Thomas Allen Musson, 82, a retired Air Force Colonel, died Wednesday, November 4, 2020 at Shenandoah Valley Westminster-Canterbury in Winchester, Virginia.

Col. Musson joined the Air Force in 1959. Early in his Air Force career, he served as a member of an Atlas ICBM launch crew in Kansas and an engineer at Cape Kennedy, where he participated in five launches that were part of the Gemini manned space program. Later he served in a number of reliability engineering assignments, including managing the reliability program during the design of the F-15 Eagle fighter. He served two tours in the Pentagon and completed his service as a staff officer in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

From 1982 to 1990, Col. Musson worked in defense contracting, and from 1990 to 2014 he was a member of the research staff at the Institute for Defense Analyses in Alexandria, Virginia.

Born in Sandusky, Ohio, Col. Musson earned his undergraduate degree in aeronautical engineering from St. Louis University and master’s degree in reliability engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology.

Col. Musson was a member of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church and a fourth-degree member of the Knights of Columbus.

Survivors include his wife of 45 years, Marian Musson; one son, John Musson; one daughter, Christine Musson Elliott; and two granddaughters.

Services will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Shenandoah Valley Westminster-Canterbury Employee Emergency Fund or the Shenandoah Valley Westminster-Canterbury Chaplaincy Fund at 300 Westminster-Canterbury Drive, Winchester, VA 22603.