Visit the following Apollo astronauts web site's to learn more about them and purchase memorabillia directly from them for your own collection.
If you have any questions or comments, please email me at:
Walt Cunningham (Apollo 7)
Dick Gordon (Apollo 12)
Ed Mitchell (Apollo 14)
Al Worden (Apollo 15)
Charlie Duke (Apollo 16)
Derek@mach-buster.co.uk
Colonel Aldrin is a combat veteran of the Korean War flying 66 missions in the North American F-86 Sabre. Colonel Aldrin is a veteran of two NASA space missions. Aldrin flew as pilot of the Gemini XII spacecraft along with command pilot Jim Lovell on a 4- day flight in November of 1966. This was the final flight of the Gemini program and during the flight Buzz set a new EVA record and was pioneer of working successfully outside the spacecraft. Colonel Aldrin served as lunar module pilot for Apollo 11, July 16-24, 1969, the first manned lunar landing mission. Aldrin followed Neil Armstrong onto the lunar surface on July 20, 1969, completing a 2-hour and 15 minute lunar EVA. To find out more about Colonel Aldrin please visit his official website www.buzzaldrin.com
General Anders is a veteran of one NASA manned space mission. Anders flew as Lunar Module Pilot on the first manned mission to orbit the moon on Apollo 8 in December 1968. General Anders flew along with Frank Borman (Commander) and Jim Lovell (Command Module Pilot). Click here to read General Anders NASA biography.
Neil A. Armstrong was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio, on August 5, 1930. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Purdue University in 1955. After serving as a naval aviator from 1949 to 1952 and completing his studies at Purdue, Armstrong joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in 1955. His first assignment was with the NACA Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. For the next 17 years, he was an engineer, test pilot, astronaut and administrator for NACA and its successor agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). As a research pilot at NASA's Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., he was a project pilot on many pioneering high speed aircraft, including the well known, 4000-mph X-15. He has flown over 200 different models of aircraft, including jets, rockets, helicopters and gliders. Armstrong transferred to astronaut status in 1962. He was assigned as command pilot for the Gemini 8 mission. Gemini 8 was launched on March 16, 1966, and Armstrong performed the first successful docking of two vehicles in space. As spacecraft commander for Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing mission, Armstrong gained the distinction of being the first man to land a craft on the moon and first to step on its surface. Armstrong subsequently held the position of Deputy Associate Administrator for Aeronautics, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. In this position, he was responsible for the coordination and management of overall NASA research and technology work related to aeronautics. He was Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Cincinnati between 1971-1979. During the years 1982-1992, Armstrong was chairman of Computing Technologies for Aviation, Inc., Charlottesville, Va. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Purdue University and a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southern California. He holds honorary doctorates from a number of universities. Armstrong is a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and the Royal Aeronautical Society; Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the International Astronautics Federation. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco. He served as a member of the National Commission on Space (1985-1986), as Vice-Chairman of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident (1986), and as Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Peace Corps (1971-1973). Armstrong has been decorated by 17 countries. He is the recipient of many special honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom; the Congressional Space Medal of Honor; the Explorers Club Medal; the Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy; the NASA Distinguished Service Medal; the Harmon International Aviation Trophy; the Royal Geographic Society's Gold Medal; the Federation Aeronautique Internationale's Gold Space Medal; the American Astronautical Society Flight Achievement Award; the Robert J. Collier Trophy; the AIAA Astronautics Award; the Octave Chanute Award; and the John J. Montgomery Award. Click here to read Mr. Armstrong's NASA biography.
Alan Bean was one of the third group of astronauts named by NASA in October 1963. He served as backup astronaut for the Gemini 10 and Apollo 9 missions. Captain Bean was lunar module pilot on Apollo 12, man’s second lunar landing. In November 1969, Captain Bean and Captain Pete Conrad landed in the moon’s Ocean of Storms—after a flight of some 250,000 miles. They explored the lunar surface, deployed several lunar surface experiments, and installed the first nuclear power generator station on the moon to provide the power source. Captain Richard Gordon remained in lunar orbit photographing landing sites for future missions.
