Gerald Carr (astronaut)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Jerry Carr
NASA astronaut
RankColonel, USMC
Time in space
84d 1h 15m
SelectionNASA Group 5 (1966)
Total EVAs
3
Total EVA time
15h 51m[1]
MissionsSkylab 4
Mission insignia
RetirementJune 25, 1977

Gerald Paul "Jerry" Carr (August 22, 1932 – August 26, 2020) was an American

naval aviator, and NASA astronaut. He was commander of Skylab 4, the third and final crewed visit to the Skylab Orbital Workshop
, from November 16, 1973, to February 8, 1974.

Early life and education

Carr was born in

Eagle Scout. Carr graduated from Santa Ana High School in Santa Ana in 1950.[4]

Carr received a

aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1961,[4] and a Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from Princeton University in 1962.[6]

Carr married his high-school sweetheart, Joann Ruth Petrie, in 1954. They had two sets of twins and six children total.[6] They divorced and his second marriage was to Patricia Musick in 1979.[2]

Military service

Carr began his military service with the U.S. Navy, and in 1950 he was appointed a midshipman with the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) detachment at the University of Southern California. Upon graduation in 1954, he received his commission in the U.S. Marine Corps and subsequently reported to The Basic School at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. He received flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, and Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas, and was then assigned to VMF(AW)-114 where he gained experience in the F9F Cougar and the F-6A Skyray.[2]

After postgraduate training, he served with

ground effect machines.[2]

He logged more than 8,000 flying hours, 5,365 hours of which were jet time.[2]

NASA career

Carr was one of the

Apollo 19 and walk on the Moon before this mission was canceled in 1970.[9]

Skylab 4

Carr demonstrates weightlessness by balancing Skylab 4 crewmate William Pogue on his finger

Carr was commander of

William Pogue.[12] The crew successfully completed 56 experiments, 26 science demonstrations, 15 subsystem-detailed objectives, and 13 student investigations during their 1,214 orbits of the Earth.[13] They also acquired extensive Earth resources observation data using hand-held cameras and Skylab's Earth Resources Experiment Package camera and sensor array. They logged 338 hours of operations of the Apollo Telescope Mount, which made extensive observations of the sun's solar processes.[14]

From February 1974 until March 1978,[15] Carr and his Skylab 4 teammates shared the world record for individual time in space: 2,017 hours 15 minutes 32 seconds, and Carr logged 15 hours and 51 minute in three EVAs outside the Orbital Workshop.[16]

In mid-1977, Carr was named head of the design support group within the Astronaut Office responsible for providing crew support to such activities as space transportation system design, simulations, testing, and safety assessment, and for development of man/machine interface requirements.[2]

Carr retired from the U.S. Marine Corps as colonel in September 1975[17] and from NASA in June 1977.[18]

Later life

Carr started his post-NASA career as manager of corporate development at Bovay Engineers, Inc., a

Houston engineering consulting firm.[18] He later became a senior vice president, leaving the firm in 1981.[2]

He was a senior

Los Angeles, California, from 1981 to 1983. From 1983 until 1985 Carr was manager of The University of Texas 300 inches (7.6 m) Telescope Project.[2]

Carr founded CAMUS, Inc. in 1984 based in Vermont. The family-owned corporation provides technical support services in zero-gravity human factors engineering, procedures development, operations analysis, training and systems integration. CAMUS was a major contributor as a technical support subcontractor to Boeing in the crew systems design of the International Space Station. In addition, the corporation is involved in fine art production designed by Carr's wife, artist and sculptor Pat Musick.[2]

Carr died in Albany, New York, on August 26, 2020, four days after his 88th birthday.[19][20]

Organizations

Carr was a former director of the Sunsat Energy Council; a former director of the Houston Pops Orchestra; and a former director of the National Space Society.[2]

Awards and honors

He was presented with an honorary Doctorate of Science in aeronautical engineering from Parks College of Saint Louis University, Cahokia, Illinois, in 1976.[21]

He was awarded the

U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1997.[25]

The three Skylab astronaut crews were awarded the 1973

AIAA Haley Astronautics Award in 1975 "For demonstrated outstanding courage and skill during their record-breaking 84-day Skylab mission".[33]

