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NASA engineer and manager (1937-2004) who joined NASA in 1964 and later became the agency's tenth flight director. He served as a flight director during the Apollo 17, Skylab, and Apollo-Soyuz Test Project missions, Skylab, and the first Space Shuttle mission. Puddy was on duty during the Apollo 11 lunar landing and he served as head of the team that came up with many of the Lunar Module lifeboat procedures that were eventually used after the Apollo 13 accident. NASA engineer Don Puddy’s personal record book for the historic Apollo 11 mission, which he meticulously organized and updated in his role as a TELMU (Telemetry, Electrical, and EVA Mobility Unit) in NASA's Mission Operations Control Room that monitored the various systems of the lunar module. The hardcover book, 8˝ x 10.5˝, marked “Apollo 11 Log” on the spine, features over 130 pages of handwritten notes, memorandum sheets, team tables, daily update briefs, and sundry troubleshooting reports assembled by Puddy before the mission’s legendary launch on July 16, 1969.
In his role as a TELMU flight controller, Puddy was responsible for the electrical, life support, and communications systems of the Lunar Module Eagle (LM-5), critical mission elements that are broadly represented in this record book, which documents events between March and June 1969. Of immediate interest are Puddy’s copious handwritten notes, penned neatly in ink and felt tip, offering a unique glimpse into his managerial process. Among them is an opening section headed “LM-5 Chronological,” which details docking and undocking procedures, EVA steps, and the eventual spacecraft rendezvous. Puddy writes down variations of “Mission Rules,” details changes requested by the Apollo 11 crew members, references meetings on communications, consumables, and LM-5 chamber runs, and explores the potential of using the lunar module as a “lifeboat,” listing four instances: “Case 1 Open suit operation, staged-unstaged / Case 2 Commfailure, tunnel open / Case 3 Dual CSM suit fan failure (use transfer umbilical w/ LM suit fan) / Case 4 Unstaged, use of LM to supply elec pwr to CSM.” Puddy’s dedication to this emergency contingency proved invaluable for the crew of Apollo 13, who, less than a year later, were forced to shut down the CM’s power and use the LM as a lifeboat.
In addition to the notes are numerous affixed and paperclipped memorandum sheets, update reports, printed reminders, and various mimeographed documents, each pertaining to the LM-5’s imminent flight-ready status. Subjects include: “First LM-5 Altitude Chamber Run with Prime Crew - Armstrong and Aldrin, 21 March 69,” “Apollo 11 mission rules,” “S-band circuit margins,” “Branch manning for the Apollo program,” “Deployment of erectable antenna on lunar landing mission,” “Operational constraint on color TV usage,” “FRT Monitoring,” “AOH change review,” “LM H2O quantity sensors,” “Redline on LSS water,” “Guidelines for mission dependent redlines, G type mission,” “LM systems schematics requirements for Apollo 11,” and more. These correspondences were shared with Puddy by numerous NASA figures, including Gene Kranz, Deke Slayton, Chris Kraft, George M. Low, James E. Hannigan, Jerry W. Craig, Charles S. Harlan, Owen E. Maynard, John W. O’Neill, R. D. Legler, J. A. Joki, C. E. Charlesworth, Ralph S. Sawyer, Gary Watros, and others. In very good to fine condition, with expected signs of wear and use.
