Forrest S. McCartney

Who was Forrest S. McCartney?

Forrest S. McCartney was a United States Air Force lieutenant general and former director of NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center.

McCartney was born in Fort Payne, Alabama. He graduated from Gulf Coast Military Academy in 1949, received a Bachelor of Science degree, in electrical engineering, from Auburn University in 1952. He earned a Master's degree, in nuclear engineering, from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1955, and also graduated from the Armed Forces Staff College. He received his commission through the Reserve Officer Training Corps, and entered the regular air force in 1952.

McCartney was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general on May 1, 1983, which is the rank at which he eventually retired. In 1986 he was selected, by NASA Administrator James C. Fletcher, to be the fourth director of the Kennedy Space Center. McCartney held this position from August 31, 1986, until December 31, 1991.

McCartney died in Palm Bay, Florida, on July 17, 2012, after a short illness.