Captain Bean was spacecraft commander of Skylab Mission II (SL-3), July 29 to September 25, 1973. With him on the 59-day, 24,400,000 mile world record setting flight were scientist-astronaut Dr. Owen K. Garriott and Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Jack R. Lousma. Mission II accomplished 150% of its pre-mission forecast goals. On his next assignment, Captain Bean was backup spacecraft commander of the United States flight crew for the joint American-Russian Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Captain Bean has logged 1,671 hours and 45 minutes in space—of which 10 hours and 26 minutes were spent in EVAs on the moon and in earth orbit. Captain Bean has flown 27 types of military aircraft as well as many civilian airplanes. He has logged more than 7,145 hours flying time—including 4,890 hours in jet aircraft. Captain Bean retired from the Navy in October 1975 but continued as head of the Astronaut Candidate Operations and Training Group within the Astronaut Office in a civilian capacity. Bean resigned from NASA in June 1981 to devote his full time to painting. He said his decision was based on the fact that, in his 18 years as an astronaut, he was fortunate enough to visit worlds and see sights no artist’s eye, past or present, has ever viewed firsthand and he hopes to express these experiences through the medium of art. He is pursuing this dream at his home and studio in Houston. Click here to read Captain Bean's NASA bio. Visit the Alan Bean Gallery to see some of his stunning artwork.
Colonel Borman is a veteran of two NASA manned space missions. Colonel Borman was Commander of Gemini VII and flew with James A. Lovell (pilot) on the historic mission to rendezvous with the capsule of Gemini VIA (Ed White and Buzz Aldrin). Colonel Borman's second mission was as commander of Apollo VIII where he flew with Jim Lovell and Bill Anders on the historic first flight to the moon during December, 1968. Click here to read Colonel Borman's offical NASA Biography.
Captain Cernan is a former NASA astronaut and veteran of three space missions. Captain Cernan was one of fourteen group three astronauts selected by NASA in October 1963 and made his first space flight occupying the pilot seat alongside Command Pilot Tom Stafford on the Gemini IX mission in June, 1966. Captain Cernan's next space flight was alongside Tom Stafford (Commander), John Young (Command Module Pilot) on the historic Apollo 10 mission which was a full "dress rehearsal" for the first manned moon-landing in May 1969. Captain Cernan made his final space flight as Commander of Apollo 17 in December 1972. On this flight Cernan was accompanied by Harrison Schmitt (Lunar Module Pilot) and Ron Evans (Command Module Pilot). The flight of Apollo 17 was the last manned mission to the moon and Captain Cernan was the last human being to walk on the surface of the moon. Click here to read Captain Cernan's NASA biography. Please also take the time to visit Captain Cernan's official web site at genecernan.com.
A Navy ROTC student, Chaffee went on active duty in 1957 and after training in Florida and Texas became a pilot. In March 1960, he was assigned to the Heavy Photographic Squadron 62 at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida, and flew many photo-reconaissance missions over Cuba during the October 1962 missile crisis. Chaffee was one of the 14 astronauts selected in October 1963. After completing basic astronaut training, he worked on deep space communications and the Apollo spacescraft development. He was named to the Apollo 1 crew in March 1966.
Lieutenant Commander Roger Bruce Chaffee was killed in a flash fire aboard the Apollo 1 spacecraft on January 27, 1967 at Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 34. Chaffee, Virgil "Gus" Grissom and Edward White were training for a planned 16-day Apollo mission scheduled for launch on February 14, 1967. It would have been his first spaceflight. At the time of his death, Chaffee had logged approximately 2300 hours of flying time, 2000 of those hours in jets. More information on this tradgedy can be found here . To read Roger Chaffee's full biography click here.
General Collins is a veteran of two space flights and was chosen in the third group of NASA astronauts in 1963. General Collins made his first space flight with John Young (Command Pilot) aboard Gemini X with his next (and last) flight as Command Module Pilot for Apollo 11 which was the first manned lunar landing mission. It was on July 20, 1969 that astroanuts Neil Armstrong (Commander) and Buzz Aldrin (Lunar Module Pilot) first walked on the moon while Command Module Pilot Michael Collins orbited the moon in "Columbia" awaiting the return and rendezvous of "Eagle". In the event of an unsuccessful lift-off from the moons surface Collins would have had to return to earth alone. General Collins resigned from NASA in January 1970 and was appointed Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs and became Director of the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian Institution in April 1971 and was promoted to Under Secretary of the Smithsonian in April 1978. Click here to read General Collins NASA biography.
