Donald J. Kutyna
Encyclopedia
General Donald Joseph Kutyna (born December 6, 1933) is a retired United States Air Force
Officer
. He was commander in chief of the North American Aerospace Defense Command
and the United States Space Command
from 1990 to 1992, and commander of Air Force Space Command
at Peterson Air Force Base
, Colorado
from 1987 to 1990. His parents were of Polish origin.
He attended the University of Iowa for two years and subsequently was appointed to the United States Military Academy
, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1957. He received a Master of Science degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in 1965. He completed the Industrial College of the Armed Forces
in 1976.
Upon completing pilot training at Vance Air Force Base
, Oklahoma, in September 1958, Kutyna was assigned to the 33rd Bombardment Squadron at March Air Force Base, California, serving as a B-47
combat crew commander until June 1963. After graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in June 1965, he was assigned to the Aerospace Research Pilot School, Edwards Air Force Base, California, first as a student and then as a staff director, training test pilots and astronauts for U.S. aviation and space programs.
From December 1969 to January 1971 he served a combat tour of duty with the 44th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base
, Thailand, completing 120 combat missions in the F-105
tactical fighter. Upon his return from Southeast Asia, the general was assigned to Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C., as a development planner in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Research and Development. In June 1973, after a tour of duty with the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, he was assigned as executive officer to the undersecretary of the Air Force.
In August 1975 Kutyna entered the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. After graduation in July 1976, he transferred to Electronic Systems Division, Hanscom Air Force Base
, Massachusetts, with duty as assistant deputy for international programs. He then served as program manager for foreign military sales of the E-3A Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft and, later, became assistant program director for the overall E-3A program. In June 1980 he was appointed deputy for surveillance and control systems, responsible for the development and acquisition of the sensors and command centers used today by NORAD and the U.S. Space Command in the satisfaction of their worldwide missions.
Kutyna became deputy commander for space launch and control systems at Space Division, Air Force Systems Command, Los Angeles Air Force Station, California, in June 1982. In this position he managed the Department of Defense space shuttle program, including the design and construction of the West Coast space shuttle launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base
, California; the acquisition of space shuttle upper stage boosters; and the operational aspects of launching military payloads on the shuttle.
Other responsibilities encompassed the development, acquisition and launch support of all Air Force expendable launch vehicles, including the Titan
and Atlas
space boosters and the Titan IV
heavy lift launch vehicle, which provides a capability equivalent to the space shuttle. His programs for control of space missions encompassed the operations and upgrade of the Air Force satellite control network, and development of Air Force Space Command's Consolidated Space Operations Center, Falcon Air Force Station, Colorado. In June 1984 the general became director of space systems and command, control and communications, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Research, Development and Acquisition, at Air Force headquarters.
Kutyna is perhaps most famous for his aid in several investigations of NASA
launch failures, especially his membership on the Rogers Commission investigating the loss
of the Space Shuttle Challenger
. He was particularly critical of NASA's decision to allow the shuttle to keep flying despite knowledge of the catastrophic O-ring
flaw that ultimately led to the disaster. He likened this situation to an airline allowing a plane to fly despite evidence that one of its wings was about to fall off. While serving, he befriended fellow panelist Richard Feynman
, who later described their partnership in his humorous memoir What Do You Care What Other People Think?
. The partnership of Kutyna and Feynman was critical in the discovery and publication of the cause of the Challenger disaster: Kutyna told Feynman about how he was repairing his car and discovered that some seals disintegrated due to low temperatures that morning. That inspired Feynman, who discovered the truth about O-ring weakness: they lack elasticity
in sub-zero temperatures, such as those the morning of the accident.
General Kutyna returned to Los Angeles Air Force Station as vice commander of Space Division in June 1986, overseeing all space system acquisitions, with particular emphasis on programs associated with the Strategic Defense Initiative
.
In November 1987 Kutyna became commander of the Air Force Space Command, the newest major command in the Air Force, with headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base
. General Kutyna's forces conducted missile warning, space surveillance and satellite control operations at 46 locations around the world. He assumed command of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and the United States Space Command in April, 1990.
The general was a command pilot with more than 4,500 flying hours in 25 different fighters and bombers. His military awards and decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal
, Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
, Legion of Merit
with oak leaf cluster
, Distinguished Flying Cross
with oak leaf cluster, Air Medal
with eight oak leaf clusters, and Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters. He received the National Geographic Society's General Thomas D. White U.S. Air Force Space Trophy in June 1987. The award is given to the individual who has made the most outstanding contribution to the nation's progress in space.
