Maxime Faget

Belizean-born American mechanical engineer who designed the Mercury spacecraft, and contributed to the later Gemini and Apollo spacecraft as well as the Space Shuttle. Faget was the son of American doctor Guy Henry Faget, and great-grandson of another prominent physician, Jean Charles Faget. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Louisiana State University in 1943. After three years as a submariner aboard USS Guavina in the U.S. Navy, he joined the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia as a research scientist. While working for NACA at Langley, Faget worked on the design of the X-15 hypersonic spacecraft. In 1958, Faget became one of the 35 engineers who formed the Space Task Group, creating the Mercury spacecraft. Faget based his designs on the aerodynamic work of Harvey Allen from the mid-1950s, and was instrumental in selecting the blunt-body shape that won the Mercury competition over numerous contenders. Faget also led the development of the escape tower system used on Mercury, which was used in various forms on almost all following manned spacecraft. Faget also worked on the Gemini and Apollo vehicles, which shared many design points with the Mercury. Faget died in Houston, Texas from bladder cancer on 10 October 2004, aged 83. Link to Wikipedia biography