Albert Joseph Kelley Jr. (27 July 1924 – 8 December 2004) was a United States Navy officer and guidance systems engineer who worked at NASA from 1960 to 1967, supervising electronics research for the Apollo program.

[2] Appointed to the Class of 1946 at the United States Naval Academy,[3] he played running back on offense and linebacker on defense for the football team.

His doctoral thesis was entitled Tactical and weapons system requirements for manned supersonic fighter-interceptor aircraft and his thesis advisor was Walter Wrigley,[5] who later served as a doctoral advisor for astronauts Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Edgar Mitchell.

[6][7] Kelley flew carrier-based aircraft from 1945 to 1947 during the military occupation of Japan and again during the Korean War,[1] earning the Air Medal.

[8] Upon completing his doctorate, he was assigned to the Navy Bureau of Weapons where he worked on the design of high-performance aircraft and missile systems.