| Astronauts | Saturn 1-B | Saturn V | Missions | Patches | History |
Apollo Astronauts
Eugene A. Cernan | Roger B. Chaffee | Michael Collins | Pete Conrad | Walter Cunningham | Charles M. Duke Jr.
Donn F. Eisele | Ronald B. Evans | Edward G. Givens Jr. | Richard F. Gordon | Virgil I. Grissom | Fred W. Haise Jr. | James B. Irwin
James A. Lovell Jr. | Thomas K. Mattingly II | James A. McDivitt | Edgar D. Mitchell | Stuart A. Roosa | Walter M. Schirra Jr.
Harrison H. Schmitt | Russell L. Schweickart | David R. Scott | Alan B. Shepard Jr. | Donald K. Slayton | Thomas P. Stafford
John L. Swigert Jr. | Edward H. White II | Alfred J. Worden | John W. Young
Born: January 20,1930
Died:
Flights: Apollo 11
Aldrin graduated third in his class at the United States Military Academy at West Point with a Bachelor
of Science degree in mechanical engineering in 1951. He was commissioned into the United States Air Force,
and served as a jet fighter pilot during the Korean War. He flew 66 combat missions and shot down two MiG-15
aircraft. He earned a Sc.D. degree in astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1963,
writing his thesis on Line-of-Sight Guidance Techniques for Manned Orbital Rendezvous. He was backup pilot
for Gemini 9 and the pilot of Gemini 12 in 1966. After serving as backup command module pilot for Apollo 8,
he was the lunar module pilot of Apollo 11, and was the second person to set foot on the Moon. Upon leaving
NASA in 1971, he became commandant of the USAF Test Pilot School. He retired from the Air Force in 1972.
Born: October 17, 1933
Died: June 7, 2024
Flights: Apollo 8
Anders graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the United States Naval Academy in 1955, and chose to be commissioned in the USAF. He received a Master of Science degree in nuclear engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1962. As lunar module pilot of Apollo 8 in December 1968, the first crewed circumlunar flight, Anders was responsible for significant photography, notably the Earthrise photographs. He also served as backup pilot for Gemini 11 and backup command module pilot for Apollo 11. Upon leaving the astronaut corps, Anders later served as Executive Secretary of the National Aeronautics and Space Council from 1969 to 1973, a member of the Atomic Energy Commission from 1973 to 1975, the first Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and United States Ambassador to Norway.
Born: August 5, 1930
Died: August 25, 2012
Flights: Apollo 11
Armstrong graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering in 1955. He flew 78 combat missions in the Korean War as a naval aviator, and then became a test pilot for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (the forerunner of NASA) at the High-Speed Flight Station at Edwards Air Force Base, where he flew the X-15. He made his first spaceflight as commander of Gemini 8 in March 1966, becoming NASA's first civilian astronaut to fly in space. During this mission with pilot David Scott, he performed the first docking of two spacecraft, but the mission was aborted after Armstrong used some of his re-entry control fuel to remove a dangerous roll caused by a stuck thruster. During training for his second and last spaceflight as commander of Apollo 11, he ejected from the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle moments before a crash. In July 1969, he and his lunar module pilot, Buzz Aldrin, became the first people to land on the Moon, and spent two and a half hours outside the spacecraft. He earned a Master of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Southern California in 1970. He resigned from NASA in 1971, and taught aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati until 1979. He served on the Apollo 13 accident investigation, and on the Rogers Commission, which investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.
Born: March 15, 1932
Died: May 26, 2018
Flights: Apollo 12
Bean received a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1955. He was commissioned an ensign through the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) program, and attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. He served as backup command pilot for Gemini 10 and backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 9. As lunar module pilot of Apollo 12 in 1969, he became the fourth man to walk on the Moon. He was commander of Skylab 3 in 1973, and backup commander for the Apollo�Soyuz Test Project in 1975. He retired from the Navy in October 1975, but continued as head of the Astronaut Candidate Operations and Training Group within the Astronaut Office as a civilian. He retired from NASA in 1981.
