John (“Joe”) Nieberding

Keith’s note: From NASA GRC: On April 12, 2023, the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) — and the nation — lost a remarkable unsung hero of the NASA’s early expendable launch vehicle program. John (“Joe”) Nieberding was one of the GRC’s most accomplished and highly regarded engineer/supervisor/executive leaders. A retired division chief, he held leadership roles in Atlas/Centaur, Titan/Centaur, and Shuttle/Centaur launch vehicle programs during development, integration, and day-of-launch at the Cape.

Joe was the co-creator of the Automatic Determination and Dissemination of Just Updated Steering Terms. ADDJUST is a system which designs steering coefficients for launch vehicles through the use of weather balloons mere hours prior to launch. This system has been in use for a half century by NASA and industry and adopted by other vehicles such as Titan IV and Space Shuttle. In all, Joe led launch integration and day-of-launch support teams for 65 missions including Voyager, Viking, Pioneer Venus, Cassini and many others. Joe also led delegations to Russia, forging new professional ties that enabled the use of Russian spacecraft by the International Space Station. Since retirement, he co-founded and served as President of Aerospace Engineering Associates, presenting the highly acclaimed two-day class titled “Mission Success First: Lessons Learned,” taught over 130 times worldwide. Joe’s efforts impacted NASA broadly and many of his employees went on to other Centers serving in leadership roles.

Obituary

Ad Astra Joe