Following graduation from Princeton University in 1953, Mr. Conrad entered the Navy and became a naval aviator. He then attended the Navy Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, Maryland, where he was assigned as a Project Test Pilot. Mr. Conrad also served as a flight instructor and performance engineer at the Test Pilot School. After completing his tour of duty at Patuxent River, he served as instructor pilot in F4H Phantoms on VF-121 and was then assigned duty in VF-96 on board USS Ranger. In September of 1962, Mr. Conrad was selected as an astronaut by NASA. His first flight was Gemini V, which established the space endurance record and placed the United States in the lead for man-hours in space. As commander of Gemini XI, Mr. Conrad helped to set a world's altitude record. He then served as commander of Apollo XII, the second lunar landing. On Mr. Conrad's final mission, he served as commander of Skylab II, the first United States Space Station. After serving 20 years (11 of which were as an astronaut in the space program), Mr. Conrad retired from the U.S. Navy to accept a position as Vice President - Operations and Chief Operating Office of American Television and Communications Corporation (ATC). At ATC, he was responsible for both the operation of existing systems and the national development of new cable television systems. In 1976, he resigned from ATC to accept the position of Vice President and consultant to McDonnell Douglas Corporation. In 1978, he became Vice President of marketing and was responsible for all commercial and military sales for Douglas Aircraft Company. Mr. Conrad then became Senior Vice President-Marketing in 1980. He was appointed as Senior Vice President Marketing and Product Support in 1982 and 1984, was named Staff Vice President of International Business Development for McDonnell Douglas Corporation. In 1990, Mr. Conrad became Staff Vice President - New Business for McDonell Douglas Space Company, where he participated in research and development for the Space Exploration Initiative. Included for research and development in the Space Exploration Initiative are the construction of Space Station Freedom, the return to and colonization of the Moon, and the exploration of Mars. Mr. Conrad contributed his expertise on SSTO, the Single-Stage-To-Orbit and return space transportation system called the Delta Clipper. In 1993, Mr. Conrad became Vice President-Project Development. Mr. Conrad died July 8, 1999 from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident in Ojai, California. Click here to read "Pete" Conrad's NASA biography.
Colonel Cunningham is a former NASA astronaut who flew on the maiden manned flight test of the Apollo (7) program. The Apollo 7 crew were; Walter M. Schirra (Commander), Donn F. Eisele (Command Module Pilot) and Walter Cunningham (Lunar Module pilot). Visit the official website of
Walter Cunningham to learn more about his career and how to purchase signed items of memorabillia.
Charlie Duke is a retired Air Force Reserve Brigadier General and was commissioned in 1957 upon graduation from the Naval Academy. Upon entering the Air Force, he went to Spence Air Base, Georgia, for primary flight training and then to Webb Air Force Base, Texas, for basic flying training, where in 1958 he became a distinguished graduate. He was again a distinguished graduate at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, where he completed advanced training in F-86L aircraft. Upon completion of this training, he served three years as a fighter interceptor pilot with the 526th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germanypilot with the 526th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
He has logged 4,147 hours flying time, which includes 3,632 hours in jet aircraft. Duke was one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966. He served as member of the astronaut support crew for the Apollo 10 flight. He was CAPCOM for Apollo 11, the first landing on the Moon and he served as backup lunar module pilot on Apollo 13. Duke served as lunar module pilot of Apollo 16, April 16-27, 1972. He was accompanied on the fifth manned lunar landing mission by John W. Young (spacecraft commander) and Thomas K. Mattingly II (command module pilot). Apollo 16 was the first scientific expedition to inspect, survey, and sample materials and surface features in the Descartes region of the rugged lunar highlands. Duke and Young commenced their record setting lunar surface stay of 71 hours and 14 minutes by maneuvering the lunar module "Orion" to a landing on the rough Cayley Plains. In three subsequent excursions onto the lunar surface, they each logged 20 hours and 15 minutes in extravehicular activities involving the emplacement and activation of scientific equipment and experiments, the collection of nearly 213 pounds of rock and soil samples, and the evaluation and use of Rover-2 over the roughest and blockiest surface yet encountered on the moon. Click here to read the General Duke's NASA biography.
Colonel Eisele was one of the third group of astronauts selected by NASA in October 1963. On October 11, 1968, he occupied the Command Module Pilot seat for the eleven-day flight of Apollo 7—the first manned flight test of the third generation United States spacecraft. With spacecraft Commander Walter M. Schirra, Jr., and Lunar Module Pilot Walter Cunningham, Eisele participated in and executed maneuvers enabling the crew to perform exercises in transposition and docking and lunar orbit rendezvous with the S-IVB stage of their Saturn IB launch vehicle; completed eight successful test and maneuvering ignitions of the service module propulsion engine; measured the accuracy of performance of all spacecraft systems; and provided the first effective television transmissions of onboard crew activities. Colonel Eisele died suddely on December 2, 1987 and was survived by his wife Susan and two children. Click here to read Colonel Eisele's NASA biography.
