Former NASA flight director Gene Kranz is probably best known for leading the mission control team that brought the astronauts of Apollo 13 safely back to earth.
Many air forces hope that, one day, a single human pilot might even orchestrate, though not micromanage, a whole fleet of accompanying unmanned planes.
He spent 24 years working for NASA, where he was a flight controller for the space-shuttle program under the legendary flight director Gene Kranz, of Apollo 13 movie fame.