John F. Yardley, a leading figure in the early days of human space flight and the Space Shuttle program, died early Tuesday. He was 76.

"John Yardley was as responsible as any individual for getting the Space Shuttle program off the ground. He made STS-1 happen," said NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin. "His experience and leadership through NASA's early human space flight efforts paved the way for his great contributions to the Space Shuttle program. Two decades later, John's legacy lives on with each successful Space Shuttle mission."

After three years in the Navy during World War II, Yardley began his aerospace career at McDonnell Douglas in 1946. While at McDonnell Douglas, he worked on cutting-edge human space flight projects, leading the design team for the Mercury spacecraft, and serving as Launch Operations Manager for the Mercury and Gemini spacecraft and later as the technical director for the Gemini Program.

"In those days, we were constantly making choices, and people's lives and the programs depended on them," said Dr. Christopher C. Kraft Jr., who served as a NASA Flight Director on the Mercury and Gemini Programs and later went on to serve as Director of NASA's Johnson Space Center. "Yardley was always willing to come up with the next idea to overcome whatever problem we were having. You knew you would get not just the right answer from him, but the best answer. He was one of two outstanding program managers in the early days of human space flight and one of my greatest associates."

NASA awarded Yardley its Public Service Medal for his outstanding contributions to the Mercury and Gemini Programs in 1963 and 1966.

Yardley served as vice president and general manager of McDonnell Douglas Astronautics' Eastern Division before joining NASA in 1974.

At NASA, Yardley served as Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight (later renamed Space Transportation Systems) where he led the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project and Spacelab, and was responsible for development and acquisition of the Space Shuttle, launching a new era in human space flight.

"We have lost one of the true giants of this nation's space program," said NASA Astronaut John Young, associate director (technical) of the Johnson Space Center, Houston, and commander of the first Space Shuttle flight. "A leader in the design and development of the early Mercury and Gemini spacecraft as well as today's Space Shuttle system, John Yardley made significant contributions to the program every step of the way. His vision, talent and dedication helped ensure that our spacecraft would be safe and that our missions would be successful."

Yardley returned to private industry in 1981 following the first successful Space Shuttle mission to serve as president of the former McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Co. In 1989, he retired in St. Louis.

Yardley's wife, Phyllis, four daughters, one son, one sister, nine grandchildren and a great-granddaughter survive him.