John M. Klineberg ’60

The U.S. space program began just as we were graduating, and John was drawn to it from its very beginning. He was raised in Scarsdale, N.Y., and graduated from its high school, after two years in France. With us, he majored in aeronautical engineering and joined the Flying Club and Tiger Inn, where he roomed his senior year and managed Tiger’s IAA efforts.

Upon graduation John migrated to California for employment with Douglas Aircraft and pursuit of Southern California beach life. Called back to serious study, he enrolled at Cal Tech. Expecting to spend a year there, he was drawn further into it, earning a master’s degree in 1962 and Ph.D. in 1968 and teaching as a research engineer. Joining NASA in 1970, he advanced briskly through its major research facilities, rising to director in several and culminating in his appointment as director of the Goddard Space Flight Center in 1990. He supervised the preparations for the Hubble Telescope repair as well as other major initiatives until retirement in 1995.

John returned to the private sector, serving as president of several major space-related corporations until 2006. He also spoke for the National Academy of Sciences before several congressional committees until 2010. 

John died Dec. 31, 2022. His wife, Ann-Marie, predeceased him in 2004. John is survived by three sons, eight grandchildren, and their families.