Thomas O. Paine

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Thomas O. Paine
3rd Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
In office March 21, 1969 – September 15, 1970 Acting: October 6, 1968 – March 21, 1969
President	Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon
Preceded by	James E. Webb
Succeeded by	James C. Fletcher
Personal details
Born	Thomas Otten Paine (1921-11-09)November 9, 1921 Berkeley, California, U.S.
Died	May 4, 1992(1992-05-04) (aged 70) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Spouse	Barbara Taunton Pearse
Children	4
Alma mater	Brown University (A.B.) Stanford University (M.S., PhD)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Navy
Battles/wars	World War II
Scientific career
Fields	Metallurgy
Institutions	Stanford University General Electric
Thesis	The effect of a molten lead-bismuth eutectic alloy on steel (1949)

Thomas Otten Paine (November 9, 1921 – May 4, 1992) was an American engineer, scientist and advocate of space exploration, and was the third Administrator of NASA, serving from March 21, 1969, to September 15, 1970.

During his administration at NASA, the first crewed lunar landing by Apollo 11 was flown as were three other Apollo missions. Paine was also deeply involved in preparing plans for the post-Apollo era at NASA.