Terry Whalen

is an author and retired after a 50-year multifaceted career as an engineer, project manager and entrepreneur. He graduated from Colorado State University in 1962 with a BSEE and a commission in USAF. During his USAF career, Terry was the Launch Officer for Minuteman Missile test program at Cape Canaveral Florida, launching 13 missiles in 1963 and 1964. In 1965 he began a position as Project Manager at NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center, in Houston, TX, playing a key role in Apollo 4, the first unmanned Apollo mission and on Apollo 7 the First manned orbital mission. In the 1970’s Terry left NASA and joined Raytheon Company where he managed aspects of several key projects in systems and displays for air traffic control, sonar, and satellite tracking. In 1980 Terry and his wife Ruth felt an urge to move back to their Colorado roots. So, Terry took engineering jobs at first with Ball Aerospace and later ESAB, an international company, served as manufacturing manager and later engineering manager.

Terry’s entrepreneurial career began in 1985 as cofounder and president of a company established to bring computers and automation to the sign industry. This led Terry away from products and designing to owning and operating a sign business in Las Vegas. After a successful run in Vegas, Terry and Ruth sold the business in 2022. In retirement they are enjoying their 8 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren, as Terry pursues a career as an author.

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