DOCSLIB.ORG

To Download the Charlie Duke Booklet

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
To Download the Charlie Duke Booklet Celebrating Flagstaff’s Scientific Role in the Apollo Moon Missions W.L. GORE & ASSOCIATES KEYNOTE PRESENTATION | SEPTEMBER 20, 2019 discoverflagstaff.com/lunarlegacy APOLLO 16 ASTRONAUT CHARLIE DUKE WELCOME FLAGSTAFF AND GUESTS! It is indeed an honor and pleasure for me to share Flagstaff’s Lunar Legacy with residents and visitors! Flagstaff’s significant scientific role in the Apollo Moon missions contributed to perhaps the greatest achievement in human history – landing and setting foot on another world! This was only possible with years of preparation in which many milestones Coral Evans occurred in Flagstaff. Mayor of Flagstaff Every astronaut who walked on the Moon trained right here. Important steps from local scientists, artists, engineers and cowboys all made it possible for mankind’s “giant leap.” They developed maps, landscapes and instrumentation to prepare the astronauts for successful navigation in this foreign environment. Flagstaff scientists continue to inspire all ages and advance our body of knowledge with world-class discoveries. I am so grateful to live in a place where science research and innovation are embraced and put on center stage in one of our community’s signature events, the Flagstaff Festival of Science! We celebrate Flagstaff’s lunar legends and the next generation of space pioneers. As astronaut Charlie Duke says, “The human heart is meant to explore!” Sincerely, COVER | Apollo 16 Lunar Module Pilot Charlie Duke salutes the flag standing in Coral Evans front of the Lunar Module “Orion”, April 21, 1972. Mayor of Flagstaff Photo: NASA 1 NEIL ARMSTRONG, APOLLO 11 COMMANDER: 2019 FLAGSTAFF FESTIVAL OF SCIENCE KEYNOTE SPEAKER “Houston, Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed.” APOLLO MOON-WALKING ASTRONAUT CHARLIE DUKE CHARLIE DUKE, MISSION CONTROL CAPCOM: TAKES FLAGSTAFF TO THE MOON “Roger, Tranquility. We copy you on the ground. The 10th and youngest man to ever walk on the Moon envisions a base camp, You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. observatory and rocket launching pad on the lunar surface in the near future. “We’re We’re breathing again. Thanks a lot.” going to want to see people going and exploring more,” says General Charlie Duke. The Apollo 16 astronaut was so appreciative of the scientists and community who helped him prepare for his 1972 mission that he and Commander John Young named a Moon crater in Flagstaff’s honor. Near their Lunar Highlands landing spot is “Flag Crater,” a name that remains today. “I found Flagstaff to be one of the most interesting places that we visited to study geology. I loved the people, the San Francisco Peaks and the beauty of the area.” Duke also visited Meteor Crater and hiked the Grand Canyon as part of his training, spending the night at Phantom Ranch. “Most of us couldn’t tell the difference between a clod of dirt and a rock,” says Duke. “But with the astrogeology branch of the USGS in Flagstaff helping us, we felt well-qualified to describe the rocks we found on the Moon and pick up the right ones. I loved all those guys!” Duke and Young practiced maneuvering a Moon buggy prototype over rough volcanic terrain and in and out of a simulated crater field north of town. Young drove while Duke navigated. “The suspension provided a lot smoother ride than we had on the FROM MISSION CONTROL CAPCOM TO MOONWALKER Moon! The practice rover on Earth was 800 to 900 pounds and a lot more stable. ABOVE | Official NASA portrait of Apollo 16 astronaut Charles M. Duke, Jr. The one on the Moon only weighed 80 pounds. The thing bounced around a lot!” LEFT | NASA astronaut Charlie Duke was involved in five Apollo missions. He says they never got lost on the lunar landscape. “If you were ever unsure, you When the Apollo 11 lunar module descended to the Moon on July 20, could just make a U-turn and follow your tracks back.” 1969, Duke, the communications link between the astronauts and Mission Control, was tensely monitoring the landing as the spacecraft Decades after his history-making flight, Duke has followed his own tracks back to was running out of fuel. “We were all holding our breath,” he said upon a successful landing. Photo: NASA Northern Arizona to launch the Flagstaff Festival of Science “To the Moon and Beyond” as the W. L. Gore and Associates Keynote Presenter. 