Mr. Alvin "Al" Gartenberg

Alvin Gartenberg, an aerospace engineer who helped design fuel cells on the lunar excursion module that aided the rescue of Apollo 13 engineers, passed away on Saturday, June 22, 2019. He was 89.

Gartenberg was also a lead engineer on the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory project, which NASA called its "first successful cosmic explorer and the direct ancestor of Hubble . . . and many other astronomy satellites." It offered "the first orbital stellar observations in ultraviolet light," according to a NASA Goddard film last year marking the 50th anniversary of the OAO 2 mission. The family sometimes joked that the OAO satellite was his "fifth child."

His other passions included antique clocks, which he lovingly restored as both a hobby and one-time business; wood working; and tinkering with cars, especially MGs. He delighted in taking two MGs, neither in working condition, and creating one purring auto from various pieces of both. An ardent Yankees fan, he was proud to have once shaken the hand of Babe Ruth. Late in life, he also took up the hobby of amateur radio, earning the call sign N2ZUU.

Most importantly: He was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend.

Gartenberg was born in 1929 in the Lower East Side of New York and was a graduate of Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan and City College of New York. He worked at Republic Aviation and ran his own business, Reli-a-test, before joining Grumman Aerospace Corp. where he worked for many years. He was a long-time resident of Dix Hills, N.Y.

Gartenberg is survived by his wife of 68 years, Sylvia Gartenberg; children Lee Gartenberg, Sara Israel, Jackie Briggs, and Bonnie Pontell; grandchildren Danielle Israel, Erica Israel, Elana Israel, Alison Briggs, Joshua Pontell, and Shoshana Pontell; sister Laura Reiss; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made to an organization working on Parkinson's research and treatments.