Deke Slayton

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Deke Slayton
Apollo–Soyuz Test Project
Mission insignia
RetirementFebruary 27, 1982
Signature

Donald Kent "Deke" Slayton (March 1, 1924 – June 13, 1993) was an American

aeronautical engineer, and test pilot who was selected as one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts. He went on to become NASA's first Chief of the Astronaut Office
and Director of Flight Crew Operations, responsible for NASA crew assignments.

Slayton joined the

Apollo–Soyuz Test Project (ASTP). Slayton continued to work at NASA until 1982. He also helped develop the Space Shuttle
.

Slayton died from

brain cancer
on June 13, 1993, aged 69.

Early life and career

Deke Slayton as a bomber pilot during World War II
Deke Slayton (right) beside a Douglas A-26 bomber

Donald Kent Slayton was born on March 1, 1924, on a farm near

Future Farmers of America (FFA).[2]
: 15–17 

World War II

The 1941

B-25 Mitchell, his last choice for aircraft.[2]
: 18–22 

Slayton moved to

Balkan Peninsula. After six weeks, he moved to Foggia, where 48 aircraft were destroyed after an eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Afterwards, Slayton flew out of Salerno and Corsica, where he upgraded from copilot to pilot. After 56 combat sorties, Slayton completed his combat tour and returned to the U.S. in May 1944.[2]
: 26–32 

Immediately upon his return to Columbia Army Air Base to serve as a B-25 instructor, Slayton applied and was accepted to fly the new

Pacific. In July 1945, he arrived on Okinawa Island and joined the 319th Bombardment Group. He flew seven combat missions over Japan, and encountered little Japanese resistance. Slayton flew his final combat mission on August 12, three days after the bombing of Nagasaki and spent two months waiting for his return to the U.S. After the war, Slayton worked as B-25 instructor in Albany, Georgia, and Boca Raton, Florida and separated from the Army in November 1946.[2]: 33–40 [3]

Post-World War II

After he was discharged from the Army, Slayton enrolled at the

KC-97 Stratofreighter.[2]
: 40–47 

While he was a college student, Slayton joined the

P-51 Mustang. He left the Minnesota ANG when he moved to Seattle. Slayton attempted to join an Air Force Reserve unit in Seattle at the start of the Korean War, but was rejected on the grounds that his inactive reserve status had expired. He contacted his previous squadron commander in Minnesota and accepted his offer to rejoin his former squadron in February 1951. Upon his return, Slayton was initially medically disqualified from flying for his eyesight. He served as a maintenance officer while waiting for his medical clearance and then became a maintenance flight test officer once he had returned to flying status.[2]
: 40–49 

In 1952, Slayton transferred to active duty Air Force from the Air National Guard. After completing his education at

Bitburg Air Base, West Germany. While stationed in Germany, he met Marjorie Lunney and married her on May 18, 1955.[3][2]
: 52–54 

At the start of his assignment in West Germany, Slayton applied to the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School (TPS), but was rejected on the basis that he had to complete his current three-year assignment. He reapplied and was accepted in 1955, and joined TPS Class 55C. After graduating in December 1955, he became a test pilot at the Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California. He tested the F-101, F-102, F-104, F-105 and F-106.[5] He was first assigned to the F-102, and tested the Matador and Genie missiles, and later tested the stall-spin characteristics of the F-105.[6] In 1958, he helped test Britain's first supersonic fighter, the English Electric P1B Lightning.[2]: 55–65 

NASA career

Mercury Seven

Deke Slayton

In January 1959, Slayton was selected as one of the candidates for

Lovelace Clinic in Albuquerque, New Mexico, along with fellow future astronauts Scott Carpenter and Jim Lovell. On April 2, 1959, Slayton was notified of his selection as an astronaut. He moved his family from Edwards Air Force Base to a housing development near Fort Eustis, where he was neighbors with fellow Mercury Seven astronauts Gus Grissom and Wally Schirra.[1][2]
: 66, 69–75 

After he began at NASA, Slayton was assigned to the development of the

idiopathic atrial fibrillation, but he was considered healthy enough to continue flying.[2]: 78–79, 85–86  During the uncrewed Mercury-Atlas 4 orbital spaceflight, he worked at the tracking station in Bermuda. He was selected for the second American crewed orbital mission, Mercury-Atlas 7, which he intended to name Delta 7.[2]: 104–105, 110  In early 1962, NASA Administrator James Webb opened an investigation into Slayton's atrial fibrillation. On March 15, 1962, two months prior to the launch of Delta 7, Slayton was medically disqualified from the flight and replaced on the mission by Scott Carpenter.[2]: 111–114 [8][9] Initially, Slayton's ineligibility was only for his assigned mission, and he attempted to improve his health by exercising more regularly and abstaining from alcohol. NASA leadership determined that Slayton was still at risk for atrial fibrillation and removed his eligibility to fly any of the remaining Mercury missions.[2]: 115–116 [3] Flight doctors recommended a cardiac catheterization to determine if he had a congenital condition, but NASA management rejected the proposal because of the risks of the operation.[9]

