Pete Frank

Lore & Background

Pete Frank was born in Bryan, Texas, and graduated from Denton High School in 1948. He earned a Bachelor of Science in aeronautical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin by 1952. After college, he joined the United States Marine Corps for four years as a pilot, later serving in the Reserve and reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel. While working for the Glenn L. Martin Company in Baltimore, Maryland, he earned a master's degree in mechanical engineering at Drexel University in Philadelphia. He joined NASA in 1962.

Frank was one of 44 men selected for extensive medical testing in early 1966 during recruitment for NASA Astronaut Group 5, but was not chosen among the 19 finalists. He became a flight director in 1968, adopting the team color black. He directed Apollo 9, 10, 12, and 16, and served as lead director for Apollo 16. He also served on the internal review board studying the causes of the Apollo 13 onboard explosion under Dr. Edgar Cortright.

In 1975, Frank served as the American lead flight director for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. He later became chief of the Flight Control Division before retiring in 1983. After retirement, he and his wife supported Habitat for Humanity in fundraising and homebuilding. He died after an auto accident on June 22, 2005.

Reader's Guide

Pete Frank's significance lies in his leadership during critical Apollo missions, particularly as lead flight director for Apollo 14 and Apollo 16, which successfully landed on the Moon. His role on the internal review board for Apollo 13 contributed to understanding the accident that nearly ended the mission. As American lead flight director for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, he helped oversee the first joint U.S.-Soviet space mission, a milestone in international cooperation. Frank's career at NASA spanned from 1962 to 1983, during which he rose to chief of the Flight Control Division. His adoption of the orange team color, which was retired upon his departure, symbolizes his unique place in flight director history. Flight director Gene Kranz noted that Frank translated key values into a statement for controllers, reflecting his influence on NASA's operational culture. Frank's legacy is that of a dedicated engineer and leader who guided human spaceflight through some of its most challenging and successful years.

Did You Know?

• Pete Frank was a finalist for NASA Astronaut Group 5 but was not selected.
• He served on the internal review board that studied the causes of the Apollo 13 onboard explosion.
• Frank's flight director team color was orange, which was retired when he retired from NASA.
• His legal name was Mordecai Pittman Frank III, but he was always known as 'Pete'.

From the Flight Deck to the Flight Control Room

Pete Frank's path to the heart of NASA's most ambitious program was anything but a straight line. Born in Bryan, Texas, in 1930, he graduated from Denton High School in 1948 before earning a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin by 1952. Rather than heading straight into the aerospace industry, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, spending four years as a pilot and later rising to lieutenant colonel in the Reserve. After leaving active service, he worked at the Glenn L. Martin Company in Baltimore, where he simultaneously pursued a master's degree in mechanical engineering at Drexel University in Philadelphia. In 1962, Frank joined NASA, and by 1966 he had become a finalist in the competitive selection for Astronaut Group 5, one of 44 candidates narrowed to 19. Though he was not ultimately chosen as an astronaut, he took the flight director role in 1968, becoming the eighth director to lead a mission. Over the following years he directed Apollo 9, 10, 12, and 17, before rising to chief of the Flight Control Division ahead of his 1983 retirement.

The Missions That Defined Him

Two lunar landings and one historic international docking carried Frank's name as the man at the top of the flight control team. For Apollo 14, he served as lead flight director, guiding commander Alan Shepard, Lunar Module Pilot Edgar Mitchell, and Command Module Pilot Stuart Roosa to the Fra Mauro highlands aboard a redesigned command and service module. That destination had originally been planned for the Apollo 13 crew, making the 14th mission a kind of redemption flight for the program. He held the same lead role for Apollo 16, and in 1975 he became the American lead flight director for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, the landmark joint operation between the United States and the Soviet Union. His involvement with Apollo 13 came from a different angle: he sat on the internal review board that investigated the causes of the onboard explosion, working under Dr. Edgar Cortright, who headed the Langley Research Center. In each of these roles, Frank was one of typically three to six flight directors assigned to a given mission, with one designated as lead.

Leadership Philosophy and Lasting Influence

Frank's mark on NASA culture extended well beyond the mission patches. When he assumed the flight director role in 1968, he chose orange as his team color, a designation so closely tied to his leadership that it was formally retired when he left the agency. Fellow flight director Gene Kranz recalled in a 1999 oral history that Frank had a unique gift for distilling abstract principles into something tangible for his controllers. Specifically, Frank took the values of "discipline, morale, tough and competent now" and turned them into a reflective statement that each controller could use to prepare mentally as they approached their responsibilities on a given mission. That kind of leadership—rooted in personal accountability and team cohesion—helped shape how the flight control room operated during the most demanding years of the Apollo program. Frank eventually rose to chief of the Flight Control Division, a position that placed him at the apex of the very structure he had helped mold, before stepping down in 1983.

The Man Behind the Mission Patches

Behind the flight director's headset was a man whose family carried a name with real weight. His full legal name, Mordecai Pittman Frank III, honored both his grandfather Mordecai Pittman Frank and his father, Mordecai Pittman Frank Jr. As a young boy, however, he simply did not want to be called by that name, and "Pete" stuck for the rest of his life. A first cousin, Thomas R. Boettcher, later recalled that Pete was deeply humble and adored by his entire family, who remained proud of everything he accomplished. After leaving NASA, Frank and his wife channeled their energy into community service, volunteering with Habitat for Humanity in both fundraising and hands-on homebuilding. His life ended abruptly on June 22, 2005, when he died as a result of an auto accident. The man who had stood at the center of some of humanity's greatest engineering achievements spent his final years putting a hammer to a frame and raising money for families who needed a roof.

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