Captain Evans is a former NASA astronaut and veteran of one space mission. Captain Evans was one of nineteen group six astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966 and made his only space flight occupying the Command Module Pilot seat alongside Gene Cernan (Commander) & Harrison Schmitt (Lunar Module Pilot) aboard Apollo 17 in December 1972. The flight of Apollo 17 was the last manned mission to the moon and during the mission. Completing his first (and only) space flight, Captain Evans logged 301 hours, 51 minutes in space. 1 hour, 6 minutes of which were spent in extravehicular activity. He holds the record of more time in lunar orbit than anyone else in the world. Click here to read Captain Evans NASA biography. Captain Evans passed away in 1990 of a heart attack.
Captain Gordon is a veteran of two space flights. On Gemini XI he flew into space with Charles "Pete" Conrad to a then world space altitude record. Gordon's second and final space flight was aboard Apollo XII where he flew as the Command Module Pilot. Once again, flying with "Pete" Conrad (Commander) and Alan Bean (Lunar Module Pilot). For the full story, please visit his official website dickgordon.com.
Gus Grissom is a combat veteran of the Korean War, flying 100 combat missions in the F-86 Sabre with the 334th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. Grissom was one of the original Seven Mercury astronauts selected by NASA in April 1959. Grissom's first spaceflight was aboard Mercury-Redstone 4 , the capsule which he titled "Liberty Bell 7". This was the second and final suborbital Mercury test flight on July 21, 1961. The flight lasted 15 minutes and 37seconds, attained an altitude of 118 statute miles, and traveled 302 miles downrange from the launch pad at Cape Kennedy. On March 23, 1965, he served as command pilot on the first manned Gemini flight, Gemini-Titan 3, flying into space with John Young. Subsequent to this assignment, he served as backup command pilot for Gemini 6. Grissom was named to serve as commander for the Apollo AS-204 (Apollo 1) mission, the first US 3-manned Apollo flight. Sadly Gus Grissom was lost along with Ed White & Roger Chaffee on January 27, 1967, during a "plugs out" test at Pad 34-A at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. More information on this tradgedy can be found here . To read Gus Grissom's full biography click here.
Colonel Irwin was one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966. He was crew commander of lunar module (LTA-8)-this vehicle finished the first series of thermal vacuum tests on June 1, 1968. He also served as a member of the astronaut support crew for Apollo 10 and as backup lunar module pilot for the Apollo 12 flight.
Irwin served as lunar module pilot for Apollo, July 26 to August 7, 1971. His companions on the flight were David R. Scott, spacecraft commander and Alfred M. Worden, command module pilot. Apollo 15 was the fourth manned lunar landing mission and the first to visit and explore the moon's Hadley Rille and Apennine Mountains which are located on the southeast edge of the Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains). The lunar module, "Falcon", remained on the lunar surface for 66 hours, 54 minutes-setting a new record for lunar surface stay time-and Scott and Irwin logged 18 hours and 35 minutes each in extravehicular activities conducted during three separate excursions onto the lunar surface. Using "Rover-l" to transport themselves and their equipment along portions of Hadley Rille and the Apinnine Mountains, Scott and Irwin performed a selenological inspection and survey of the area and collected approximately 180 pounds of lunar surface materials. They deployed an ALSEP package which involved the emplacement and activation of surface experiments, and their lunar surface activities were televised in color using a TV camera which was operated remotely by ground controllers stationed in the mission control center located at Houston, Texas. Other Apollo 15 achievements included: largest payloads ever placed in earth and lunar orbits; first scientific instrument module bay flown and operated on an Apollo spacecraft; longest distance traversed on lunar surface; first use of a lunar surface navigation device, mounted on Rover 1; first subsatellite launched in lunar orbit; and first extravehicular activity (EVA) from a command module during transearth coast. The latter feat was accomplished by Worden during three excursions to "Endeavour's" SIM bay where he retrieved film cassettes from the panoramic and mapping cameras and reported his personal observations of the general condition of equipment housed there. Click here to read Colonel Irwin's NASA biography. Colonel Irwin sadly died on August 8, 1991.