NASA management

Deke Slayton (on stool at left) and the Apollo 11 crew during the last pre-flight press conference

After being grounded by NASA, Slayton was selected in early 1962 to serve as the senior manager of the astronaut office. One of his first roles was to select the Group 2 astronauts, and the new class was announced in September 1962. Additionally, he was tasked with making future crew assignments, and assigned Gordon Cooper to Mercury-Atlas 9.[2]: 115–122  In an administrative restructuring in October 1963, Slayton became assistant director of Flight Crew Operations, in addition to his job managing the astronaut office. In November 1963, he resigned from his commission in the Air Force after he was permanently disqualified from flying and became a civilian executive for NASA. After Alan Shepard was grounded due to Ménière's disease, he replaced Slayton as the manager of the astronaut office, while Slayton continued to work for Flight Crew Operations and was promoted to its director in 1966.[10][2]: 133–140 [11] Slayton continued to be responsible for making crew assignments, and determined the astronauts that would fly on the Gemini and Apollo missions.[2]: 166–168, 184  Slayton created a crew rotation, where a crew would be selected as the backup crew for a mission and would later be the prime crew three missions later.[12]: 42 

During the

Jack Schmitt, a scientist-astronaut.[2]: 271 [12]
: 450–451 

Return to flight status

While grounded, Slayton took several measures to attempt to be restored to flight status, including regularly exercising, taking vitamins, quitting cigarette smoking and coffee and reducing his consumption of alcoholic beverages. In 1970 his palpitations became more frequent and he started taking experimental daily doses of quinidine, a crystalline alkaloid. This treatment was successful, but concerned that taking medication would still disqualify him from solo flying, Slayton stopped taking it against doctors orders.[9] After a decade of seeing doctors around the world,[13] in 1971 Slayton was examined at the Mayo Clinic after a long period without heart fibrillation, and was determined to not have a coronary condition. On March 13, 1972, NASA announced that Slayton had returned to flight status.[2]: 264, 274, 275 

Apollo–Soyuz flight

Main article:
Apollo–Soyuz Test Project
Deke Slayton (right) with cosmonaut Alexei Leonov in the Soyuz spacecraft

In February 1973, Slayton was assigned to the

Apollo–Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) as a docking module pilot, along with commander Thomas Stafford and command module pilot Vance Brand. The American crew began a two-year training program, which included learning the Russian language and making trips to the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in the USSR. He remained in a managerial role throughout the Skylab program, and resigned as Director of Flight Crew Operations in February 1974 in preparation for his upcoming flight.[2]: 280–281, 290 [1][14]
: 160–166 

The Apollo and

nitrogen tetroxide fumes from the command module's RCS thrusters being sucked into the cabin during landing and the crew was hospitalized as a precaution in Honolulu, Hawaii, for two weeks. During hospitalization, a lesion was discovered on Slayton's lung and removed. It was determined to be benign, but he would have likely been grounded from ASTP if it had been discovered before the flight.[2]: 300–305 [14]: 188–195  He was 51 years old, making him the oldest astronaut to fly in space at the time.[10]

Space Shuttle program

Main article: Space Shuttle
Deke Slayton flying T-38 (far left) during the return of B 747 SCA airplane with Space Shuttle Columbia on board just before touchdown at Kennedy Space Center, March 1979

Prior to the ASTP flight, Slayton was assigned by

T-38 Talons to train the astronauts. While working on the Space Shuttle, he also assisted in developing the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.[1][2]
: 306–312 

The ALT program ended in late 1977 and Slayton agreed to manage the Space Shuttle's Orbital Flight Tests (OFT). During the selection of the Group 8 astronauts, Slayton advocated for fewer selections, with the expectation that two-man crews would fly the regular satellite deployment missions. He officially retired in 1980, but continued to serve in an advisory role for STS-1, and flew a T-38 chase plane during the landing of STS-2. He formally left NASA on February 27, 1982, and had flown 7,164 hours.[1][2]: 310–323 