He was promoted to general April 1, 1990, with same date of rank, and retired June 30, 1992
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
Officer
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
. He was commander in chief of the North American Aerospace Defense Command
North American Aerospace Defense Command
North American Aerospace Defense Command is a joint organization of Canada and the United States that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and defense for the two countries. Headquarters NORAD is located at Peterson AFB, Colorado Springs, Colorado...
and the United States Space Command
United States Space Command
The United States Space Command was a Unified Combatant Command of the United States Department of Defense, created in 1985 to help institutionalize the use of outer space by the United States Armed Forces. The Commander in Chief of U.S...
from 1990 to 1992, and commander of Air Force Space Command
Air Force Space Command
Air Force Space Command is a major command of the United States Department of the Air Force, with its headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. AFSPC supports U.S. military operations worldwide through the use of many different types of satellite, launch and cyber operations....
at Peterson Air Force Base
Peterson Air Force Base
Peterson Air Force Base is a base of the United States Air Force located at Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States and it provides runways for the adjacent City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport under a shared joint civil-military airport arrangement...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
from 1987 to 1990. His parents were of Polish origin.
He attended the University of Iowa for two years and subsequently was appointed to the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1957. He received a Master of Science degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in 1965. He completed the Industrial College of the Armed Forces
Industrial College of the Armed Forces
The Industrial College of the Armed Forces is a U.S. military educational institution tasked with preparing military officers and civilian government officials for leadership and executive positions in the field of national security...
in 1976.
Upon completing pilot training at Vance Air Force Base
Vance Air Force Base
Vance Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located 6 km south of downtown Enid, Oklahoma, and within its city limits, about north northwest of Oklahoma City...
, Oklahoma, in September 1958, Kutyna was assigned to the 33rd Bombardment Squadron at March Air Force Base, California, serving as a B-47
B-47 Stratojet
The Boeing Model 450 B-47 Stratojet was a long-range, six-engined, jet-powered medium bomber built to fly at high subsonic speeds and at high altitudes. It was primarily designed to drop nuclear bombs on the Soviet Union...
combat crew commander until June 1963. After graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in June 1965, he was assigned to the Aerospace Research Pilot School, Edwards Air Force Base, California, first as a student and then as a staff director, training test pilots and astronauts for U.S. aviation and space programs.
From December 1969 to January 1971 he served a combat tour of duty with the 44th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base
Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base
Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base is a Royal Thai Air Force facility. It is located in Central Thailand, approximately 144 miles northwest of Bangkok in Takhli district, Nakhon Sawan Province, near the city of Nakhon Sawan.- Units :...
, Thailand, completing 120 combat missions in the F-105
F-105 Thunderchief
The Republic F-105 Thunderchief, was a supersonic fighter-bomber used by the United States Air Force. The Mach 2 capable F-105 conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Vietnam War; it has the dubious distinction of being the only US aircraft to have been...
tactical fighter. Upon his return from Southeast Asia, the general was assigned to Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C., as a development planner in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Research and Development. In June 1973, after a tour of duty with the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, he was assigned as executive officer to the undersecretary of the Air Force.
In August 1975 Kutyna entered the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. After graduation in July 1976, he transferred to Electronic Systems Division, Hanscom Air Force Base
Hanscom Air Force Base
Hanscom Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately south-southwest of Bedford, Massachusetts. The facility is a joint use civil airport/military base with Hanscom Field which provides general aviation and charter service.The host unit at Hanscom is the non-flying...
, Massachusetts, with duty as assistant deputy for international programs. He then served as program manager for foreign military sales of the E-3A Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft and, later, became assistant program director for the overall E-3A program. In June 1980 he was appointed deputy for surveillance and control systems, responsible for the development and acquisition of the sensors and command centers used today by NORAD and the U.S. Space Command in the satisfaction of their worldwide missions.
Kutyna became deputy commander for space launch and control systems at Space Division, Air Force Systems Command, Los Angeles Air Force Station, California, in June 1982. In this position he managed the Department of Defense space shuttle program, including the design and construction of the West Coast space shuttle launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base
Vandenberg Air Force Base
Vandenberg Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base, located approximately northwest of Lompoc, California. It is under the jurisdiction of the 30th Space Wing, Air Force Space Command ....
, California; the acquisition of space shuttle upper stage boosters; and the operational aspects of launching military payloads on the shuttle.