In 1974, Gerald P. Carr Intermediate School (previously Ralph C. Smedley Junior High) in Santa Ana, California, was renamed in Carr's honor, and the school's team name is the Astros, in honor of Carr's NASA achievements.[34]

See also

References

  1. ^ Gerald P. Carr's EVA experience
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Biographical Data: GERALD P. CARR (COLONEL, USMC, RET.) NASA ASTRONAUT (DECEASED)" (PDF). NASA. August 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ISBN 9781857430509.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link
    )
  4. ^ a b Grant, Gordon (January 20, 1972). "'Strangers' to Meet in Skylab". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b "In Charge of Longest Space Flight". Mexico Ledger. Mexico, Missouri. Associated Press. November 16, 1973. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b Recer, Paul (November 19, 1973). "One Factor Common to All—Space Rookies". The Leader-Post. Regina, Saskatchewan. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Thompson, Ronald (April 5, 1966). "19 New Spacemen Are Named". The High Point Enterprise. High Point, North Carolina. p. 2A – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Orloff, Richard W. (June 2004) [2001]. "Apollo by the Numbers: A Statistical Guide". NASA. SP-4029. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  9. ^ "Apollo 18 through 20 - The Cancelled Missions". NSSDC. Retrieved February 16, 2019. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  10. ^ "Skylab Astronauts Return Home Safely". The Winona Daily News. Winona, Minnesota. Associated Press. February 8, 1974. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Skylab Crewman Have Personal Goals". Tucson Daily Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. Enterprise News Service. November 7, 1973. p. 36 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "All-Rookie Crew Doesn't Bother Skylab Commander". The Greenville News. Greenville, South Carolina. Associated Press. November 6, 1973. p. 30 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Ramsay, Jim (April 22, 1977). "City Officials Hear Astronaut Describe Plans". Valley Morning Star. Harlingen, Texas. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Skylab Astronauts End Careers in the Military". Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. Lancaster, Ohio. September 9, 1975. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Russians End 96-Day Stay in Space Station". Tulare Advance-Register. Tulare, California. UPI. March 16, 1978. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Lee Ellis. Who's who of NASA astronauts. p. 234.
  17. ^ "Astronauts Pogue, Carr Retire". The Indiana Gazette. Indiana, Pennsylvania. August 25, 1975. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ a b "Carr, Space Record Holder, Quits NASA". The Tampa Tribune. Tampa, Florida. Associated Press. June 23, 1977. p. 42 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Astronaut Jerry Carr, who led NASA's final Skylab crew, dies at 88". Collect Space. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  20. ^ "Skylab Astronaut Gerald "Jerry" Carr Dies at 88". NASA. August 25, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  21. ^ "Astronaut to Address Grads". The Edwardsville Intelligencer. Edwardsville, Illinois. August 2, 1976. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Astronaut to Address USC Alumni". Valley News. Valley Nuys, California. March 17, 1974. p. 28 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ Cowan, Cliff (September 22, 1975). "World's Fliers Drop Into Ottawa". The Ottawa Journal. Ottawa, Ontario. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Chicagoans Host Nine Astronauts". The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. March 27, 1974. p. 13-A – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ Meyer, Marilyn (October 2, 1997). "Ceremony to Honor Astronauts". Florida Today. Cocoa, Florida. p. 2B – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Collier 1970–1979 Recipients". National Aeronautic Association. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  27. ^ "Collier Trophy at Test Range". The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. October 3, 1974. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ "NASA Fund Drive Backed by Nixon". Playground Daily News. Fort Walton Beach, Florida. UPI. March 21, 1974. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ "FAI Awards". Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. October 10, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  30. ^ "Former Astronaut to Speak Friday". The Tennessean. June 29, 1983. p. 52 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ^ "Neil Armstrong Space Flight Achievement Award". American Astronautical Society. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  32. ^ "For Praises Astronauts, Space Program". Daily Press. Newport News. UPI. April 12, 1975. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
  33. ^ "Haley Space Flight Award". AIAA. Archived from the original on February 13, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
  34. ^ "Smedley School Renamed For Astronaut". Santa Ana Register. July 11, 1974. p. 5 – via Newspaperarchive.

External links