Elliot See

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Elliot See
NASA astronaut
RankCommander, USNR
Selection1962 NASA Group 2

Elliot McKay See Jr. (July 23, 1927 – February 28, 1966) was an American

NASA astronaut
.

See received an appointment to the

Western Pacific
. He married Marilyn Denahy in 1954, and they had three children.

See rejoined General Electric (GE) in 1956 as a

UCLA
.

Selected in NASA's

McDonnell Aircraft plant, where they were to undergo two weeks of space rendezvous
simulator training.

Early life and education

Elliot McKay See Jr. was born on July 23, 1927, in

Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Rifle Team. He graduated from high school in 1945.[2]

The United States entered

private pilot's license.[4]

See applied for military officer training and received an appointment to the

mile relay running team, played intramural softball, and was a varsity boxer. As co-captain of the rifle team, he won the Captain Tomb Trophy for individual rifle and pistol marksmanship in December 1948.[4] In 1949, Congress authorized the USMMA to award Bachelor of Science degrees to its graduates,[5] so on graduation that year Elliot received his B.S. degree, his marine engineer's licenses, and a commission as an officer in the United States Naval Reserve.[4]

Navy service and General Electric

See as a lieutenant (junior grade) during his tour of duty on USS Boxer

After graduation, See took a summer job with

Luscombe Silvaire Sprayer aircraft, which they flew on cross-country trips. In November 1952, while taking Marilyn on a joyride, the Luscombe's engine began to fail. See attempted to land the aircraft on a short, unimproved field, but the tail wheel snagged a power line and forced the aircraft into the ground. See suffered deep cuts to his face which required plastic surgery. Marilyn escaped the crash with only minor injuries.[6]

By 1953, See was working as a

Mediterranean on the aircraft carrier USS Randolph, which returned to the United States in June 1955.[9][10]

In October, after further training at

Philippine Islands, and Hong Kong.[11] See primarily focused on line maintenance, but also became proficient at carrier landings.[9][12] By the end of the tour, he had reached the rank of lieutenant commander.[13] He returned home in February 1956, in time for the birth of his first child, Sally.[9] The couple later had two more children: Carolyn in 1957, and David in 1962.[14]

See rejoined General Electric in 1956 as a flight test engineer after his tour of duty. He became a group leader and experimental test pilot at

UCLA in 1962,[8] and continued flying with the Naval Reserve. He was eventually promoted to commander.[17]

NASA

See during water egress training

In 1962, See applied to become a

Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) was under construction.[20]

Every astronaut was assigned a core competency, a special area in which they had to develop expertise, by the NASA Astronaut Office. The knowledge they gathered could then be shared with the others, and the astronaut-expert was expected to provide astronaut input to the spacecraft designers and engineers. See's special area of expertise was the spacecraft electrical and sequential systems, and the coordination of mission planning.[21][22] See was tasked with determining if the crewed lunar landing should occur in direct sunlight or using light reflected from the Earth. To help make the decision, he flew helicopters and airplanes wearing special welding goggles to simulate different lighting conditions.[23][24][25] See also landed helicopters with Jim Lovell on lava flows that simulated the terrain on the Moon.[26]

See was announced as the backup pilot for

Chris Kraft gave them 24 hours to fix the problem or he would terminate the flight early. After working through the night, they diagnosed the problem and developed procedures that allowed the astronauts to fix the fuel cells, which allowed the mission to continue.[28]

See was a

Gemini spacecraft was made.[20]

Contrary to Slayton's typical crew rotation,

Gemini 9, with Charles Bassett as his pilot.[32] The Gemini 9 mission was similar to the previous mission. An extravehicular activity (EVA) that used the Astronaut Maneuvering Unit (AMU) was scheduled, and they would rendezvous with an Agena target vehicle.[30] Bassett was scheduled for the EVA and See would stay in the capsule.[31]

Death

Elliot See and Charles Bassett
Grave of Elliot See at Arlington National Cemetery
Main article: 1966 NASA T-38 crash

On February 28, 1966, See and Charles Bassett were flying with their backup crew,

T-38
trainer jet, with Bassett in the rear seat.