2 3 “Most of us couldn’t tell the difference between a clod of dirt and a rock. But with the astrogeology branch of the USGS in Flagstaff helping us, we felt “I found Flagstaff to well-qualified to describe the rocks we be one of the most found on the Moon and pick up the interesting places right ones. I loved all those guys!” that we visited to –Charlie Duke study geology. I loved the people, the San Francisco Peaks and the beauty of the area.” –Charlie Duke GEOLOGY FIELD TRAINING FOR APOLLO 16 ABOVE | An engineer and Charlie Duke (collecting a soil sample) during a geology field training exercise at Merriam Crater, June 1971. Photo: USGS RIGHT | An engineer and Charlie Duke (standing) climb to the simulated Lunar Module during a geology field training exercise at Merriam Crater, June 1971. Photo: USGS LEFT | Apollo 16 astronauts Charlie Duke and John Young (at the controls) testing geologic rover “Grover” at the East Street facility in Flagstaff, September 1970. Photo: USGS 4 5 FLAGSTAFF FESTIVAL OF SCIENCE: APOLLO 16 MISSION INSPIRING OTHERS TO THE MOON AND BEYOND FOR 30 YEARS FACTS AND FIGURES APOLLO 16 CREW From the depths of the Grand Canyon to famous dark skies, from the world’s largest John W. Young contiguous Ponderosa pine forest to red rock monuments, from fossil remains of ancient Commander seas and the Age of Dinosaurs to alpine tundra, from Earth’s most accessible impact crater Thomas (Ken) K. Mattingly II to a landscape dotted with volcanoes and prehistoric dwellings, it’s no wonder Northern Command Module Pilot Arizona has long been a mecca for scientific discovery. Charles (Charlie) M. Duke, Jr. Lunar Module Pilot For 30 years, the Flagstaff Festival of Science has been shining the spotlight on world-class scientific discoveries that LAUNCH TO SPLASHDOWN occur here and celebrating the dedicated people, organizations and businesses behind the research and innovations. April 16-27, 1972. The lunar The award-winning festival is the longest running event of its kind in the Western Hemisphere, offering more than landing occurred on April 21. 100 free public activities each year at the end of September. In its mission to connect and inspire others–especially LANDING SITE youth–with the wonders of science and the joy of scientific discovery, the festival invites residents and visitors along Descartes Highlands on a season of science adventure into national forests, parks and monuments, laboratories, observatories, field stations “I enjoy motivating kids and audiences LUNAR ROVER VEHICLE and museums to participate one-on-one with scientists. on the benefits of space and hope we LRV-II, the second of three From this mountain town, geneticists are fighting deadly pathogens and super bugs, astronomers are looking for can encourage our country to help Rovers flown to the Moon, Earth-like planets and watching for near-Earth asteroids, foresters are studying how ecosystems can adapt to a was driven a total of 16.6 miles (26.7 km) during the mission. changing climate, elite athletes are running faster and swimming stronger, engineers and biologists are improving commit to these kinds of missions that lives with medical devices and advances on a cellular level. At 7,000 feet, Flagstaff touches the world, while cultivating are a great benefit for us. Let’s press LUNAR SURFACE ACTIVITIES the next generation of scientists, engineers, doctors and technicians. on and explore!” The crew collected rock and Thirty years ago, a small group of local scientists asked themselves, “How can we share our world with the public?” –Charlie Duke soil samples, took photos and From that meeting, a powerful festival emerged in which young people see themselves as scientists and a community performed experiments for ushers them into a future where STEM education and careers reign. 