Born: March 14, 1928
Died: November 7, 2023
Flights: Apollo 8
Borman received a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point, in 1950. He joined the USAF and became a fighter pilot. He earned a Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 1957. He was an assistant professor of thermodynamics and fluid mechanics at West Point from 1957 to 1960. He graduated from the USAF Experimental Test Pilot School with Class 60-C, and from the ARPS with Class I. He was initially selected for Gemini 5 with Gus Grissom, but Grissom was moved to Gemini 3, with Young as his pilot. Borman commanded the Gemini 7 mission in December 1965. On this mission he and Lovell spent two weeks in space, and performed the first space rendezvous with Gemini 6A. After the Apollo 1 fire he was the astronaut representative on the accident investigation board. In December 1968, he commanded Apollo 8, the first crewed circumlunar mission. He retired from NASA and the USAF in 1970, and joined Eastern Airlines, eventually becoming its Chairman of the Board in December 1976, eventually retiring in 1986.
Born: May 9, 1931
Died:
Flights: Apollo/Soyuz
Brand received a Bachelor of Science degree in business from the University of Colorado in 1953. He then served in the United States Marine Corps (USMC), first as an infantry officer, and then, from 1955, as an aviator. He was separated from the USMC in 1957, but continued to serve in United States Marine Corps Reserve and Air National Guard jet fighter squadrons until 1964, reaching the rank of major. He returned to the University of Colorado, where he earned a second Bachelor of Science degree, this time in aeronautical engineering, in 1960, and joined Lockheed Corporation as a flight test engineer. Lockheed sent him to the United States Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland, where he qualified as a test pilot with Class 33 in February 1963. He earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1964. Brand was backup command module pilot for Apollo 15, backup commander for Skylab 3 and Skylab 4, and commander of the unflown Skylab Rescue mission. In July 1975, he flew in space for the first time as command module pilot of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, the first joint US/Soviet Union space mission. Later he commanded STS-5 in the Space Shuttle Columbia in November 1982, STS-41-B in the Space Shuttle Challenger in February 1984, and STS-35 in the Space Shuttle Columbia in December 1990. He left the Astronaut Office in 1992 to become Chief of Plans at the National Aerospace Plane (NASP) Joint Program Office at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. In September 1994, he became the Assistant Chief of Flight Operations at the Dryden Flight Research Center, where he subsequently became Acting Chief Engineer, Deputy Director for Aerospace Projects, and finally Acting Associate Center Director for Programs. He retired from NASA in January 2008.
Born: March 14, 1934
Died: January 16, 2017
Flights: Apollo 10, Apollo 17
Cernan studied at Purdue University where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering in 1956. He was commissioned in the Navy through the NROTC program. He earned a Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California in 1963. Cernan was backup pilot, and later prime pilot for Gemini 9A in 1966, when he performed the second American EVA. He was the backup pilot for Gemini 12 and the backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 7. In May 1969 he was the lunar module pilot on Apollo 10, the "dress rehearsal" for the Moon landing, the first lunar flight of the lunar module, and highest velocity achieved by a crewed vehicle. He was backup commander of Apollo 14, and then returned to the Moon as commander of Apollo 17, the final crewed lunar landing, and was the last person to walk on the Moon. He is one of only three men to have flown to the Moon twice. He retired from NASA and the Navy in 1976.
Born: February 15, 1935
Died: January 27, 1967
Flights: Apollo 1
Chaffee attended Illinois Institute of Technology and Purdue University, from which he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering in 1957. He was commissioned into the Navy under the NROTC program. In 1962, he commenced studies for a Master of Science degree in reliability engineering at the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. He was slated to be pilot on the Prime Crew for the first crewed Apollo mission, but was killed in a cabin fire during launch rehearsal.
