A newspaper reporter, Scheer covered America’s early space program. He then joined NASA in 1962 as its spokesman, rising to assistant administrator for public affairs in 1963. His deft promotion of the space program to the media resulted in increased public interest, which led to more news coverage.
His biggest imprint, however, may be his insistence that the Apollo 11 moon landing, and the astronauts’ first steps on its surface, be televised live. The whole world stopped to watch. After leaving NASA, Scheer continued in aerospace PR, and was a trustee of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. He died in a tractor accident at his cattle ranch in Catlett, Va., at age 75.
Note: For more on Apollo 11’s landing, see this post from my blog.