20 hours and 14 minutes. They remained on the lunar In 1990, USGS geologist Ivo Lucchitta announced, “Science is an adventure of the mind,” and Flagstaff, through the surface for a total of 71 hours. Festival of Science, responded, “Take us along on the journey.” SAMPLES COLLECTED LEFT | Apollo 16, the fifth manned lunar landing mission, launches from Kennedy Space Center on April 21, 1972. Photo: NASA 209.45 lbs (95 kg) of rock and RIGHT | Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke photographs the lunar landscape standing next to LRV-II on “Stone Mountain”, April 1972. Photo: NASA soil samples were collected. 6 7 Flagstaff’s ALL APOLLO ASTRONAUTS TRAINED IN FLAGSTAFF Lunar APOLLO 1 (1967) Gus Grissom Landmarks Ed White Roger Chaffee APOLLO ASTRONAUT SCIENCE TRAINING, EQUIPMENT FIELD TESTING AND LUNAR MAPPING APOLLO 7 (1968) Wally Schirra Donn Eisele LOWELL OBSERVATORY USGS ASTROGEOLOGY SCIENCE CENTER CINDER LAKE CRATER FIELDS Walter Cunningham lowell.edu astrogeology.usgs.gov coconinonationalforest.us APOLLO 8 (1968) Frank Borman Lowell Observatory was founded in 1894 by Percival The United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Flagstaff’s volcanic cinder fields offered the topography Jim Lovell Lowell, who inspired millions with his tireless advocacy Science Center was established in 1963 by Eugene (Gene) to create an ideal site for astronaut field training and Bill Anders of astronomy. In 1930, Pluto was discovered by Clyde Shoemaker to provide geologic mapping and support lunar rover vehicle simulator testing. In 1967, using APOLLO 9 (1969) Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory, and decades later, for the Apollo Moon missions.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • USGS Open-File Report 2005-1190, Table 1
    TABLE 1 GEOLOGIC FIELD-TRAINING OF NASA ASTRONAUTS BETWEEN JANUARY 1963 AND NOVEMBER 1972 The following is a year-by-year listing of the astronaut geologic field training trips planned and led by personnel from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Branches of Astrogeology and Surface Planetary Exploration, in collaboration with the Geology Group at the Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas at the request of NASA between January 1963 and November 1972. Regional geologic experts from the U.S. Geological Survey and other governmental organizations and universities s also played vital roles in these exercises. [The early training (between 1963 and 1967) involved a rather large contingent of astronauts from NASA groups 1, 2, and 3. For another listing of the astronaut geologic training trips and exercises, including all attending and the general purposed of the exercise, the reader is referred to the following website containing a contribution by William Phinney (Phinney, book submitted to NASA/JSC; also http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/ap-geotrips.pdf).] 1963 16-18 January 1963: Meteor Crater and San Francisco Volcanic Field near Flagstaff, Arizona (9 astronauts). Among the nine astronaut trainees in Flagstaff for that initial astronaut geologic training exercise was Neil Armstrong--who would become the first man to step foot on the Moon during the historic Apollo 11 mission in July 1969! The other astronauts present included Frank Borman (Apollo 8), Charles "Pete" Conrad (Apollo 12), James Lovell (Apollo 8 and the near-tragic Apollo 13), James McDivitt, Elliot See (killed later in a plane crash), Thomas Stafford (Apollo 10), Edward White (later killed in the tragic Apollo 1 fire at Cape Canaveral), and John Young (Apollo 16).