Born: October 31, 1930
Died: April 28, 2021
Flights: Apollo 11
Collins received a Bachelor of Science degree in military science from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, from which he graduated in 1952, and was commissioned into the USAF. He graduated from the USAF Experimental Flight Test Pilot School (Class 60C) and the ARPS (Class III). In 1965, he served as backup pilot for Gemini 7, and then in 1966 was pilot of Gemini 10, the first mission to perform a double rendezvous, and during which he performed a pair of EVAs. He was on the Apollo 3 (later named Apollo 8) crew, but was removed for medical reasons months before launch. In 1969, he flew to the Moon as command module pilot of Apollo 11, the first Moon landing. He left NASA in January 1970, and became Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, and then director of the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
Born: June 2, 1930
Died: July 8, 1999
Flights: Apollo 12
Conrad graduated from Princeton University in 1953 with a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering. He joined the Navy and became a naval aviator. In 1958, he graduated from the United States Naval Test Pilot School at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Patuxent, Maryland as part of Class 20. He set an eight-day space endurance record along with his command pilot Gordon Cooper on his first spaceflight, the Gemini 5 mission in August 1965. The following year he commanded the Gemini 11 mission, on which he and pilot Dick Gordon set an altitude record of 850 miles (1,370 km). He became the third person to walk on the Moon as commander of Apollo 12 in 1969 after landing the lunar module Intrepid in the Ocean of Storms. He and pilot Alan Bean made two moonwalks, recovering components from the Surveyor 3 probe, which had landed there two years before. In 1973 he commanded Skylab 2, the first crewed Skylab mission, and spent 28 more days in space. On this mission, he and his crewmates repaired significant launch damage to the Skylab space station.
Born: March 16, 1932
Died:
Flights: Apollo 7
Cunningham enlisted in the Navy in 1951 and began his flight training in 1952. In 1953, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps (USMC), and flew 54 missions as a night fighter pilot in the Korean War. He was a reservist from 1956 to 1975. Cunningham earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in physics in 1960, and a Master of Arts degree in physics the following year. He was working on his PhD when he was selected for astronaut training. He was selected as lunar module pilot in the prime crew for Apollo 2, and then the backup crew for Apollo 1. He flew in space in October 1968 as lunar module pilot of Apollo 7, the first crewed Apollo mission. Cunningham then became Chief of the Skylab branch of the Astronaut Office. He left NASA in 1971.
Born: October 3, 1935
Died:
Flights: Apollo 16
Duke received a Bachelor of Science degree in naval sciences from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, 1957, and was commissioned as an officer in the United States Air Force (USAF). He earned a Master of Science degree in aeronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1964, and qualified as a test pilot at the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School (class 64-C) in September 1965. He served as a member of the astronaut support crew of Apollo 10; was CAPCOM for the Apollo 11 Moon landing; and backup lunar module pilot on Apollo 13. In April 1972, as lunar module pilot of Apollo 16, he became the tenth person to walk on the Moon. He was also backup lunar module pilot on Apollo 17. He retired from NASA in 1975.
Born: June 23, 1930
Died: December 2, 1987
Flights: Apollo 7
Eisele graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1952, and elected to join the USAF. He earned a Master of Science degree in astronautics in 1960 from the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. He graduated from the USAF Experimental Flight Test Pilot School (Class 62A) and the ARPS (Class IV). He flew in space in October 1968 as command module pilot of Apollo 7, the first crewed Apollo mission. He was also backup command module pilot for Apollo 10. In 1972, he retired from the Air Force and NASA to become Director of the U.S. Peace Corps in Thailand.
Born: November 10, 1933
Died: April 7, 1990
Flights: Apollo 17
Evans received a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Kansas in 1956, and received a commission in the USN through the NROTC program there. He qualified as a naval aviator. He earned a Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1964. He was a member of the astronaut support crews for the Apollo 7 and Apollo 11 missions, and was backup command module pilot of Apollo 14. In December 1972, he flew to the Moon as command module pilot of Apollo 17, the last Apollo lunar landing mission. He was later backup command module pilot for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) mission. He retired from the USN in 1976, and from NASA the following year.
Born: January 5, 1930
Died: June 6, 1967
Flights: -
Givens received a Bachelor of Science degree in naval science from the U. S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1952. He was commissioned into the USAF, and qualified as a pilot. In October 1958 he qualified as a test pilot at the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School (Class 58-D), and attended the Aerospace Research Pilot School (Class III), from which he graduated in May 1963. He served on the Apollo 7 support crew, but never flew in space as he was killed in an automobile accident in 1967.