Other responsibilities encompassed the development, acquisition and launch support of all Air Force expendable launch vehicles, including the Titan
Titan (rocket family)
Titan was a family of U.S. expendable rockets used between 1959 and 2005. A total of 368 rockets of this family were launched, including all the Project Gemini manned flights of the mid-1960s...
and Atlas
Atlas (missile)
The SM-65 Atlas was the first intercontinental ballistic missile developed and deployed by the United States. It was built for the U.S. Air Force by Convair Division of General Dynamics at the Kearny Mesa assembly plant north of San Diego, California...
space boosters and the Titan IV
Titan IV
The Titan IV family of space boosters were used by the U.S. Air Force. They were launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. At the time of its introduction, the Titan IV was the "largest unmanned space booster used by the Air Force."The...
heavy lift launch vehicle, which provides a capability equivalent to the space shuttle. His programs for control of space missions encompassed the operations and upgrade of the Air Force satellite control network, and development of Air Force Space Command's Consolidated Space Operations Center, Falcon Air Force Station, Colorado. In June 1984 the general became director of space systems and command, control and communications, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Research, Development and Acquisition, at Air Force headquarters.
Kutyna is perhaps most famous for his aid in several investigations of NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
launch failures, especially his membership on the Rogers Commission investigating the loss
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida at 11:38 am EST...
of the Space Shuttle Challenger
Space Shuttle Challenger
Space Shuttle Challenger was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, Columbia having been the first. The shuttle was built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey, California...
. He was particularly critical of NASA's decision to allow the shuttle to keep flying despite knowledge of the catastrophic O-ring
O-ring
An O-ring, also known as a packing, or a toric joint, is a mechanical gasket in the shape of a torus; it is a loop of elastomer with a disc-shaped cross-section, designed to be seated in a groove and compressed during assembly between two or more parts, creating a seal at the interface.The O-ring...
flaw that ultimately led to the disaster. He likened this situation to an airline allowing a plane to fly despite evidence that one of its wings was about to fall off. While serving, he befriended fellow panelist Richard Feynman
Richard Feynman
Richard Phillips Feynman was an American physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics...
, who later described their partnership in his humorous memoir What Do You Care What Other People Think?
What Do You Care What Other People Think?
"What Do You Care What Other People Think?": Further Adventures of a Curious Character is the second of two books consisting of transcribed and edited oral reminiscences from American physicist Richard Feynman. It follows Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!The book presents his life as a series of...
. The partnership of Kutyna and Feynman was critical in the discovery and publication of the cause of the Challenger disaster: Kutyna told Feynman about how he was repairing his car and discovered that some seals disintegrated due to low temperatures that morning. That inspired Feynman, who discovered the truth about O-ring weakness: they lack elasticity
Elasticity (physics)
In physics, elasticity is the physical property of a material that returns to its original shape after the stress that made it deform or distort is removed. The relative amount of deformation is called the strain....
in sub-zero temperatures, such as those the morning of the accident.
General Kutyna returned to Los Angeles Air Force Station as vice commander of Space Division in June 1986, overseeing all space system acquisitions, with particular emphasis on programs associated with the Strategic Defense Initiative
Strategic Defense Initiative
The Strategic Defense Initiative was proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983 to use ground and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. The initiative focused on strategic defense rather than the prior strategic...
.
In November 1987 Kutyna became commander of the Air Force Space Command, the newest major command in the Air Force, with headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base
Peterson Air Force Base
Peterson Air Force Base is a base of the United States Air Force located at Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States and it provides runways for the adjacent City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport under a shared joint civil-military airport arrangement...
. General Kutyna's forces conducted missile warning, space surveillance and satellite control operations at 46 locations around the world. He assumed command of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and the United States Space Command in April, 1990.
The general was a command pilot with more than 4,500 flying hours in 25 different fighters and bombers. His military awards and decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Distinguished Service Medal
The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is a United States military award which is presented for exceptionally distinguished performance of duty contributing to national security or defense of the United States...
, Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
The Air Force Distinguished Service Medal was created by an act of the United States Congress on July 6, 1960. The medal was intended as a new decoration of the United States Air Force to replace the policy of awarding the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Air Force personnel.The Air Force...
, Legion of Merit
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
with oak leaf cluster
Oak leaf cluster
An oak leaf cluster is a common device which is placed on U.S. Army and Air Force awards and decorations to denote those who have received more than one bestowal of a particular decoration. The number of oak leaf clusters typically indicates the number of subsequent awards of the decoration...
, Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918." The...
with oak leaf cluster, Air Medal
Air Medal
The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...
with eight oak leaf clusters, and Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters. He received the National Geographic Society's General Thomas D. White U.S. Air Force Space Trophy in June 1987. The award is given to the individual who has made the most outstanding contribution to the nation's progress in space.
He was promoted to general April 1, 1990, with same date of rank, and retired June 30, 1992