Roy Neal, 82; NBC News Correspondent Was Aerospace Expert

Roy Neal, 82, a television correspondent for NBC News who covered the American manned space program, died Aug. 15 in High Point, N.C. The cause of death was not reported.

Neal grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, and joined NBC News in 1948. He worked for the network for 38 years in a variety of capacities, including correspondent, producer and executive. He retired in 1986.

He set up the network’s West Coast news bureau in the early 1950s, and reported on political conventions in the 1960s and early ‘70s.

Neal became an aerospace expert for the network, reporting on Mercury and Gemini missions, as well as the Apollo program and first space shuttle trips.

After Apollo 11 landed on the moon and returned safely to Earth, Neal made a record album of his broadcast commentary, which was packaged with transmissions between mission control and the astronauts.