Donn F. Eisele
Donn Eisele | |
---|---|
NASA astronaut | |
Rank | Colonel, USAF |
Time in space | 10d 20h 8m |
Selection | NASA Group 3 (1963) |
Missions | Apollo 7 |
Mission insignia | |
Retirement | June 1, 1970 |
Donn Fulton Eisele (June 23, 1930 – December 1, 1987) (
Biography
Early life and education
Eisele was born June 23, 1930, in
Flight experience
Following his commission, Eisele was sent to flight training. He was trained at
NASA career
Eisele was part of NASA's third group of astronauts, selected in October 1963. In early 1966, Eisele was quietly selected as pilot for the Apollo 1 crew, along with Command Pilot Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom and Senior Pilot Ed White. But after dislocating his shoulder twice during training in January 1966, Eisele was replaced by Roger B. Chaffee. After corrective surgery on January 27, Eisele was named to the crew for the second crewed Apollo flight, with Command Pilot Walter "Wally" Schirra and Pilot Walter Cunningham. At this time, Eisele was promoted to the Senior Pilot position.[7][8]
In December 1966, Apollo 2 was canceled on the grounds that it would be an unnecessary repeat of Apollo 1, and Schirra, Eisele, and Cunningham became the backups to Grissom's crew. But after Grissom, White, and Chaffee were killed in the Apollo 1 spacecraft fire of January 27, 1967, Schirra, Eisele, and Cunningham were named to fly the first crewed Apollo mission instead. It would ultimately be called Apollo 7.[9]
As the launch date approached, Eisele's participation was at risk; he was having an extramarital affair with a woman who would later become his second wife.[10] Astronaut Office Chief Deke Slayton had warned the crew that they were all "expendable", and that any extramarital affairs must not become public.[10]
Eisele remained on the crew, and on October 11, 1968, Apollo 7 was launched on an 11-day mission—the
Apollo 7 was placed in a
Eisele served as backup Command Module Pilot for the 1969 Apollo 10 flight.[4] Eisele resigned from the Astronaut Office in 1970 and became technical assistant for crewed spaceflight at the NASA Langley Research Center, a position he occupied until retiring from both NASA and the Air Force in 1972.[11]
Post-NASA career
In July 1972, Eisele became Country Director of the U.S.
In 1980, Eisele moved to Wilton Manors, Florida. In 1981, Eisele was appointed to a vacant seat on the
Eisele was a guide in the 1986 Concorde Comet Chase flights out of Miami and New York City.[14]
Death
In 1987, at the age of 57, Eisele died of a heart attack while on a business trip to Tokyo, Japan, where he was to attend the opening of a new Space Camp patterned on the one at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Eisele was cremated in Japan, and his ashes were buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.[15][16][17]
Organizations
Eisele was an
Awards and honors
Among the honors he received during his career were the
Eisele was a part of a group of Apollo astronauts to be inducted into the
Legacy
A family-approved account of Donn Eisele's life appears in the 2007 book In the Shadow of the Moon. Eisele's posthumously discovered memoir Apollo Pilot was published by University of Nebraska Press in 2017.[22][23]
In the 1998 HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, Eisele was portrayed by John Mese.[24] In the final three episodes of the 2015 ABC television series The Astronaut Wives Club, Eisele was portrayed by Ryan Doom.[25]
Susan Eisele Black donated a sample of a Moon rock to Broward County Main Library on behalf of her late husband, on October 23, 2007. Broward County Library, located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is the only library in the United States to have a lunar rock on display. The precious Moon rock is typically exhibited at science museums and schools.[26]
See also
References
- ^ Meckler, Michael (June 23, 2019). "89 years ago today: Birth of Donn Eisele, Columbus' forgotten astronaut". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Astronaut Bio: Donn F. Eisele" (PDF). NASA. December 1987. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
- ^ "Information Summaries Astronaut Fact Book" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
- ^ a b c "Command Module pilot on Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo flight". New Mexico Museum of Space History. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
- ISBN 9780803209848. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
- OCLC 946906316.
- ^ Teitel, Amy Shira (December 4, 2013). "How Donn Eisele Became "Whatshisname," the Command Module Pilot of Apollo 7". Popular Science. Archived from the original on February 23, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
- ^ "Eisele to have Operation on Left Shoulder" (PDF). NASA. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 25, 2017.
- ^ "Chariots for Apollo, Appendix B". www.hq.nasa.gov. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
- ^ a b French, Francis (February 22, 2002). "'I worked with NASA, not for NASA': An interview with astronaut Walter "Wally" Schirra". collectSPACE. p. 4 (of 5). Retrieved May 1, 2012.
- ^ "Apollo Astronaut Donn Fulton Eisele Dies at Age 57". Washington Post. December 3, 1987. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
- ^ "Services Set For Astronaut Donn Eisele". Sun Sentinel. December 4, 1987. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
- ^ "Donn Eisele Park". Wilton Manors. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
- ^ Maurer, Yolanda (March 16, 1986). "Comet Chasers Line Up For Look At Halley's Aboard Concorde". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
- ^ "Donn F. Eisele Colonel, United States Air Force". Arlington National Cemetery. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
- ^ McQuiston, John (December 3, 1987). "Donn F. Eisele, 57; One of 3 Crewmen On Apollo 7 Mission". New York Times. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
- ^ "Astronaut Eisele to Be Buried at Arlington". Los Angeles Times. December 4, 1987. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
- ^ ""America's Astronauts" - Masonic First Day Covers". The Phoenixmasonry Masonic Museum and Library. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
- ^ Sheppard, David (October 2, 1983). "Space Hall Inducts 14 Apollo Program Astronauts". El Paso Times. El Paso, Texas. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Meyer, Marilyn (October 2, 1997). "Ceremony to Honor Astronauts". Florida Today. Cocoa, Florida. p. 2B – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "First Apollo flight crew last to be honored". collectSPACE. Retrieved October 20, 2008.
- ^ "Outward Odyssey: A People's History of Spaceflight Series". Archived from the original on June 10, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
- ^ Robbins, Gary (January 19, 2017). "The guts and glory of forgotten astronaut Donn Eisele".
- ^ "From the Earth to the Moon, Full Cast and Crew". IMDb. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
- ^ "The Astronaut Wives, Full Cast and Crew". IMDb. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
- ^ "First Library in America to Receive a Moon Rock for Public Display" (PDF). Broward County Commission. October 9, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 16, 2008.