University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The Grainger College of Engineering

Alan B. Kehlet

[title]
To Alan B. Kehlet for his outstanding expertise and guidance in corporate executive aerospace administration and for his numerous original decisive engineering and management contributions in the Mercury, Apollo, and Space Shuttle programs, which have led to clear and lasting fundamental developments and which continue to contribute singularly to our present and future space efforts.

President, Sabreliner Division, Rockwell International, St. Louis, Missouri

  • BS, Aeronautical Engineering, 1951

Following graduation, Mr. Kehlet joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics which later became the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. In his 11 years at NACA/NASA he was project engineer, head of the Project Mercury aerodynamics section, and assistant head of the Project Mercury flight controls branch. After earning an MS in aeronautical engineering from the University of Virginia in 1961, he joined North American Aviation, now Rockwell International. He later earned an MBA from California State University. Prior to becoming president, Mr. Kehlet held numerous positions with Project Apollo, Sabreliner, and the Space Shuttle Project.

Mr. Kehlet’s honors include his selection as one of the original 35 members of the NASA Space Task Group which developed the Project Mercury space program, the NASA Citation for Contributions to Project Mercury, the NASA Certificate of Appreciation for Apollo 11 Accomplishments, and the Distinguished Alumnus Award of the UIUC Department of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. He holds patents on the Mercury Space Capsule, a maneuverable space entry vehicle, and a parachute recovery system and he is the author of a dozen NACA/NASA technical reports.

Current as of 1982.