Steve Bales

"[2] He graduated from Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering and was hired by NASA in December 1964.

[4] Bales is best known for having been guidance officer (or GUIDO) during the Apollo 11 lunar landing when he had the responsibility of dealing with several problems that could have ended the mission.

While monitoring the lunar module's position and velocity he came close to calling an abort when it became clear a navigational error had occurred.

After several seconds had passed, he informed flight director Gene Kranz that the landing could continue despite the alarms.

[6] The final decision of whether to call an abort (or in JSC jargon, "no go on the alarms") lay wholly with Bales, along with the responsibility if anything went wrong.

"[7] Bales had a long subsequent career at NASA and eventually became Deputy Director of Operations at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.