Born: October 5, 1929
Died: November 6, 2017
Flights: Apollo 12
Gordon received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the University of Washington in 1951, and joined the Navy. He graduated from the Navy's All-Weather Flight School and, in 1961, from the Test Pilot School. He also studied at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. Gordon was the backup pilot for Gemini 8, and then, in September 1966, the pilot of Gemini 11. He was the backup command module pilot for Apollo 9 and then in November 1969 flew to the Moon as command module pilot of Apollo 12, the second crewed lunar landing. He was backup commander for Apollo 15, and was slated to command Apollo 18, but the mission was canceled due to budget cuts. He retired from NASA and the USN in January 1972 and accepted the position of Executive Vice President and General Manager of the National Football League's New Orleans Saints.
Born: October 5, 1929
Died: November 6, 2017
Flights: Apollo 1
Grissom joined the USAF in 1950, and flew 100 combat missions in the Korean War as an F-86 Sabre pilot. He graduated from the USAF Experimental Flight Test School at Edwards Air Force Base, California, with class 56D (the same class as Gordon Cooper) in 1956. Grissom flew in space on Mercury-Redstone 4, the second suborbital Mercury flight, and then as Command Pilot of Gemini 3, the first crewed Gemini mission in 1965, becoming the first person to fly in space twice. He was designated as commander of Apollo 1 but was killed in a fire during a launch pad rehearsal test. At the time of his death, he was a Lieutenant Colonel in the USAF.
Born: November 14, 1933
Died:
Flights: Apollo 13
Haise joined the Naval Air Cadet program during the Korean War to avoid the draft. He qualified as a naval aviator in 1954, and elected to accept a commission in the USMC. He was separated from the USMC in September 1956, and entered the University of Oklahoma. While there, he joined the Oklahoma Air National Guard. He received his Bachelor of Science degree with honors in 1959, and took a job as a research pilot at NASA's Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, transferring to the Ohio National Guard. After being called to active duty during the Berlin crisis, he was posted to the NASA Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California. In 1965 he qualified as a test pilot at the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School (Class 64-A). He served as backup lunar module pilot for the Apollo 8 and 11 missions, and flew to the Moon as lunar module pilot of the Apollo 13 mission. He would have been the sixth person to walk on the Moon, but the lunar landing was aborted. He later served as backup spacecraft commander for the Apollo 16 mission, and was slated to walk on the Moon as commander of Apollo 19, but that mission was canceled. From April 1973 to January 1976, he was technical assistant to the manager of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Project. He commanded the Space Shuttle Enterprise in the Approach and Landing Tests between February and October 1977, but never flew it in space, as he retired from NASA in 1979.
Born: March 17, 1930
Died: August 8, 1991
Flights: Apollo 15
Irwin received a Bachelor of Science degree in naval science from the United States Naval Academy in 1951. He was commissioned in the USAF, and qualified as a pilot. He earned Master of Science degrees in aeronautical engineering and instrumentation engineering from the University of Michigan in 1957. He graduated from the USAF Experimental Test Pilot School (class 60-C) in 1961, and the Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School (Class IV) in 1963. He was a member of the astronaut support crew for Apollo 10, and the backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 12. In July 1971, as the lunar module pilot of Apollo 15, he became the eighth person to walk on the Moon. He retired from NASA and the USAF in July 1972.
Born: March 25, 1928
Died:
Flights: Apollo 8, Apollo 13
Lovell graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland with the Class of 1952, and became a naval aviator. In 1958, he graduated from the United States Naval Test Pilot School with Class 20. He flew as the pilot of the Gemini 7 mission in December 1965 during which he and Borman spent two weeks in space, and conducted the first rendezvous in space, with Gemini 6A. In November 1966 he commanded the Gemini 12 mission with Buzz Aldrin as his pilot. He was the command module pilot on the Apollo 8 mission in December 1968, during which he, Borman and Bill Anders conducted the first crewed circumlunar mission. In April 1970 he became the first person fly in space four times, and the first to travel to the Moon twice, on the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission
Born: March 17, 1936
Died: October 31, 2023
Flights: Apollo 16
Mattingly received a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from Auburn University in 1958, and was commissioned in the USN through its NROTC program. He graduated from the USAF Experimental Test Pilot School (class 65-B) and the Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School in 1966. He served as a member of the support crews for the Apollo 8 and 11 missions, and was the prime command module pilot for Apollo 13, but was removed from flight status 72 hours prior to the scheduled launch due to exposure to rubella, which he was not immune to. He flew in space as command module pilot of Apollo 16 in April 1972. From January 1973 to March 1978, he was the head of the Astronaut Office support for the STS (Shuttle Transportation System) program. He then became the technical assistant for flight test to the manager of the Orbital Flight Test Program. From December 1979 to April 1981, he headed the Astronaut Office ascent/entry group. He was backup commander for STS-2 and STS-3, second and third orbital test flights of the Space Shuttle Columbia. He flew in space again in June 1982 as commander of STS-4, which carried a classified United States Department of Defense (DOD) payload, in Columbia. From June 1983 until May 1984, he was with the Astronaut Office DOD Support Group. In January 1985 he commanded STS-51-C, the first classified United States Department of Defense mission, in the Space Shuttle Discovery. He retired from NASA and the USN in 1985.
