U.S. Air Force photo
Robert C. Seamans, the ninth Secretary of the Air Force

Robert Channing Seamans, Jr.

Lead NASA manager during the race to the moon who later became secretary of the Air Force

Beverly, Massachusetts - Robert C. Seamans Jr., a leading NASA manager during the race to the moon who later became secretary of the Air Force, died Saturday after a heart attack. He was 89.

Seamans died at his house in Beverly Farms, according to the Air Force.

Seamans was deputy administrator at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration during the frenzy that followed President John F. Kennedy's 1961 call to land an American on the moon by decade's end.

Seamans left NASA a year before the lunar landing and became the ninth secretary of the Air Force in 1969. During his four-year tenure, he oversaw a modernization toward weapons systems amid tighter budgets as the United States decreased its involvement in Vietnam.

A Funeral Service will be held at St. John's Episcopal Church, 705 Hale St., Beverly Farms, MA 01915 on Wednesday at 11 a.m. Relatives and friends are invited to attend.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to We Care About Homes, LTD, P.O. Box 5558, Beverly, MA 01915.