    [Show full text]
  • Glossary Glossary
    Glossary Glossary Albedo A measure of an object’s reflectivity. A pure white reflecting surface has an albedo of 1.0 (100%). A pitch-black, nonreflecting surface has an albedo of 0.0. The Moon is a fairly dark object with a combined albedo of 0.07 (reflecting 7% of the sunlight that falls upon it). The albedo range of the lunar maria is between 0.05 and 0.08. The brighter highlands have an albedo range from 0.09 to 0.15. Anorthosite Rocks rich in the mineral feldspar, making up much of the Moon’s bright highland regions. Aperture The diameter of a telescope’s objective lens or primary mirror. Apogee The point in the Moon’s orbit where it is furthest from the Earth. At apogee, the Moon can reach a maximum distance of 406,700 km from the Earth. Apollo The manned lunar program of the United States. Between July 1969 and December 1972, six Apollo missions landed on the Moon, allowing a total of 12 astronauts to explore its surface. Asteroid A minor planet. A large solid body of rock in orbit around the Sun. Banded crater A crater that displays dusky linear tracts on its inner walls and/or floor. 250 Basalt A dark, fine-grained volcanic rock, low in silicon, with a low viscosity. Basaltic material fills many of the Moon’s major basins, especially on the near side. Glossary Basin A very large circular impact structure (usually comprising multiple concentric rings) that usually displays some degree of flooding with lava. The largest and most conspicuous lava- flooded basins on the Moon are found on the near side, and most are filled to their outer edges with mare basalts.
    [Show full text]
  • Letter from Fred
    10 – B We asked Fred Haise to write a News Monthly – April 2020 message for the people of Biloxi and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, about growing up in Biloxi, the fame he achieved and how he feels about the A love letter to Biloxi pending 50th anniversary of Apollo 13. We told him 400 words. We regret that. It’s a great read. Hometown hero recalls the simple life before he took off Growing up in Biloxi gave me a great start on my career ahead in the Marine Corps, as a NASA Test Pilot and Astronaut, and as an Aerospace Executive. Life was simple and safe with lots of friends. I ran to school at Gorenflo Elementary and either brought a brown bag or ran home for lunch. I was allowed to stay after school playing with friends until dusk, climbing trees or hunting for tadpoles in the drainage creek running through the south end of the school yard. I moved up to a bicycle in junior and high school and started work at 12 years old as a “paper boy” for the Biloxi Gulfport Daily Herald. I had Route 16, which covered from Main to Croesus Street and from Howard Avenue to the Beach Boulevard with about 170 customers. The newspaper owner, Mr. E.P. Wilkes, gave me my first lessons in responsibility for running my own little business with about 170 customers, to earn about $17 a week. Mr. Wilkes was also my Boy Scout leader and scouting provided a lot of those character traits that stood me well on Apollo 13.
    [Show full text]
  • Warren and Taylor-2014-In Tog-The Moon-'Author's Personal Copy'.Pdf
    This article was originally published in Treatise on Geochemistry, Second Edition published by Elsevier, and the attached copy is provided by Elsevier for the author's benefit and for the benefit of the author's institution, for non- commercial research and educational use including without limitation use in instruction at your institution, sending it to specific colleagues who you know, and providing a copy to your institution’s administrator. All other uses, reproduction and distribution, including without limitation commercial reprints, selling or licensing copies or access, or posting on open internet sites, your personal or institution’s website or repository, are prohibited. For exceptions, permission may be sought for such use through Elsevier's permissions site at: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/permissionusematerial Warren P.H., and Taylor G.J. (2014) The Moon. In: Holland H.D. and Turekian K.K. (eds.) Treatise on Geochemistry, Second Edition, vol. 2, pp. 213-250. Oxford: Elsevier. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Author's personal copy 2.9 The Moon PH Warren, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA GJ Taylor, University of Hawai‘i, Honolulu, HI, USA ã 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This article is a revision of the previous edition article by P. H. Warren, volume 1, pp. 559–599, © 2003, Elsevier Ltd. 2.9.1 Introduction: The Lunar Context 213 2.9.2 The Lunar Geochemical Database 214 2.9.2.1 Artificially Acquired Samples 214 2.9.2.2 Lunar Meteorites 214 2.9.2.3 Remote-Sensing Data 215 2.9.3 Mare Volcanism
    [Show full text]
  • In Memory of Astronaut Michael Collins Photo Credit
    Gemini & Apollo Astronaut, BGEN, USAF, Ret, Test Pilot, and Author Dies at 90 The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) is saddened to report the loss of space man Michael Collins BGEN, USAF, Ret., and NASA astronaut who has passed away on April 28, 2021 at the age of 90; he was predeceased by his wife of 56 years, Pat and his son Michael and is survived by their daughters Kate and Ann and many grandchildren. Collins is best known for being one of the crew of Apollo 11, the first manned mission to land humans on the moon. Michael Collins was born in Rome, Italy on October 31, 1930. In 1952 he graduated from West Point (same class as future fellow astronaut, Ed White) with a Bachelor of Science Degree. He joined the U.S. Air Force and was assigned to the 21st Fighter-Bomber Wing at George AFB in California. He subsequently moved to Europe when they relocated to Chaumont-Semoutiers AFB in France. Once during a test flight, he was forced to eject from an F-86 after a fire started behind the cockpit; he was safely rescued and returned to Chaumont. He was accepted into the USAF Experimental Flight Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California. In 1960 he became a member of Class 60C which included future astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Irwin, and Tom Stafford. His inspiration to become an astronaut was the Mercury Atlas 6 flight of John Glenn and with this inspiration, he applied to NASA. In 1963 he was selected in the third group of NASA astronauts.