Born: June 19, 1929
Died:
Flights: Apollo 9
McDivitt joined the USAF in 1951, and flew 145 combat missions in the Korean War. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Michigan, graduating first in class in 1959. That year he also graduated from the USAF Experimental Test Pilot School with Class 59-C, and he graduated from the ARPS with Class I in 1960. He commanded the Gemini 4 mission during which White performed the first U.S. spacewalk. He was the first astronaut to command his first space mission. In March 1969, he commanded the Apollo 9 flight, which was the first crewed flight test of the Lunar Module and the complete set of Apollo flight hardware. He later became Manager of Lunar Landing Operations and was the Apollo Spacecraft Program Manager from 1969 to 1972. In February 1972 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general, the first astronaut to reach that rank. He retired from NASA and the USAF later that year to pursue a career in the aviation industry, and became a senior vice president at Rockwell International
Born: September 17, 1930
Died: February 4, 2016
Flights: Apollo 14
Mitchell received a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial management from Carnegie Mellon University in 1952. He enlisted in the USN, and was commissioned through its Officer Candidate School at Newport, Rhode Island. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1961. He also earned a doctorate of science degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1964. From 1964 to 1965 he was chief of the Project Management Division of the Navy Field Office for Manned Orbiting Laboratory. He graduated from the USAF Experimental Test Pilot School (class 65-B) and the Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School in 1966. He served as a member of the support crew for Apollo 9, and as backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 10. As lunar module pilot of Apollo 14 in January 1971, he became the sixth person to walk on the Moon. He retired from NASA and the USN in 1972.
Born: August 16, 1933
Died: December 12, 1994
Flights: Apollo 14
Roosa worked for the U.S. Forest Service as a smokejumper, dropping into at least four active fires in Oregon and California during the 1953 fire season. He joined the USAF in December 1953 and was commissioned through the Aviation Cadet Program at Williams Air Force Base, Arizona, where he received his flight training. He received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in aeronautical engineering from the University of Colorado in 1960 under the Air Force Institute of Technology program, and qualified as a test pilot at the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School (class 64-C) in September 1965. He was a member of the support crew for Apollo 9, and flew to the Moon as command module pilot of Apollo 14 in January and February 1971. He served as backup command module pilot for the Apollo 16 and 17 missions, and was assigned to the space shuttle program until his retirement from NASA and the USAF in 1976.
Born: March 12, 1923
Died: May 3, 2007
Flights: Apollo 7
Schirra graduated from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, in 1945. After service afloat during World War II, he qualified as a pilot in 1948, and saw service on exchange with the USAF as a fighter pilot in the Korean War, flying 90 combat missions, and downing two MiGs. He qualified as a test pilot with class 20 at the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in 1958. Schirra flew in space on Mercury-Atlas 8, the third orbital Mercury flight; on Gemini 6A in 1965; and Apollo 7, the first crewed Apollo mission. Schirra was the first person to be launched into space three times, and the only one to fly Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions. He resigned from NASA and retired from the U.S. Navy with the rank of Captain in 1969, and joined CBS News as Walter Cronkite's co-anchor for the broadcasts of the Apollo Moon landing missions.