The weather at Lambert Field that Monday morning was poor and required an

visual circling approach and Stafford elected to follow the standard procedure for a missed approach. On his second attempt, See undershot the runway, hit the afterburners and turned to the right.[34]

The jet crashed into McDonnell Aircraft Building 101, where the Gemini spacecraft was built. See was found in a parking lot still strapped to his ejection seat. Both astronauts died instantly from trauma sustained in the accident, within five hundred feet (150 m) of their spacecraft. See and Bassett were buried near each other in Arlington National Cemetery, and the graves are about one hundred yards (90 m) from Theodore Freeman, another astronaut who died in a T-38 crash sixteen months prior.[33][35][36]

After a reporter had disclosed to Freeman's wife that he had died, NASA enacted new policies to avoid a similar embarrassing situation in the future. In compliance with these policies, astronaut John Young asked Marilyn Lovell and Jane Conrad to go to Marilyn See's house and ensure she did not find out about her husband's death from a non-NASA source. They rushed over and made excuses for their early surprise visit. After Young arrived to break the news, the three hugged her for comfort. Marilyn Lovell then went to the school to pick up Marilyn See's children, to make sure they did not find out from the press.[37]

A NASA investigative panel later concluded that pilot error, caused by bad weather, was the principal cause of the accident. The panel concluded that See was flying too low on his second approach, probably due to poor visibility.[38] At the time, See was known as one of the better pilots in the astronaut corps.[39] Slayton later expressed doubts about See's flying abilities, claiming that he flew too slowly, and "wasn't aggressive enough ... he flew too slow–a fatal problem in a plane like the T-38, which will stall easily if you get below 270 knots (500 km/h; 310 mph)."[40]

Project Apollo missions. In particular, Aldrin flew as the pilot of Gemini 12, and later Apollo 11.[42]

Both men were buried in

Jim McDivitt, and civilian pilot Jere Cobb did the same to honor Bassett.[46][47]

Legacy

Names of See and Bassett on the Space Mirror Memorial

See was survived by his wife Marilyn and three children.

John F. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, dedicated in 1991.[51][52] He was honored by Highland Park High School in 2010 as one of the recipients of its Distinguished Alumni Award.[53]
A room at the USMMA is also dedicated to his memory.

See was a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP) and an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).[15]

