who is the most influential person in the U.S. space program?

Question

any person who is or was an influence, and why

Answer 1

My vote is Robert Goddard. He literally invented every engineering concept on a rocket needed to get a thing off the Earth and into space. He was the first to develop propulsion properties, gyroscopic navigation, rocket aerodynamics, chemical reactions, etc. etc. etc. Von Braun stole literally every aspects of his design when he invented the V-2 Nazi rocket (we then stole von Braun and built the Saturn V rocket to get to the moon).

Goddard, like the Wright Brothers, worked in his back yard on his own when everyone around him told him what he was doing was impossible. His first rockets were little firecrackers 2 feet long that blew up in his face, and his last were 40 foot rockets that went far past the atmosphere. For me it was all Goddard.

Answer 2

Probably John Glen

Answer 3

John F Kennedy
for making moon landing a priority

Answer 4

unfortunately, it's the president and congress, because they get to play with the money, which should be going into the space program in my opinion, but it's going into a little skirmish.

Answer 5

Unfortunately, it's the 535 members of the U.S.A. Congress who have micromanaged our wonderful NASA into mediocrity.

Answer 6

Past or present?