Born: July 3, 1935
Died:
Flights: Apollo 17
Schmitt received his B.S. from the California Institute of Technology in 1957, and his Ph.D. in geology from Harvard University in 1964. He worked at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Center in Flagstaff, Arizona, where he was in charge of developing lunar field geological methods. He participated in photographic and telescopic mapping of the Moon, and was among USGS astrogeologists who instructed NASA astronauts during their geological field trips during astronaut training. He was the backup lunar module pilot on Apollo 15, and the prime lunar module on Apollo 17, the last manned lunar landing, in December 1972. As such, he became the twelfth person to walk on the Moon. He resigned from NASA in August 1975 to run for the United States Senate in his home state of New Mexico. He was elected on November 2, 1976, and served one term. He then became an adjunct professor of engineering physics at the University of Wisconsin�Madison.
Born: October 25, 1935
Died:
Flights: Apollo 9
Schweickart received his Bachelor of Science degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1956, and a Master of Science degree from there in 1963. He worked as a research scientist at the Experimental Astronomy Laboratory at MIT. He served as a fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force and the Massachusetts Air National Guard from 1956 to 1963. He flew in space in March 1969 as lunar module pilot of Apollo 9, the first crewed flight of the lunar module, and was backup commander for Skylab 2. He left NASA in 1977 to join the staff of the Governor of California, Jerry Brown, and he served in the Governor's office as his assistant for science and technology. In 1979 Schweickart became Commissioner of Energy for the State of California.
Born: June 6, 1932
Died:
Flights: Apollo 9, Apollo 15
Scott received a Bachelor of Science degree in military science from the United States Military Academy at West Point, from which he graduated fifth in the class of 1954, and was commissioned in the USAF. He received both a Master of Science degree in aeronautics/astronautics and the degree of Engineer in aeronautics/astronautics from MIT in 1962. He graduated from both the USAF Experimental Test Pilot School (Class 62-A) and the ARPS (Class IV). Scott flew in space as pilot of Gemini 8 in March 1966, a mission that featured the first docking in space (with an Agena target vehicle) and the first mission abort from Earth orbit. In March 1969 he was command module pilot of Apollo 9, the first crewed flight with a lunar module. He was backup commander of Apollo 12, and then, in July 1971, commander of Apollo 15, the fourth crewed lunar landing, and the first to use the Lunar Rover. Scott became the seventh person to walk on the Moon. He served as backup commander of Apollo 17, but was removed due to the Apollo 15 postal covers incident. He retired from the Air Force in March 1975. He was deputy director of NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, and then director until 1977.
Born: November 18, 1923
Died: July 21, 1998
Flights: Apollo 14, Apollo 15
Shepard graduated from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, in 1944. After service afloat during World War II, he qualified as a pilot in 1947, and as a test pilot at the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in 1950. Shepard flew in space on Mercury-Redstone 3, the first piloted Mercury flight, and became the first American in space. He was slated to command the last Mercury flight, Mercury-Atlas 10, but it was canceled, and then the first Project Gemini flight, but he was grounded in 1963 after being diagnosed with M�ni�re's disease, a condition in which fluid pressure builds up in the inner ear, resulting in disorientation, dizziness, and nausea. He stayed with the space program, accepting the position of Chief of the Astronaut Office, until an experimental corrective surgery cured him, and he was returned to flight status in May 1969. In 1971, he commanded Apollo 14, the third crewed lunar landing mission, and became the fifth and oldest man to walk on the Moon. He was promoted to Rear Admiral, the first astronaut to reach this rank. He retired from NASA and the U.S. Navy in 1974.
Born: March 1, 1924
Died: June 13, 1993
Flights: Apollo/Soyuz
Slayton joined the US Army Air Corps in 1942, and flew combat missions over Europe and the Pacific during World War II. He joined the Minnesota Air National Guard in 1951, and the USAF in 1952. Before Slayton could make his Mercury flight, he was diagnosed with an erratic heart rhythm (idiopathic atrial fibrillation), and grounded by NASA and the Air Force. He resigned from the USAF in 1963 with the rank of Major, but stayed with the space program, first as unofficial Chief of the Astronaut Office, then as Director of Flight Crew Operations. In July 1970, he was returned to flight status, and flew on the last Apollo spacecraft in July 1975 as docking module pilot on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project flight. He left NASA in 1982.