In media

See was played by Steve Zahn in the 1998 HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, and by Patrick Fugit in the 2018 film First Man.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "New Astronauts, 9 Hottest Jet Pilots in the U.S., Have Been Training a Year". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. September 18, 1962. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c Burgess, Doolan & Vis 2003, p. 36.
  3. ^ "Astronauts and the BSA" (PDF). Boy Scouts of America. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 22, 2011. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c Burgess, Doolan & Vis 2003, pp. 37–38.
  5. ^ "USMMA History". U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. January 18, 2013. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c Burgess, Doolan & Vis 2003, pp. 40–41.
  7. ^ "Head Over Heels for What's Out There". Life. Vol. 55, no. 19. September 27, 1963. pp. 30–39, 81–90. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  8. ^ a b "MSC Names Nine New Pilot Trainees" (PDF). NASA Roundup. Vol. 1, no. 24. September 19, 1962. pp. 1, 4–5. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  9. ^ a b c d Burgess, Doolan & Vis 2003, pp. 41–43.
  10. ^ "USS Randolph (CV 15)". A Brief History of Aircraft Carriers. Naval Historical Center. Archived from the original on October 7, 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  11. ^ Burgess, Doolan & Vis 2003, p. 42.
  12. ^ "USS Boxer (CVA 21) WestPac Cruise Book 1955–56". U.S. Navy. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  13. ^ Evans, Ben (February 27, 2016). "'A Very Great Honor': 50 Years Since the Accident Which Changed Project Gemini (Part 1)". AmericaSpace. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  14. The Astronauts Memorial Foundation, The Center for Space Education. Archived from the original
    on July 6, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  15. ^ a b c d e "Astronaut Bio: Elliot M. See Jr" (PDF). NASA. February 1966. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  16. ISSN 0024-3019
    .
  17. ^ Evans, Ben (February 28, 2016). "'A Very Great Honor': 50 Years Since the Accident Which Changed Project Gemini (Part 2)". AmericaSpace. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  18. ^ a b c d Burgess, Doolan & Vis 2003, p. 44.
  19. ^ "Here are the Next Nine Astronauts Who Will Join in U.S. Race to the Moon". The Tampa Tribune. Tampa, Florida. UPI. September 18, 1962. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ a b c Burgess, Doolan & Vis 2003, p. 45.
  21. ^ Burgess 2013, p. 166.
  22. ^ "Remembering NASA Astronauts Elliot See and Charles Bassett". NASA. February 26, 2016. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  23. ^ Burgess, Doolan & Vis 2003, p. 48.
  24. ISSN 0024-3019
    – via Google Books.
  25. ^ See Jr., Elliot M. (August 23, 1964). "Moon Explorers Face Light Problems". The Indianapolis Star. Indianapolis, Indiana. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ISSN 0024-3019
    .
  27. Newspapers.com
    .
  28. ^ Burgess, Doolan & Vis 2003, p. 46.
  29. ^ a b Slayton & Cassutt 1994, pp. 138, 168.
  30. ^ a b c Reichl 2016, p. 110.
  31. ^
    ISSN 0024-3019
    – via Google Books.
  32. ^ Burgess, Doolan & Vis 2003, p. 110.
  33. ^
    St. Louis, MO
    . Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  34. ^ Burgess, Doolan & Vis 2003, pp. 33–34.
  35. ^ "Astronauts See, Bassett Paid Arlington Tributes". The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colorado. Associated Press. March 4, 1966. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  36. ^ a b "Taps sounded at Arlington". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 4, 1966. p. 5A.
  37. ^ Koppel 2013, pp. 120–122.
  38. ^ "Accident Board Reports Findings in See–Bassett Crash" (PDF). Space News Roundup. NASA. June 10, 1966. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 5, 2016. Retrieved June 10, 2012.
  39. ^ Shayler 2000, p. 82.
  40. ^ Slayton & Cassutt 1994, p. 167.
  41. ^ Hacker & Grimwood 2010, p. 332.
  42. ^ Slayton & Cassutt 1994, pp. 167–168.
  43. ^ "Space team is buried". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. March 4, 1966. p. 2.
  44. ^ "At funeral of fellow astronaut". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press (photo). March 5, 1966. p. 12.
  45. ^ "3 fly T38s in tribute to astronaut". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 2, 1966. p. 3A.
  46. ^ "Astronauts are Bid Farewell in Texas". The Record. Hackensack, New Jersey. UPI. March 3, 1966. p. 37 – via Newspapers.com.
  47. ^ "Jet planes fly tribute at funeral". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. March 2, 1966. p. 2.
  48. ^ Hamblin, Dora Jane (January 26, 1968). "The Fire and Fate Have Left Eight Widows". Life. Vol. 64, no. 4. pp. 60–64. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  49. ^ Burgess, Doolan & Vis 2003, pp. 74–75.
  50. ^ Eveleth, Rose (January 7, 2013). "There Is a Sculpture on the Moon Commemorating Fallen Astronauts". Smithsonian.com. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  51. ^ "The Astronauts Memorial Foundation Space Mirror Memorial". The Astronauts Memorial Foundation. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  52. ^ Dunn, Marcia (May 10, 1991). "15 Lost Astronauts Memorialized". The San Bernardino County Sun. San Bernardino, California. Associated Press. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  53. ^ "Highland Park High School Distinguished Alumni List". Highland Park High School Alumni Association. Archived from the original on June 6, 2013. Retrieved May 7, 2012.

References

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