steely-eyed missile man

Etymology


From, probably popularized by its use in the book Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13 (1994) by the American astronaut (born 1928) and the American author and journalist  (born 1954); and the film based on the book, Apollo 13 (1995), where capsule communicator 1 Andy (acted by ) says to a technician (Walter von Huene) whose team has devised a solution to a problem with the spacecraft’s carbon dioxide filters: “You, sir, are a steely-eyed missile man.” The book implies that the term was in use at least during the early years of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which was established in 1958: see the quotation.

Noun

 * 1)  An astronaut or engineer who quickly comes up with a solution to a difficult problem while under extreme pressure.

Translations

 * Finnish: teräshermoinen
 * Macedonian: