Captain Robert F. Freitag

U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Jackson, Michigan​

 

Robert F. Freitag was a 1941 graduate of the University of Michigan with a degree in aeronautical engineering, the same year he was commissioned as an Ensign in the Naval Reserve. Because of his educational background, he was assigned graduate work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. From 1945 on he was active in guided missiles and rockets, first with the Navy and then the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In 1955 he was the head of the Ballistic Missile Branch during the period the basic concepts of the Polaris and SUBROC Missiles were developed. During his last four years with the Navy, 1959-1963, Freitag was responsible for the development of nine different scientific and military systems in space. After joining NASA in 1963, he was responsible for the development of the Marshall, Kennedy, and Manned Spacecraft Centers as the nation was shooting for the moon. Captain Freitag later helped bring nine Western European nations into the U.S. Space Program. He held the title of Deputy Director of Advanced Programs at NASA’s Office of Manned Space Flight in Washington, D.C. Among his decorations were the Legion of Merit, the Navy Commendation Medal, and the NASA Exceptional Service Medal for his contributions to manned space flight and the Apollo Lunar Landing. In 1957 he was designated “Distinguished Alumnus” by the University of Michigan. In 1967 he was awarded the University of Michigan Sesquicentennial Award and Medal. On December 8, 1978, he received the British Interplanetary Society’s Bronze Medal for Outstanding Work in Promoting Space Travel.