Dr. Schmitt was selected as a scientist-astronaut by NASA in June 1965. He later completed a 53-week course in flight training at Williams Air Force Base, Arizona. In addition to training for future manned space flights, he was instrumental in providing Apollo flight crews with detailed instruction in lunar navigation, geology, and feature recognition. Schmitt also assisted in the integration of scientific activities into the Apollo lunar missions and participated in research activities requiring geologic, petrographic, and stratigraphic analyses of samples returned from the moon by Apollo missions. He served as backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 15. On his only journey into space, Dr. Schmitt occupied the lunar module pilot seat for Apollo 17, the last scheduled manned Apollo mission to the moon for the United States, which commenced at 11:33 p.m. (CST), December 6, 1972, and concluded on December 19, 1972. He was accompanied on the voyage of the command module America and the lunar module Challenger by Eugene Cernan (spacecraft commander) and Ronald Evans (command module pilot). Click here to read Dr. Schmitt's NASA biography.
Schweickart came to NASA as one of the 14 astronauts named in October 1963. He served as lunar module pilot for Apollo 9, March 3-13, 1969, logging 241 hours in space. This was the third manned flight in the Apollo series, the second to be launched by a Saturn V and the first manned flight of the lunar module. With him on the flight into Earth orbit were James A. McDivitt, spacecraft commander, and David R. Scott, command module pilot. During a 46-minute EVA, Schweickart tested the portable life support backpack subsequently used on the lunar surface explorations. Schweickart served as backup commander for the first Skylab mission which flew in the Spring of 1973. Following the loss of the thermal shield during the launch of the Skylab vehicle, he assumed responsibility for the development of hardware and procedures associated with erecting the emergency solar shade and deploying the jammed solar array wing. After the Skylab program, Schweickart went to NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. as Director of User Affairs in the Office of Applications. In this position he was responsible for transferring NASA technology to the outside world and working with technology users to bring an understanding of their needs into NASA's program. Schweickart also worked on policies for space shuttle payload operations.
Scott served as command module pilot for Apollo 9, March 3-13, 1969. This was the third manned flight in the Apollo series, the second to be launched by a Saturn V, and the first to complete a comprehensive earth-orbital qualification and verification test of a "fully configured Apollo spacecraft." The ten-day flight provided vital information previously not available on the operational performance, stability, and reliability of lunar module propulsion and life support systems. Highlight of this evaluation was completion of a critical lunar-orbit rendezvous simulation and subsequent docking, initiated by James McDivitt and Russell Schweickart from within the lunar module at a separation distance which exceeded 100 miles from the command/service module piloted by Scott. The crew also demonstrated and confirmed the operational feasibility of crew transfer and extravehicular activity techniques and equipment, with Schweickart completing a 46-minute EVA outside the lunar module. During this period, Dave Scott completed a 1-hour stand-up EVA in the open command module hatch photographing Schweickart's activities and also retrieving thermal samples from the command module exterior. Apollo 9 splashed down less than four miles from the helicopter carrier USS GUADALCANAL.
He made his third space flight as spacecraft commander of Apollo 15, July 26 - August 7, 1971. His companions on the flight were Alfred M. Worden (command module pilot) and James B. Irwin (lunar module pilot). Apollo 15 was the fourth manned lunar landing mission and the first to visit and explore the moon's Hadley Rille and Apennine Mountains which are located on the southeast edge of the Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains). The lunar module, "Falcon," remained on the lunar surface for 66 hours and 54 minutes (setting a new record for lunar surface stay time) and Scott and Irwin logged 18 hours and 35 minutes each in extravehicular activities conducted during three separate excursions onto the lunar surface. Using "Rover-1" to transport themselves and their equipment along portions of Hadley Rille and the Apennine Mountains, Scott and Irwin performed a selenological inspection and survey of the area and collected 180 pounds of lunar surface materials. They deployed an ALSEP package which involved the emplacement and activation of surface experiments, and their lunar surface activities were televised using a TV camera which was operated remotely by ground controllers stationed in the mission control center located at Houston, Texas. Other Apollo 15 achievements include: largest payloads ever placed into earth and lunar orbits; first scientific instrument module bay flown and operated on an Apollo spacecraft; longest distance traversed on lunar surface; first use of a lunar surface navigation device (mounted on Rover-1); first subsatellite launched in lunar orbit; and first extravehicular (EVA) from a command module during transearth coast. The latter feat performed by Worden during three excursions to "Endeavour's" SIM-bay where he retrieved film cassettes from the panoramic and mapping cameras and reported his personal observations of the general condition of equipment housed there. Apollo 15 concluded with a Pacific Ocean splashdown and subsequent recovery by the USS OKINAWA. He has logged 546 hours and 54 minutes in space, of which 20 hours and 46 minutes were in Extravehicular Activity. He is only one of three Astronauts who have flown both earth orbital and lunar Apollo Missions. Click here to read Colonel Scott's NASA biography.
