NASA Astronaut Group 7

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Main article:
List of astronauts by selection
Group 7
Official group portrait
Group 7 astronauts. Left to right: Bobko, Fullerton, Hartsfield, Crippen, Peterson, Truly and Overmyer.
Year selected1969
Number selected7
← 1967
1978 →

NASA Astronaut Group 7 was a group of seven astronauts accepted by the

Project Apollo era, and the first since the Mercury Seven
in which all members were active-duty military personnel, and all made flights into space.

The

Gemini B
.

When the MOL program was canceled in June 1969, fourteen astronauts remained in the program. NASA accepted the seven youngest as NASA astronauts. By the time they joined NASA, all Apollo flight assignments had been lined up, but they were given non-flying support assignments for Apollo,

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. The former MOL astronauts went on to form the core of early Space Shuttle
pilots, upgrading to commander after their first flight, and flying 17 missions between them.

Background

Main article: Manned Orbiting Laboratory

On August 25, 1962, the

Gemini B spacecraft.[1] MOL was a semi-secret project, with public experiments but a covert reconnaissance mission.[4]

Selection

Robert H. Lawrence

The selection criteria for MOL astronauts was:

No call for volunteers was issued for the first group; fifteen candidates, all ARPS graduates, were selected for a week of medical evaluation in October 1964. The evaluations were similar to those conducted for the NASA astronaut groups.[6][7] The names of the first group of eight MOL astronauts were publicly announced on November 12, 1965.[5] Five more were announced on June 17, 1966,[8] and four more on June 30, 1967.[6][9]

Transfer to NASA

On June 10, 1969, the MOL Project was canceled.

Robert H. Lawrence died during training.[11][12] Many had hoped since childhood to travel to space. The program asked NASA if it could use MOL resources, including astronauts. All of the 14 except Robert T. Herres wanted to transfer.[13]

Director of Flight Crew Operations

George Mueller thought that sooner or later the agency would need help from the USAF, and maintaining good relations was good policy. Slayton and Gilruth agreed to take those who met its age limit of 36. Seven of the thirteen were 35 or younger. NASA also took Albert H. Crews as a test pilot. NASA's acceptance of the seven MOL astronauts was announced on August 14, 1969.[14][15][16]

Group members

Image Name Born Died Career Refs
Portrait Karol J. Bobko
Queens, New York

December 23, 1937 		Half Moon Bay, California
August 17, 2023 		Bobko was ranked 27th in the first graduating class of the
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in July 1975 and the Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests at Edwards Air Force Base in 1977. He flew in space three times: as pilot of STS-6, the maiden flight of the Space Shuttle Challenger in April 1983; as commander of STS-51-D in the Space Shuttle Discovery in April 1985; and as commander of STS-51-J , the maiden flight of the Space Shuttle Atlantis
in October 1985, and is the only astronaut to have flown on the maiden flights of two space shuttles. He retired from NASA on November 30, 1988, and from the USAF with the rank of colonel on January 1, 1989. 		[17][18]
Portrait Robert L. Crippen Beaumont, Texas
September 11, 1937 		Crippen received a
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in July 1975. He flew in space four times. His first mission was in April 1981 as pilot of STS-1, the first Space Shuttle mission and the maiden flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia. He subsequently commanded three missions in the Space Shuttle Challenger: STS-7 in June 1983, STS-41-C in April 1984, and STS-41-G in October 1984. He served as deputy director for Shuttle Operations at the Kennedy Space Center
from 1986 to 1989; director of the Space Shuttle Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, from 1990 to 1992; and director of the Kennedy Space Center from 1992 to 1995. He retired from the Navy with the rank of captain in 1991, and from NASA in 1995. 		[19][20]
Portrait C. Gordon Fullerton Rochester, New York
October 11, 1936 		August 21, 2013 Fullerton earned
Dryden Flight Research Center
. He retired from NASA in 2007. 		[21][22][23]
Portrait Henry W. Hartsfield Jr. Birmingham, Alabama
November 21, 1933 		July 17, 2014 Hartsfield received a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from Auburn University in 1954, and a Master of Science degree in engineering science from the University of Tennessee in 1971. On graduation from Auburn University he accepted a commission in the USAF through the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps program. He graduated from the ARPS with class 64-C in 1965. He was a member of the support crew for Apollo 16 and the Skylab 2, 3, and 4 missions. He flew in space three times: as pilot of the Space Shuttle Columbia in the STS-4 mission in June 1982; as commander of the Space Shuttle Discovery on its maiden mission, STS-41-D in August 1984; and as commander of Space Shuttle Challenger in the STS-61-A Spacelab mission in October 1985. He retired from the USAF in 1977 with the rank of colonel. Hartsfield served as Deputy Chief of the Astronaut Office from 1986 to 1987, then as the Deputy Director for Flight Crew Operations from 1987 to 1989. He had temporary assignments in the Office of Space Flight at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, and as the Deputy Manager for Operations in the Space Station Projects Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. In 1991 he joined the Space Station Freedom Program at the Johnson Space Center. He retired from NASA in 1998. [24][25][26]
Portrait Robert F. Overmyer Lorain, Ohio
July 14, 1936 		March 22, 1996 Overmyer received a
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. He flew in space twice: as pilot of the Space Shuttle Columbia on the STS-5 mission in November 1982; and as commander of the STS-51-B Spacelab mission in the Space Shuttle Challenger
in April 1985. In May 1986, he retired from both NASA and the Marine Corps, with the rank of colonel. 		[27][28]
Portrait Donald H. Peterson Winona, Mississippi
October 22, 1933 		May 27, 2018 Peterson received a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1955, and joined the USAF. He earned a master's degree in nuclear engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1962. He graduated from the ARPS with class 66-B in 1967. Peterson served on the support crew for Apollo 16. He resigned from the USAF with the rank of colonel in 1979. He flew in space April 1983 on the STS-6 mission, the maiden flight of the Space Shuttle Challenger as a mission specialist. On this mission he participated in the first extravehicular activity (EVA) of the Space Shuttle program, a spacewalk lasting 4 hours and 15 minutes. He resigned from NASA in December 1984. [29][30]
Portrait Richard H. Truly Fayette, Mississippi
November 12, 1937 		February 27, 2024 Truly received a Bachelor of Aeronautical Engineering degree from the
Administrator of NASA
. He retired from NASA in April 1992. 		[31][32]

