Thomas Stanley Logsdon

1937 - 2020

Thomas Stanley Logsdon, 82, of Seal Beach, Calif., passed away on May 1, 2020. Tom was an internationally recognized rocket scientist, author, expert witness, keynote lecturer, and short course instructor. He used his extraordinary knowledge of mathematics and physics to help put a dozen astronauts on the moon and played an integral role in the invention of the Global Positioning System (GPS), which is so vital to our modern world.Tom was born on Sept. 27, 1937, to George Stanley Logsdon and Margaret Buckman Logsdon, in Springfield. After graduating from Springfield High School in 1955, he went on to earn a bachelor's degree in math and physics at Eastern Kentucky University and a master's degree in point-set topology (mathematics) from the University of Kentucky. He had many wonderful teachers, but always fondly recalled Prof. Robertson from Springfield High School, and his college mentor, Dr. Smith Park, a beloved mathematics professor at EKU. In 1984, he was awarded an honorary PhD from EKU and was the alumni of the year for EKU's 100th anniversary.
After graduation, Tom landed his first job as an aero-ballistics engineer for McDonnell Douglas Aircraft in Santa Monica, Calif., kicking off a 32-year career in the aerospace industry. He was recruited by Rockwell International to become a trajectory mathematician on the Apollo Space program. When asked about his job on a television interview, he said, with his usual clever sense of humor, "before the flight, we predict where the rocket will go, and after the flight we try to explain why it didn't go there!"
He went on to work on the Shuttle Spacecraft program and in the mid-1970s Tom employed his mathematical genius to determine the placement of 24 satellites (satellite constellation) which make up our worldwide GPS. He was recently recognized as one of 28 original Inventors of GPS. While at Rockwell, he also worked on the Saturn V moon rocket, Skylab flight maneuvers, and unmanned Mars missions. He was also awarded the Rockwell Presidential Award and held a patent centered around navigation of jetliners.
In addition, Tom was a well-respected author, writing over 30 books, from his first book about space travel, "A Rush Toward the Stars," to some of the first computer programming books, to his best-selling "Six Simple Solutions that Shook the World." He also taught computer science at University of Southern California for many years.
After retiring from Rockwell, Tom ran a full-time business up until his death, producing books, magazine articles, and technical papers; teaching GPS and Orbital Mechanics short courses for NASA and JPL, lecturing around the world, being a guest speaker for Crystal Cruises (averaging eight cruises a year), and appearing on radio and TV.
He was passionate about playing tennis and did so until just prior to his death. His career and pleasure travel took him to over 100 countries, all seven continents, and around the globe several times over. In 2016, Tom was inducted into the Kentucky Aviation Museum Hall of Fame.
Tom wed Cynda "Cyndi" Hedrick in Newport Beach, Calif., and became stepfather to Chad Stephen Logsdon. Cyndi Logsdon actively supported Tom's business by designing his charts and course materials; giving him feedback on his courses, books, and presentations; keeping him organized; and accompanying him to many exotic places to coordinate his appearances.
Tom was preceded in death by his parents, Stanley and Margaret Logsdon; his wife Cynda; his sister, Ann Logsdon Sims, of Bardstown, and two sisters who died in infancy, Molly and Rose Mary.
He is survived by a daughter, Donna (Drew) Schilder; along with his stepson Chad; his brother, Pat (Patsy) Logsdon, of Loretto; seven nieces and nephews; and numerous great-nieces and -nephews.