General Stafford was commander of Apollo 10 in May 1969, first flight of the lunar module to the moon, performed the first rendezvous around the Moon, and performed the entire lunar landing mission except the actual landing. He also made reconnaissance and tracking on future Apollo landing sites. General Stafford was cited in the Guiness Book of World Records for highest speed ever attained by man which occurred during Apollo 10 reentry when the spacecraft attained 24,791 statute miles per hour. He was assigned as head of the astronaut group in June 1969, responsible for the selection of flight crews for projects Apollo and Skylab. He reviewed and monitored flight crew training status reports, and was responsible for coordination, scheduling, and control of all activities involving NASA astronauts. In June 1971, General Stafford was assigned as Deputy Director of Flight Crew Operations at the NASA Manned Spaceflight Center. He was responsible for assisting the director in planning and implementation of programs for the astronaut group, the Aircraft Operations, Flight Crew Integration, Flight Crew Procedures, and Crew Simulation and Training Divisions. He logged his fourth space flight as Apollo commander of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) mission, July 15-24, 1975-a joint space flight culminating in the historic first meeting in space between American Astronauts and Soviet Cosmonauts. General Stafford was the first member of his Naval Academy Class of 1952 to pin on the first, second and third stars of a General Officer. He has flown six rendezvous in space; logged 507 hours and 43 minutes in space flight and wore the Air Force command Pilot Astronaut Wings. He has flown over 127 different type of aircraft and helicopters and four different types of spacecraft. General Stafford assumed command of the Air Force Flight Test Center November 4, 1975. He was promoted to the grade of Major General August 9, 1975, with date of rank of June 1, 1973. Promoted to grade of Lieutenant General on March 15, 1978 and on May 1, 1978, assumed duties as Deputy Chief of Staff, Research Development and Acquisition, Headquarters USAF, Washington, D.C.; retired in November 1979. Click here to read General Stafford's NASA biography.
Mr. Swigert was one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966. He served as a member of the astronaut support crew for the Apollo 7 mission. Mr. Swigert was next assigned to the Apollo 13 backup crew and subsequently called upon to replace prime crewman Thomas K. Mattingly as command module pilot. (The substitution was announced 72 hours prior to launch of the mission following Mattingly's exposure to the German measles.) Apollo 13, April 11-17, 1970, was programmed for ten days and was committed to our first landing in the hilly, upland Fra Mauro region of the moon. However, the original flight plan was modified enroute to the moon due to a failure of the Apollo 13 service module cryogenic oxygen system, which occurred at approximately 55 hours into the flight. Swigert and fellow crewmen, James A. Lovell, spacecraft commander and Fred W. Haise, lunar module pilot, working closely with Houston ground controllers, converted their lunar module "Aquarius" into a effective lifeboat. Their emergency activation and operation of lunar module systems conserved both electrical power and water in sufficient quantity to assure their safety and survival while in space and for the return to earth. In completing his first space flight, Mr. Swigert logged a total of 142 hours, 54 minutes.
Mr. Swigert took a leave of absence from NASA in April 1973 to become Executive Director of the Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives. Mr. Swigert resigned from NASA and the committee in August 1977, to enter politics. In 1979 he became Vice President of B.D.M. Corporation, Golden, Colorado. In November 1982 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He died on December 28, 1982 of bone cancer, before he could be sworn in. Please take time to read Mr. Swigert's official NASA biography.