    [Show full text]
  • Gemini 4 an Astronaut Steps Into the Void
    springer.com Popular Science : Popular Science in Astronomy Shayler, David J. Gemini 4 An Astronaut Steps into the Void Details the first American spacewalk in a leap forward from the Mercury program Follows each detail of Gemini's extended duration flight, NASA's first, relying extensively on archives Continues the Pioneers in Early Spaceflight series which looks one-by-one at the Mercury and Gemini flights The flight of Gemini 4 in June 1965 was conducted barely four years after the first Americans flew in space. It was a bold step by NASA to accomplish the first American spacewalk and to extend the U.S. flight duration record to four days. This would be double the experience gained from the six Mercury missions combined. This daring mission was the first to be directed from Springer the new Mission Control at the Manned Spacecraft Center near Houston, Texas. It also revealed 1st ed. 2018, XXV, 378 p. that: Working outside the spacecraft would require further study. Developing the techniques to 1st 81 illus., 46 illus. in color. rendezvous with another object in space would not be as straightforward as NASA had hoped. edition Living in a small spacecraft for several days was a challenging but necessary step in the quest for even longer flights.Despite the risks, the gamble that astronauts Jim McDivitt and Ed White undertook paid off. Gemini 4 gave NASA the confidence to attempt an even longer flight the Printed book next time. That next mission would simulate the planned eight-day duration of an Apollo lunar Softcover voyage.
    [Show full text]
  • 2008 NATIONAL SPACE TROPHY RECIPIENT - Eugene Andrew Cernan Rotary National Award for Space Achievement
    2008 NATIONAL SPACE TROPHY RECIPIENT - Eugene Andrew Cernan Rotary National Award for Space Achievement he Rotary Na- ing at the U.S. Naval Post Graduate School. Their daughter Ttional Award for Tracy was born in March 1963. A few months later, he got a Space Achievement call asking if he’d volunteer for the astronaut program. “Well, (RNASA) Founda- yes sir!” Cernan responded. “Not only that, sir, but hell, yes! tion recognizes retired Sir!” (ibid, 53). He finished his degree and reported to Johnson Navy Captain Eugene Space Center as one of 14 new astronauts. Andrew Cernan with Cernan’s first mission, Gemini 9, launched on June 3, the 2008 National 1966. The flight required the launch of a rendezvous target fol- Space Trophy “for lowed by the separate launch of the crew. The crew performed outstanding achieve- the rendezvous in record time. But docking was not possible ments as an astronaut; because the nose shroud remained attached. Commander Tom second American to Stafford (1930--) radioed Houston, “We have a weird-looking walk in space; crew machine up here. It looks like an angry alligator” (ibid, 122). member on second Nevertheless, the crew successfully demonstrated multiple flight to the moon; rendezvous techniques. commander of the last At an altitude of 161 miles; Cernan became the second landing on the moon; American to walk in space. “I grabbed the edges of the hatch Eugene Andrew Cernan. and as an advocate for and climbed out of my hole until I stood on my seat.” He (Photo courtesy of The Cernan space exploration and Corporation) education.” The 2007 Trophy winner and former Flight Director Gene Kranz said, “I had the privilege of launching Cernan on his first mission into space and again at the beginning of his journey on Apollo 17.
