Sonny Morea

Saverio “Sonny” Morea was the NASA engineer and manager for the F-1 and J-2 engines. He also designed and was the project manager for the Lunar Rover vehicle. Sonny Morea began his professional career in 1954 as a design engineer working in the Aerophysics Department of North American Aviation (later became the Boeing Co.) on the Navaho missile program(a supersonic, ram jet powered intercontinental guided cruise missile). He was actively involved in the wind tunnel aft body design. After being called to active duty and reassigned to the Ordnance Corps as a 2nd Lieutenant, he was assigned to Dr. Werner Von Braun group of scientists and engineers in Huntsville, Alabama in 1955, where he spent his military assignment in the field of guidance and Control on the Army REDSTONE ballistic missile. During his 2nd year in the military he was promoted to 1st Lt. by Gen. John B. Medaris. After resuming civilian status in 1957 he remained in Alabama and switched to his preferred field of choice working in Rocket Propulsion, where he worked on the development of the S-3D liquid propellant rocket engine used in the Army JUPITER Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile,(IRBM). He later served as the MSFC project engineer on the development of the rocket engine used in the SATURN family of boosters (S-1 and S-1B). A cluster of eight of these engines were used in the booster, producing a lift off thrust of 1.2 to 1.5 million lbs... In July of 1960 he became a charter member of the MSFC when he transferred to NASA with the establishment of the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC),along with the Von Braun team of rocket scientists. He was subsequently named the F-1 Engine Project manager. Successful development of this Engine was on the critical path toward the successful space flights to the moon. The project had a10 year run out budget approaching $1.0 Billion. This responsibility included not only the development of the worlds largest and most powerful liquid rocket engine ever ,(producing 1.5 million pounds of thrust (a cluster of five of these engines produced 7.5 million lbs. of thrust necessary for the lift off of the Apollo moon vehicle) but included, responsibility for the management of construction of the component F-1 test facilities needed at Canoga Park, Ca as well as the R&D and Production System Test stands at the Edward's Air Force Base in Calif. After more than 6 years and the successful manned rating of the Engine thru the early test flights of Apollo, Mr. Morea was called upon to assume the management of the Liquid Hydrogen/liquid Oxygen Engine that had experienced a double flight failure during an early Apollo test flight. He spent 21/2 years overseeing the fixes and required changes to the J-2 Engine to enable safe Space flights to the moon. Upon completion of the satisfactory demonstrations of a manned reliable J-2 Engine, Mr. Morea was once again called upon by Dr. von Braun; this time to head up the development of a car that could be used by the astronauts who would be going to the moon on Apollo 15,16, and 17. Its official name was the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). Although not apparent at first glance, this project was extremely difficult to accomplish; not just because of the short time available,(a mere 17 and 1/2 mos. after a prime contractor had been selected, but also because of limited budgets in combination with technical requirements that included redundancy of all major systems and a very limited knowledge of the lunar surface conditions. (The Project was given a go ahead 6 weeks before the first landing on the moon; so our knowledge of the surface conditions was extremely limited). Thus the confluence of budget and time constraints, lack of knowledge of lunar surface conditions and extremely difficult to meet technical requirements made the final task seem near impossible. Technical requirements included the need for the LRV to carry two astronauts in their space suits, geological tools and collected moon samples up, down and across slopes of 25 degrees while going into craters tow feet wide and one foot deep. The LRV carried almost three times its own weight in payload. Obviously, the LRV needed a large enough wheel base , with a low center of gravity to prevent tip over; yet could weigh no more than 450 lbs.. on earth and be carried between the legs of the descent stage of the Lunar Module (LM), in a volume of no more than 4 ft X4 ft. X4 ft. This requirement forced the vehicle to be folded up for flight and unfolded semi automatically on the moon (Try stuffing your Cadillac into that size box). In addition the LRV had to operate in a Vacuum environment with surface temperatures of plus or minus 250 degrees F. The LRV also required a navigation system that would provide a direct straight line return to the LM in the event of an emergency when he astronauts were working beyond the line of sight of the LM. Thus the LRV contained an onboard computer ž that determined direction and distance back to the LM at all times. For his accomplishments in the Apollo Program that enabled (Manned Space flight and landing on the Moon) Nasa awarded Mr. Morea the Nasa Exceptional Service Medal on two different occasions; the first for his management of the F-1 Engine Development Program in 1969 , and the second for his management of the LRV (Lunar Roving Vehicle Project in 1971. Mr. Morea also received several other Nasa awards for superior achievement and outstanding performance during the years of 1965-1987. In addition, Mr. Morea served some 12 years as the Asst Director of the Structures and Propulsion Laboratory and more than 2 years as the Director of the Research and Technology Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center(MSFC)