Ed White, an Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, received flight training in Florida and Texas, following his graduation from West Point. He then spent 3-1/2 years in Germany with a fighter squadron, flying F-86’s and F-100’s. He attended the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California, in 1959. White was later assigned to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, as an experimental test pilot with the Aeronautical Systems Division. In this assignment he made flight tests for research and weapons systems development, wrote technical engineering reports, and made recommendations for improvement in aircraft design and construction. White was named as a member of the astronaut team selected by NASA in September 1962. He was pilot on Gemini-Titan IV flying with Command Pilot James McDivitt. Gemini IV, was a 66-revolution, 4-day mission that began on June 3, and ended on June 7, 1965. During the third revolution, he carried out the first extra vehicular activity in the United States manned space flight program. He was outside Gemini 4 for 21 minutes, and became the first man to control himself in space during EVA with a maneuvering unit. Other highlights of the mission included cabin depressurization, opening of cabin doors, and 12 scientific and medical experiments. He received the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and the U.S. Air Force Senior Astronaut Wings for this Flight. On March 21, 1966, he was named as one of the pilots of the Apollo AS-204 (Apollo 1) mission, the first US 3-manned Apollo flight. Sadly Ed White was lost along with crew members Gus Grissom & Roger Chaffee on January 27, 1967, during a "plugs out" test at Pad 34-A at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. More information on this tradgedy can be found here . To read Ed White's full biography click here.
Colonel Worden is a veteran astronaut from the Apollo program. Worden was one of the 19 group 5 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966. He served as a member of the astronaut support crew for the Apollo 9 flight and as backup command module pilot for the Apollo 12 flight. Worden served as command module pilot for Apollo 15, July 26 - August 7, 1971. His companions on the flight were David R. Scott, spacecraft commander, and James B. Irwin, lunar module commander. Apollo 15 was the fourth manned lunar landing mission and the first to visit and explore the moon's Hadley Rille and Apennene Mountains which are located on the southeast edge of the Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains). Apollo 15 achievements include: Largest payloads placed in earth and lunar orbits; first scientific instrument module bay flown and operated on an Apollo spacecraft; longest lunar surface stay time (the lunar module, "Falcon," remained on ground for 66 hours and 54 minutes); longest lunar surface EVA (Scott and Irwin logged 18 hours and 35 minutes each during three excursions onto the lunar surface); longest distance traversed on lunar surface; first use of lunar roving vehicle; first use of a lunar surface navigation device (mounted on Rover-1); first subsatellite launched in lunar orbit; and first EVA from a command module during transearth coast. Colonel Worden still holds the record for the furthest deep space EVA. During this eva Worden logged 38 minutes in extravehicular activity outside the command module, "Endeavour." In completing his three excursions to "Endeavour's" scientific instrument module bay, Worden retrieved film cassettes from the panoramic and mapping cameras and reported his personal observations of the general condition of equipment housed there. Apollo 15 concluded with a Pacific splashdown and subsequent recovery by the USS OKINAWA. In completing his space flight, Worden logged 295 hours and 11 minutes in space. Colonel Worden has his own official web site at alworden.com where he has a selection of photographs, lithographs and lunar photographic art which are available (signed and unsigned) to the collector. Please take time to read Colonel Worden's official NASA biography.
Captain Young is a veteran of six NASA space missions; Gemini 3 (pilot, flying with Gus Grissom), Gemini 10 (Commander, flying with Michael Collins), Apollo 10 (flying with Tom Stafford and Gene Cernan), Apollo 16 (Commander, flying with Charlie Duke and Ken Mattingly), STS-1 (maiden flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia. Commander, flying with Bob Crippen) and Spacelab 1/STS-9 (Commander, flying with Owen Garriott, Brewster Shaw, Robert Parker, Byron Lichtenberg and Ulf Merbold). I've had the pleasure of attending one of Capt. Youngs lectures on July 4th, 2000 in Edinburgh. Getting to talk to him and ask him a question was a great thrill. For a highly detailed and informative "fan" site about Captain Young, please visit Dana Holland's excellent John W. Young website.
The above photograph of the moon (taken during the Apollo 15 mission) is signed by the following moon voyagers: Captain James Lovell (Apollo 8 CMP and Apollo 13 CDR), Lt. General Tom Stafford (Apollo 10 CDR); Colonel Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11 LMP); Captain Alan Bean (Apollo 12 LMP); Captain Dick Gordon (Apollo 12 CMP); Captain Fred Haise (Apollo 13 LMP); Captain Ed Mitchell (Apollo 14 LMP); Colonel Dave Scott (Apollo 15 CDR); Colonel Al Worden (Apollo 15 CMP); Brigadier General Charlie Duke (Apollo 16 LMP) and Captain Gene Cernan (Apollo 17 CDR). A real pride and joy piece!!