    [Show full text]
  • Sky and Telescope
    SkyandTelescope.com The Lunar 100 By Charles A. Wood Just about every telescope user is familiar with French comet hunter Charles Messier's catalog of fuzzy objects. Messier's 18th-century listing of 109 galaxies, clusters, and nebulae contains some of the largest, brightest, and most visually interesting deep-sky treasures visible from the Northern Hemisphere. Little wonder that observing all the M objects is regarded as a virtual rite of passage for amateur astronomers. But the night sky offers an object that is larger, brighter, and more visually captivating than anything on Messier's list: the Moon. Yet many backyard astronomers never go beyond the astro-tourist stage to acquire the knowledge and understanding necessary to really appreciate what they're looking at, and how magnificent and amazing it truly is. Perhaps this is because after they identify a few of the Moon's most conspicuous features, many amateurs don't know where Many Lunar 100 selections are plainly visible in this image of the full Moon, while others require to look next. a more detailed view, different illumination, or favorable libration. North is up. S&T: Gary The Lunar 100 list is an attempt to provide Moon lovers with Seronik something akin to what deep-sky observers enjoy with the Messier catalog: a selection of telescopic sights to ignite interest and enhance understanding. Presented here is a selection of the Moon's 100 most interesting regions, craters, basins, mountains, rilles, and domes. I challenge observers to find and observe them all and, more important, to consider what each feature tells us about lunar and Earth history.
    [Show full text]
  • École De Paris Tableaux Modernes Photographies Aviation Conquête Spatiale
    EXPERTISES – VENTES AUX ENCHÈRES École de Paris Tableaux modernes Photographies Aviation Conquête spatiale Paris - Hôtel Drouot - 8 et 9 octobre 2019 EXPERTISES – VENTES AUX ENCHÈRES VENTE AUX ENCHÈRES PUBLIQUES Hôtel Drouot Richelieu salle 6 9, rue Drouot à Paris IXe Mardi 8 octobre 2019 à 14 h École de Paris Tableaux Modernes Mercredi 9 octobre 2019 à 14 h Photographies Aviation Conquête spatiale Reproduction des œuvres sur : www.ogerblanchet.fr - www.jj-mathias.fr Expositions publiques : Le lundi 7 octobre de 11 h à 18 heures Le mardi 8 octobre de 11 h à 12 heures Le mercredi 9 octobre de 11 h à 12 heures EXPERTISES – VENTES AUX ENCHÈRES 22 rue Drouot - 75009 Paris 01 42 46 96 95 - [email protected] ASSISTÉS DES EXPERTS Pour les lots 5 à 10 Pour l’École de Paris Éric SCHOELLER Christophe ZAGRODKI Tél. +33 (0)6 11 86 39 64 Tél. +33 (0)1 43 21 44 52 [email protected] [email protected] Pour les lots 38, 82 à 136, 252, 253, 281 à 287, Pour les autographes et manuscrits 289 à 314 M. Jean-Emmanuel RAUX Cabinet PERAZZONE-BRUN Arts et Autographes 4, rue Favart - 75002 9 rue de l’Odéon - 75006 Paris Tél. +33 (0)1 42 60 45 45 01 43 25 60 48 - [email protected] Pour les photographies M. Serge PLANTUREUX 80 Rue Taitbout - 75009 Paris Tél. +33 (0)6 50 85 60 74 - [email protected] AVERTISSEMENT Concernant l’état des œuvres décrites dans le présent catalogue, des rapports d’état sont disponibles sur simple demande Pour les estampes, sauf mention contraire, les dimensions sont celles de la cuvette pour les gravures et du sujet pour les lithographies J.J.
