Washington, June 12 (IANS): Jack King, US space agency NASA's public relations chief and the famous voice behind the countdown to the historic launch of the Apollo 11, the first manned mission to land on the Moon, has died in Florida, aged 84, Efe news agency reported.
King, popularly known as “Voice of Apollo”, died on Thursday in a hospital near the Kennedy Space Center from where he did the countdown for the Apollo mission launch in July 1969.
King's daughter Beth King explained that he died of heart failure.
On July 16, 1969, King counted down the launch of the Apollo 11 that took astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins to the Moon where, five days later, Armstrong became the first man to walk on the Moon.
King also did the countdown for hundreds of other NASA missions, including many more Apollo missions.
King hailed from Boston and was a resident of Coach Beach in Florida.