Post-NASA career

After his retirement from NASA, Slayton served as president of Space Services Inc., a Houston-based company earlier founded to develop rockets for small commercial payloads. He served as mission director for a rocket called the Conestoga, which was successfully launched on September 9, 1982, and was the world's first privately funded rocket to reach space.[15][2]: 329–342  Slayton also became interested in aviation racing, and was President of International Formula One Pylon Air Racing and Director of Columbia Astronautics. He also served on the Department of Transportation's Commercial Space Advisory Committee.[1][2]: 323–328 

In 1991, Slayton began working with space historian Michael Cassutt to write his autobiography, titled Deke!: U.S. Manned Space from Mercury to the Shuttle, which was published in 1994, a year after his death.[2]: 343  Slayton also co-wrote the 1994 book Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America's Race to the Moon with fellow astronaut Alan Shepard.[16]

Personal life

Slayton married Marjorie "Marge" Lunney (1921–1989) on May 18, 1955, and they had one son.[17]: 345  They divorced in April 1978, and Slayton moved to a condominium near the Johnson Space Center.[2]: 308, 312  He married Bobbie Belle Jones (1945–2010), who also worked at NASA, in October 1983, and they remained married until his death.[17]: 350 [2]: 318 

When Slayton was a test pilot, one of his pilot colleagues was also named Don. In order to avoid confusion in radio communications, Slayton was referred to by his initials, D.K., which were eventually shortened to "Deke."[2]: 58 

In 1992, Slayton was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. On June 13, 1993, he died in his home in League City, Texas, from the illness, at the age of 69.[18] He was cremated and his ashes scattered over his family farm in Sparta, Wisconsin.[19]

Awards and honors

Slayton's military and NASA decorations:[4]

Gold star
Gold star
Bronze star
Distinguished Flying Cross Air Medal
NASA Distinguished Service Medal
with two stars 		NASA Exceptional Service Medal NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal
NASA Space Flight Medal American Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle
Eastern Campaign Medal
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
 National Defense Service Medal
with one star

During and after his career, Slayton received numerous awards from different organizations. He received the

AIAA Special Presidential Citation, the University of Minnesota's Outstanding Achievement Award, and the Houston Area Federal Business Association's Civil Servant of the Year Award. Slayton, along with Brand and Kubasov, won the FAI Yuri Gagarin Gold Medal in 1976.[20] Additionally, he received the Collier Trophy, the Gen. Billy Mitchell Award, and the AIAA Haley Astronautics Award for 1978. Slayton received an Honorary D.Sc. from Carthage College in 1961, and an Honorary Doctorate in Engineering from Michigan Technological University in 1965.[4]

He was a

National Rifle Association of America, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Additionally, he was an honorary member of the American Fighter Aces Association, the National WWII Glider Pilots Association and the Association of Space Explorers.[21][4]

Deke Slayton was inducted into the

FM 518, was renamed Deke Slayton Highway.[28] The Deke Slayton Memorial Space & Bicycle Museum in Sparta, Wisconsin was named in his honor.[29] The Slayton biographical exhibit includes his Mercury space suit, his Ambassador of Exploration Award, which showcases a lunar sample, and more. In nearby La Crosse, Wisconsin, an annual summer aircraft air show
, the Deke Slayton Airfest, has been held in his honor, featuring modern and vintage military and civilian aircraft, along with NASA speakers.

Although the October 2014,

Cygnus CRS Orb-4 Orbital ATK space vehicle S.S. Deke Slayton II was successfully launched to the International Space Station on an Atlas V rocket on December 6, 2015.[32] In 2017, Solstar and NASA developed a preliminary design for Slayton Space Communicator (SC-Slayton), a commercial router on the International Space Station named in his honor.[33] The device is intended for low Earth orbit service (LEO).[34]

In media

See also

  • Apollo–Soyuz Commemorative stamp
  • List of brain tumor patients

Notes

  1. ^ The United States Navy required its pilots to have a college degree.

References

  • Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the
    National Aeronautics and Space Administration
    .
  1. ^ a b c d e f Gray, Tara. "Donald K. "Deke" Slayton". NASA History Program Office. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
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  4. ^ a b c d "Deke Slayton" (PDF). NASA. June 1993. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  5. ^ "Donald K "Deke" Slayton". Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on October 3, 2013. Retrieved August 8, 2013. While at Edwards, Deke Slayton flew test flight missions on the F-101, F-102, F-105 and the F-106.
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  10. ^ a b Howell, Elizabeth (January 30, 2014). "Deke Slayton: Mercury Astronaut Who Waited To Fly". Space.com. Archived from the original on April 27, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
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  39. IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
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External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Deke Slayton.
Preceded by
Office Created
 Chief of the Astronaut Office
1962–1963 		Succeeded by
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