RICHARD H. TRULY (1937-2024)

BY ROBERT L. CRIPPEN

Vice Admiral RICHARD HARRISON TRULY was a man of extraordinary courage, intelligence, and dedication. Leaving an indelible mark on the history of space exploration, his remarkable achievements not only advanced our understanding of the cosmos but also inspired countless individuals to pursue their dreams. As we reflect on his life, we celebrate the legacy of a true pioneer whose contributions to engineering and space exploration continue to resonate with us all.

Dick was born on Nov. 12, 1937, in Fayette, Mississippi, to James Bennett Truly and Jessie Smith Sheehan Truly. His father, an attorney for the Federal Trade Commission, and his mother, a teacher, divorced when he was young, and he was raised by his mother and grandmother in Meridian, Mississippi.

Like most boys, he had a wide range of interests, including building model airplanes, though he did not grow up wanting to be a pilot. One lifelong passion hobby was stamp collecting; he was a philatelist. As a Boy Scout, he achieved the high rank of Eagle Scout and dreamed of becoming an engineer.

Upon graduating from high school, he obtained a Naval ROTC scholarship to Georgia Tech, where he became a Kappa Alpha brother. While attending Georgia Tech he met Cody Hanner, who became his wife and lifelong partner for nearly 65 years.

During his second summer with the NROTC, Dick underwent aviation indoctrination for both the Navy and Marine Corps, an experience that ignited his passion for flying. Upon returning to school, he signed up for the naval aviator track.

After graduating as an Ensign, he attended flight training at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, flying the T-34, T-28B, F-9F, and F-11F. He received his Wings of Gold on Oct. 7, 1960, was selected to fly the F-8F Crusader, and ultimately was assigned to VF-33 and stationed at NAS Oceana. He was deployed twice in the Mediterranean Sea on aircraft carriers — once aboard the Intrepid, and the other time on the Enterprise. He also completed two shorter deployments, one to the Dominican Republic and the other to Cuba during the missile crisis.

Dick later applied to and was accepted into Test Pilot School, attending the U.S. Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School, located at Edwards Air Force Base — and he reported there in December of 1963. The legendary Chuck Yeager was the commandant of the school. The latter half of his training focused on spaceflight preparation. After graduation, he served as an instructor at the school, flying a wide variety of aircraft including the T-33, T-37, T-38, F-101, F-104, F-106, B-26, C-47, C-130, and KC-135.

During his tenure at the school, in November 1965, Dick was selected to be an astronaut for the Department of Defense’s highly classified Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) program, based in Los Angeles. It was later revealed that the program focused on reconnaissance of the former Soviet Union.

In 1969, the MOL program was canceled, and, along with six other people, Dick was transferred to the NASA Astronaut Office in Houston. There he served as part of astronaut support crews for all three Skylab missions, as well as the Apollo-Soyuz joint program with the Soviet Union. He then became one of the test pilots assigned to Enterprise, conducting approach and landing tests for the Space Shuttle Program. Alongside Joe Engle, he completed two critical drop tests to evaluate the shuttle’s landing characteristics. For his role in these tests, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

In 1981, after serving as the backup pilot for the first orbital flight of the Columbia space shuttle, Dick flew with Joe Engle as the pilot of the second flight STS-2 of Columbia. This marked the first time a spacecraft had ever been reflown, and they set an altitude record on the flight. In 1983, Dick commanded STS-8 aboard Challenger, the program’s first night mission, featuring both a night launch and landing.

Following this mission, Dick left NASA, returning to the Navy where he was selected for rear admiral and assigned to command the newly created Naval Space Command. A year later, this unit became the Naval Component of the U.S. Space Command. After the Challenger accident in January 1986, Dick was asked to return to NASA as associate administrator of the Office of Space Flight. His primary responsibility was overseeing the shuttle’s return to flight status, a process that took 31 months before the Discovery successfully launched in September 1988. He also managed long-term strategic decisions, including replacing Challenger, defining the shuttle’s future role, and determining the integration of expendable spacecraft. For his leadership of the program, Dick was awarded the Collier Trophy and the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Ronald Reagan.

Truly retired from the Navy as a vice admiral in June 1989, and he was sworn in the very next day as NASA’s eighth administrator of NASA, becoming the first astronaut to lead the agency.

He led the agency until March 1992, overseeing the sustainment of the Space Shuttle Program, the early planning for the International Space Station (ISS), and numerous scientific and space exploratory missions.

After leaving NASA, Dick became vice president and director of the Georgia Research Institute in Atlanta. He was there until 1997, when he became the director of the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and executive vice president of MRI Global, a nonprofit research organization focused on scientific research, technology development, and technical solutions. He held this position until 2005.

In 2010, he was appointed as a lifetime trustee at Regis University and to the board of trustees of the Colorado School of Mines, where he served as the vice chairman. He also contributed his expertise to the Defense Policy Board, the Army Science Board, and the Naval Academy Board of Visitors.

Throughout his distinguished career, he received numerous awards and honors, including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal; the Defense Superior Service Medal; two Legions of Merit; the Navy Distinguished Flying Cross; and the Meritorious Service Medal. His NASA awards include two Distinguished Service Medals, two Space Flight Medals, two Exceptional Service Medals, and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal. He was also the recipient of the Air Force Association’s David C. Shilling Award; the Society of Experimental Test Pilots’ Iven C. Kincheloe Award and James H. Doolittle Award; the American Astronautical Society’s Flight Achievement Award; the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Haley Space Flight Award; the Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy (twice); the Thomas D. White Space Trophy; the Robert Collier Trophy (twice); the Harmon International Trophy; the Fédération Aéronautique International Gold Space Medal; the John F. Kennedy Astronautics Award; the Veterans of Foreign Wars Aviation and Space Gold Medal; the Boy Scouts of America Distinguished Eagle Scout Award; the Medal of Honor of the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution; and the Sons of the American Revolution Gold and Silver Good Citizenship Awards. Dick was also proud to be a fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and a member of the Golden Eagles, a group of distinguished Naval Aviators. He was honored to be a member of the National Academy of Engineering, where he served both as chairman of Section 1 and as a councillor.

He is survived by his wife, Colleen (Cody); sons Michael and Daniel; daughter Lee Rumbles; five grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

Dick had one fantastic life. He will be deeply missed by his family and many friends.