Born: September 17, 1930
Died:
Flights: Apollo 10, Apollo/Soyuz
Stafford graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland with the Class of 1952, and joined the USAF. He graduated from the USAF Experimental Test Pilot School with Class 58-C. He made his first spaceflight in December 1965 as the pilot of Gemini 6A, which made the first space rendezvous, with Gemini 7. In June of the following year he commanded Gemini 9A. In 1969, Stafford was the Commander of Apollo 10, the second crewed mission to orbit the Moon and the first to fly a Lunar Module in lunar orbit, descending to an altitude of 9 miles (14 km) above its surface. On the return to Earth, the Apollo 10 spacecraft achieved a speed of 24,791 miles per hour (39,897 km/h), setting the record for the fastest speed achieved by human beings. In 1975, Stafford was the commander of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project flight, the first joint U.S.-Soviet space mission. He was a brigadier general at the time of the mission, becoming the first general officer to fly in space, as well as the first member of his Naval Academy class to pin on the first, second, and third stars of a general officer.
Born: August 30, 1931
Died: December 28, 1982
Flights: Apollo 13
Swigert received a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Colorado in 1953. He served as a fighter pilot with the USAF from 1953 to 1956. After leaving active duty he served with Massachusetts Air National Guard from September 1957 to March 1960, and then with the Connecticut Air National Guard from April 1960 to October 1965. He earned a Master of Science degree in aerospace science from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1965, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Hartford in 1967. He served as a member of the support crew for the Apollo 7 mission, and was assigned to the Apollo 13 backup crew. He replaced prime crewman Thomas K. Mattingly as command module pilot 72 hours before the launch of the mission after Mattingly was exposed to rubella, and flew the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission in April 1970. He was designated as command module pilot on Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, but was replaced by Brand because of the Apollo 15 postal covers incident. He resigned from NASA in August 1977 to enter politics. In November 1982 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, but died of bone cancer on December 28, 1982, before he could be sworn in.
Born: November 14, 1930
Died: January 27, 1967
Flights: Apollo 1
White received a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating with the Class of 1952. He joined the USAF and became a fighter pilot. He earned a Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Michigan in 1959. He graduated from the USAF Experimental Test Pilot School with Class 59-C. In June 1965, he flew on Gemini 4 as its pilot, and conducted the first American spacewalk. He was selected as the Command Module pilot of Apollo 1, the inaugural flight of the Apollo spacecraft, but was killed in the fire on the launch pad test in January 1967, a month before launch.
Born: February 7, 1932
Died: March 18, 2020
Flights: Apollo 15
Worden received a Bachelor of Military Science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1955. He joined the USAF, and became a fighter pilot. He earned Master of Science degrees in astronautical/aeronautical engineering and instrumentation engineering from the University of Michigan in 1963. He qualified as a test pilot at the Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS) in England and then at the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School (class 64-C) in September 1965. He served as a member of the support crew for Apollo 9, and as backup command module pilot for Apollo 12. In July and August 1971 he flew to the Moon as command module pilot of Apollo 15. He was Senior Aerospace Scientist at the NASA Ames Research Center from 1972 to 1973, and chief of the Systems Study Division at Ames from 1973 to 1975, when he retired from NASA and the USAF.
Born: September 24, 1930
Died: January 5, 2018
Flights: Apollo 10, Apollo 16
Young graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering in 1952. He joined the Navy, and set world time-to-climb records for 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) and 25,000 metres (82,000 ft). His first space mission was as pilot of Gemini 3, the first crewed Gemini mission, in March 1965. He went on to command Gemini 10 in July 1966. In May 1969, he was Command Module pilot of Apollo 10, the "dress rehearsal" for the Apollo 11 Moon landing. On the way back to Earth, the Apollo 10 crew reached a speed of 24,791 miles per hour (39,897 km/h), the highest speed attained by a crewed vehicle. He returned to the Moon as commander of Apollo 16 in April 1972, making the fifth crewed lunar landing. He became the ninth person to walk on the Moon, and the second to fly to it twice. He served as Chief of the Astronaut Office from 1974 to 1987. In April 1981, he commanded the STS-1 mission, the maiden flight of Columbia. When he commanded STS-9, the first Spacelab mission, in November 1983, he became the first person to travel into space six times.
