Robert Martin, who hired Surveyor 1 engineers, dies at 89

Robert A. Martin never talked much about one of his pet projects at Hughes Aircraft Co., hiring a team of engineers that helped build the Surveyor 1 spacecraft, but the former Long Island resident was quietly proud of his contribution.

Martin, who grew up in Amityville and Garden City in the 1930s, died of cancer Sunday at an assisted living facility in Bend, Ore., his family said. He was 89.

As the longtime head of employment at Hughes, one of Martin's jobs in the 1960s was compiling a team to build Surveyor 1, the family said, the first U.S. spacecraft to make a "soft landing" on the moon.

"At the time, it was very difficult to find engineers to do that kind of work," said Reginald Ballantyne, 87, of Westbury, Martin's brother-in-law. "I know he always was very proud of what the thing accomplished."

Surveyor's unmanned landing in June of 1966 is credited for having set the groundwork for the Apollo mission, many experts believe.

Martin graduated from Garden City High School and attended Colgate University before joining the Navy. He was on the USS Killen when the destroyer was damaged by a kamikaze pilot in 1944, Ballantyne said. Martin left Long Island in 1947, Ballantyne said, after being discharged.

Martin then attended Northwestern University and later the University of Southern California, where he earned a master of business administration degree. He worked for Hughes from 1951 until his retirement in the mid-1970s, the family said. He moved from California to Bend about 10 years ago.

Martin is survived by his sister, Constance Ballantyne, 86, of Westbury, and several nieces and nephews.

A service was Wednesday at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Bend, followed by burial at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, Ore.