Jerry Elliott | |
---|---|
Born | Jerry Chris Elliott 1943
Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma, United States |
Nationality | Osage- Cherokee |
Citizenship | American |
Education | University of Oklahoma, Physics |
Jerry Chris Elliott High Eagle (born 1943) is a physicist and was one of the first Native Americans who worked at NASA. He is most known for his contributions as the lead retrofire officer during Apollo 13, where his actions saved the lives of the three astronauts on board. Elliott's work awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor awarded by the President of the United States. [1] [2] [3]
High Eagle, from the age of five, had a vision of assisting astronauts to get to the moon. While supported by some members in his family and community, he was faced with opposition due to his race. [4]
After graduating from Northwest Classen High School, he was accepted into the University of Oklahoma at the age of 18. While in university, he faced a degree of culture shock, facing disrespect and misunderstandings towards him as a Native American. [5] He faced racial discrimination from his professors, and was unable to pursue graduate studies due to the death of his stepfather and an overall lack of funding. He received a degree in physics with a minor in mathematics, April, 1966, being the first indigenous native to obtain one from the University of Oklahoma, department of physics. [6] [5]
Starting his space career early in the Gemini Program, Elliott joined NASA in April 1966 as a flight mission operations engineer, serving at the Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas. [7] He was Program Staff Engineer at the NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC during the Apollo–Soyuz Program. [8] [5] He served as a Senior Technical Manager in the Management Integration Office of the Space Station's Program Office. [8] [9] Elliott and his team provided ground support equipment and space hardware for Skylab, the United States' first space station. [5]
While at NASA, Elliott pushed for furthering telecommunications infrastructure between reservations. Implemented the American Indian Telecommunications Satellite Demonstration Project linked the All-Indian Pueblo Council and the Crow Indian Reservation with the federal government at Washington, D.C. His testimony before Congress culminated in the establishment in the First Americans Commission for Telecommunications (FACT). [10] [5]
During the Apollo program he held several important management and leadership positions including the lead Retrofire Officer on Apollo 13 mission. [11] He was the only indigenous native person on the control team. [12] He served on the mission control team during Apollo 11's successful Moon landing. Elliott played an instrumental role in computing the trajectory and successful recovery back to Earth during the events of Apollo 13. His efforts during the events of the disaster awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Richard Nixon [7] for his role in saving the lives of the three endangered astronauts. [4] [13] [14] [15] [16]
Accomplishing his boyhood vision of landing men on the Moon, Elliott continued work at NASA for a total of four decades. Some of Elliott's personal papers during the Apollo era are held at the Oklahoma History Center. [17] [6]
Elliott is fluent in the English, and proficient in Russian, Spanish, and Osage languages. [8] His name "High Eagle" was given to him when he turned 41, by native elders. [5] Elliott cites his mother and Albert Einstein as his personal heroes. He enjoys playing the guitar and Indian flute. [18] His work in music has led to him performing in the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. [7] He has also played roles on the film Houston, We've Got a Problem, where he played himself, along with an appearance on the television show Walker, Texas Ranger. [7] [17]
In 1977, he was a founder/incorporator of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, Inc., along with two other founders, George Thomas (Cherokee), and Alex Labadie (Osage). The society pursues further Native American involvement in the sciences. [19] [20] He is the founder and CEO of High Eagle Technologies, Inc, a native company dedicated to cancer research and treatment with patented technology he was awarded in 2019. [21]
Mr. Elliott authored the Congressional legislation for Native American Awareness Week, 1976, for the first historic week of observance for the American Indian in the history of the United States. The legislation was passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Gerald R. Ford.
Jerry Elliott | |
---|---|
Born | Jerry Chris Elliott 1943
Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma, United States |
Nationality | Osage- Cherokee |
Citizenship | American |
Education | University of Oklahoma, Physics |
Jerry Chris Elliott High Eagle (born 1943) is a physicist and was one of the first Native Americans who worked at NASA. He is most known for his contributions as the lead retrofire officer during Apollo 13, where his actions saved the lives of the three astronauts on board. Elliott's work awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor awarded by the President of the United States. [1] [2] [3]
High Eagle, from the age of five, had a vision of assisting astronauts to get to the moon. While supported by some members in his family and community, he was faced with opposition due to his race. [4]
After graduating from Northwest Classen High School, he was accepted into the University of Oklahoma at the age of 18. While in university, he faced a degree of culture shock, facing disrespect and misunderstandings towards him as a Native American. [5] He faced racial discrimination from his professors, and was unable to pursue graduate studies due to the death of his stepfather and an overall lack of funding. He received a degree in physics with a minor in mathematics, April, 1966, being the first indigenous native to obtain one from the University of Oklahoma, department of physics. [6] [5]
Starting his space career early in the Gemini Program, Elliott joined NASA in April 1966 as a flight mission operations engineer, serving at the Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas. [7] He was Program Staff Engineer at the NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC during the Apollo–Soyuz Program. [8] [5] He served as a Senior Technical Manager in the Management Integration Office of the Space Station's Program Office. [8] [9] Elliott and his team provided ground support equipment and space hardware for Skylab, the United States' first space station. [5]
While at NASA, Elliott pushed for furthering telecommunications infrastructure between reservations. Implemented the American Indian Telecommunications Satellite Demonstration Project linked the All-Indian Pueblo Council and the Crow Indian Reservation with the federal government at Washington, D.C. His testimony before Congress culminated in the establishment in the First Americans Commission for Telecommunications (FACT). [10] [5]
During the Apollo program he held several important management and leadership positions including the lead Retrofire Officer on Apollo 13 mission. [11] He was the only indigenous native person on the control team. [12] He served on the mission control team during Apollo 11's successful Moon landing. Elliott played an instrumental role in computing the trajectory and successful recovery back to Earth during the events of Apollo 13. His efforts during the events of the disaster awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Richard Nixon [7] for his role in saving the lives of the three endangered astronauts. [4] [13] [14] [15] [16]
Accomplishing his boyhood vision of landing men on the Moon, Elliott continued work at NASA for a total of four decades. Some of Elliott's personal papers during the Apollo era are held at the Oklahoma History Center. [17] [6]
Elliott is fluent in the English, and proficient in Russian, Spanish, and Osage languages. [8] His name "High Eagle" was given to him when he turned 41, by native elders. [5] Elliott cites his mother and Albert Einstein as his personal heroes. He enjoys playing the guitar and Indian flute. [18] His work in music has led to him performing in the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. [7] He has also played roles on the film Houston, We've Got a Problem, where he played himself, along with an appearance on the television show Walker, Texas Ranger. [7] [17]
In 1977, he was a founder/incorporator of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, Inc., along with two other founders, George Thomas (Cherokee), and Alex Labadie (Osage). The society pursues further Native American involvement in the sciences. [19] [20] He is the founder and CEO of High Eagle Technologies, Inc, a native company dedicated to cancer research and treatment with patented technology he was awarded in 2019. [21]
Mr. Elliott authored the Congressional legislation for Native American Awareness Week, 1976, for the first historic week of observance for the American Indian in the history of the United States. The legislation was passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Gerald R. Ford.