# Mercury Capsule Designer Dies **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 10, 2004, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-capsule-designer-dies/268530 "2004-10-10T22:54:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2004, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-capsule-designer-dies/268530/1 "2004-10-10T22:54:33Z")
[He worked on everything from Mercury up to the shuttle program.](http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-101004a.html) > [@](#): > > Max Faget, who in the late 1950s designed the United States first manned spacecraft, died Saturday at his home in Houston, Texas. He was 83. > > As NASA’s director of engineering and development for the Manned Spacecraft Center (later renamed Johnson Space Center), from 1962 to 1981, Dr. Maxime A. Faget led the capsule design for Project Mercury and the Apollo command and service modules, as well as for the Space Shuttle orbiter. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2004, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-capsule-designer-dies/268530/2 "2004-10-11T04:09:35Z")
With a name like “Max Faget,” you can imagine how he must’ve been teased by the kids in school. I wonder if the funerary arrangements involve cremation, followed by launching the cremains into space? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2004, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-capsule-designer-dies/268530/3 "2004-10-11T04:15:44Z")
I wouldn’t be surprised. NASA has carried the cremains into space of people they’ve respected (Gene Roddenberry comes to mind). ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2004, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-capsule-designer-dies/268530/4 "2004-10-11T05:56:54Z")
Hell, for this guy, it’d be worth launching his entire body up into space. Thanks for your work, Max. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2004, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-capsule-designer-dies/268530/5 "2004-10-11T06:19:00Z")
> [@The Scrivener](#): > > With a name like “Max Faget,” you can imagine how he must’ve been teased by the kids in school. Back then, I’m not sure the words were in place for him to be picked on. “Godspeed” Max. Lord knows you sent plenty of our Astronauts with that word, and safely brought them back too. . . Tripler May you find your rest in the stars. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-capsule-designer-dies/268530/6 "2004-10-12T12:40:41Z")
> [@The Scrivener](#): > > With a name like “Max Faget,” you can imagine how he must’ve been teased by the kids in school. Everyone’s talking about how tough Chris Reeve was, but this guy served in the US Navy in WWII with the name “Maxime Faget?” _That’s_ tough. You know when they weren’t calling him, “hey, faggot!” (which _was_ in use by WWII) they were calling him Patty or Laverne. ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-capsule-designer-dies/268530/7 "2004-10-12T16:24:18Z")
With due respect to Mr. Faget, I have a problem calling people “Doctor” when they only have an honorary doctorate. All the news reports of his death refer to him as “Dr. Maxime A. Faget”. There seems to me to be no need to exaggerate the qualifications of a person of his vast achievement. Also, his name was of French origin and was pronounced “Fa-zhay”. That may have deflected some of the joke potential. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-capsule-designer-dies/268530/8 "2004-10-12T17:47:08Z")
> [@Hyperelastic](#): > > Also, his name was of French origin and was pronounced “Fa-zhay”. That may have deflected some of the joke potential. Yeah, he _wished_. Poor ol’ Laverne. ---
**Author:** ![kevja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@kevja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevja)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-capsule-designer-dies/268530/9 "2004-10-12T20:10:22Z")
Max Faget, who in the late 1950s designed the United States first manned spacecraft, died Saturday at his home in Houston, Texas. He was 83. Quite an accomplishment, to say the least. And half the posts are about the guys “funny” last name.