    [Show full text]
  • The Newsletter of the Barnard-Seyfert Astronomical Society
    June TheECLIPSE 2020 The Newsletter of the Barnard-Seyfert Astronomical Society From the President It’s been another long, strange month. Lots of things have been happening that aren’t in the Next Membership Meeting: realm of astronomy and I have been distracted by Stay tuned to the BSAS Google Group it all. As you know, we haven’t had a meeting in a or Night Sky Network email for couple of months, and I am really starting to miss information about future meetings. the meetings. It is nice to get out of the house and socialize with people that share a common interest. Hopefully this month is the month that we can come together as a group and get back into a new normal routine. Watch for emails and Facebook updates regarding the monthly meeting. Last month did have a big space event with the In this Issue: launch of the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule to the Happy Birthday Pete Conrad ISS late in the month. It marks a return to U.S. byRobinByrne 3 spaceflight and NASA working with private corporations to get astronauts into space. I hope Summer Triangle Corner: Vega you had a chance to watch the launch on TV or by David Prosper and VivianWhite 8 the Internet, it was very exciting to see. I have not been around long enough to remember the Apollo BSAS Board Minutes launch days, but it did bring back memories of the May6,2020 10 shuttle launches for me. I hope this gets America excited about space travel again and brings back Membership Information 13 talk of getting people to the moon.
    [Show full text]
  • Colonel Gordon Cooper, US Air Force Leroy Gordon
    Colonel Gordon Cooper, U.S. Air Force Leroy Gordon "Gordo" Cooper Jr. was an American aerospace engineer, U.S. Air Force pilot, test pilot, and one of the seven original astronauts in Project Mercury, the first manned space program of the U.S. Cooper piloted the longest and final Mercury spaceflight in 1963. He was the first American to sleep in space during that 34-hour mission and was the last American to be launched alone to conduct an entirely solo orbital mission. In 1965, Cooper flew as Command Pilot of Gemini 5. Early life and education: Cooper was born on 6 March 1927 in Shawnee, OK to Leroy Gordon Cooper Sr. (Colonel, USAF, Ret.) and Hattie Lee Cooper. He was active in the Boy Scouts where he achieved its second highest rank, Life Scout. Cooper attended Jefferson Elementary School and Shawnee High School and was involved in football and track. He moved to Murray, KY about two months before graduating with his class in 1945 when his father, Leroy Cooper Sr., a World War I veteran, was called back into service. He graduated from Murray High School in 1945. Cooper married his first wife Trudy B. Olson (1927– 1994) in 1947. She was a Seattle native and flight instructor where he was training. Together, they had two daughters: Camala and Janita Lee. The couple divorced in 1971. Cooper married Suzan Taylor in 1972. Together, they had two daughters: Elizabeth and Colleen. The couple remained married until his death in 2004. After he learned that the Army and Navy flying schools were not taking any candidates the year he graduated from high school, he decided to enlist in the Marine Corps.
    [Show full text]
  • JULY Roundup Working
    volume Number 43/7 One giant leap for mankind Roundup SPACE CENTER ROUNDUP Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Scientist-astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt, Lunar Module pilot, is photographed next to the deployed United States flag during lunar surface extravehicular activity at the Taurus-Littrow landing site. The highest part of the flag appears to point toward our planet Earth in the distant background. This picture was taken by Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, Apollo 17 commander. While Astronauts Cernan and Schmitt descended in the Lunar Module to explore the Moon, Astronaut Ronald E. Evans, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules in lunar orbit. NASA AS11-40-5880 NASA AS17-134-20384 Space Center Roundup PRSRT STD One small The Roundup is an official publication of the U.S. POSTAGE “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot National Aeronautics and Space Administration, PAID Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, and is WEBSTER, TX step for upon the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We came in published by the Public Affairs Office for all Space Permit No. G27 peace for all mankind.” Center employees. The Roundup office is in Bldg. 2, Quote from the plaque affixed to the Lunar Module Rm. 166A. The mail code is AP121. Visit our Web site at: www.jsc.nasa.gov/roundup/weekly/ man… and signed by Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, For distribution questions or to suggest a story idea, Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin and President Richard Nixon. please call 281/244-6397 or send an e-mail to 35th anniversary coverage of the [email protected].
    [Show full text]