth from another celestial...
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 in July 1975. His chief responsibility in this role was to ensure that contact was maintained between the orbiting U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
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
American Astronautical Society
Formed in 1954, the American Astronautical Society is an independent scientific and technical group in the United States dedicated to the advancement of space science and exploration. AAS supports NASA's Vision for Space Exploration and is a member of the Coalition for Space Exploration and the...
.
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.
Four years later, Tecwyn Roberts died on 27 December 1988, aged 63 years. He was buried at St. Stephens Episcopal Cemetery, Crownsville, Maryland
Crownsville, Maryland
Crownsville is a census-designated place in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,670 at the 2000 census. It hosts the Anne Arundel County Fair each September, as well as the annual Maryland Renaissance Festival for several summer weekends. A state psychiatric hospital...
. Inscribed upon his gravestone is "Tecwyn Roberts, Husband of Doris & father of Michael".
Awards and citations
- 1964 NASA Exceptional Service Award
- 1967 NASA Outstanding Achievement Award
- 1969 NASA Exceptional Service MedalNASA Exceptional Service MedalThe 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, aeronautics, space flight, administration, support, or...
- 1976 Fellow of the American Astronautical SocietyAmerican Astronautical SocietyFormed in 1954, the American Astronautical Society is an independent scientific and technical group in the United States dedicated to the advancement of space science and exploration. AAS supports NASA's Vision for Space Exploration and is a member of the Coalition for Space Exploration and the...
- 1980 NASA Distinguished Service Award
- 1984 Robert H. Goddard Award of Merit