Operations

The crews for the Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests (ALT). Left to right: Fullerton, Haise, Engle and Truly.

The seven NASA transfers under the age limit did not go through a selection process. Some immediately started working for the agency, and others in 1970 after a year of further education.

Scuba school, and helped develop MOL systems.[34] While Slayton warned the MOL transfers that they would probably not fly until the space shuttle around 1980, he did have many duties for them.[33] The first step was selection to a mission support crew. Fullerton served on the support crews for the Apollo 14 and 17 lunar landing missions, Hartsfield and Peterson on that of Apollo 16, and Overmyer on that of Apollo 17, and they performed CAPCOM duties on those missions. Fullerton was also CAPCOM on Apollo 15 and 16.[23] Crippen, Hartsfield and Truly served on the support crews for the Skylab missions,[35] and Bobko, Crippen, Overmyer and Truly served on that of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.[36]

On February 24, 1976, NASA announced the two crews of two astronauts to fly the Approach and Landing Tests in the Space Shuttle Enterprise. In each case, one of the MOL astronauts was paired with an experienced member of NASA Astronaut Group 5. The commander of the first crew was Fred Haise, with Fullerton as pilot, and the second was commanded by Joe Engle, with Truly as pilot.[note 1] By this time, only 31 of the 73 pilot and scientist astronauts selected between 1959 and 1969 remained with NASA, and they would soon be outnumbered by the 35 newcomers selected in 1978.[38]

All seven MOL astronauts flew on the Space Shuttle,

STS-61A, in October and November 1985.[40] The group flew 17 missions in total.[41]

Notes

  1. ^ Engle had never flown in space on a NASA mission, but had received astronaut wings from the USAF after flying the X-15 above the 50 mile limit that the United States uses to determine spaceflight.[37]

References

  1. ^ a b Homer 2019, pp. 2–3.
  2. ^ Berger 2015, pp. 71–79.
  3. ^ "President Johnson's Statement on MOL" (PDF) (Press release). National Reconnaissance Office. 25 August 1965. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  4. ^ Homer 2019, p. 8.
  5. ^ a b Shayler & Burgess 2017, pp. 5–6.
  6. ^ a b Homer 2019, p. 29.
  7. ^ Shayler & Burgess 2017, pp. 2–3.
  8. ^ Shayler & Burgess 2017, p. 26.
  9. ^ Shayler & Burgess 2017, pp. 26–28.
  10. ^ Homer 2019, p. 87.
  11. ^ Homer 2019, p. 40-41,90.
  12. ^ Shayler & Burgess 2017, p. 230.
  13. ^ Homer 2019, p. 90-91.
  14. ^ Homer 2019, pp. 91–92.
  15. ^ Slayton & Cassutt 1994, pp. 249–251.
  16. ^ "50 Years Ago: NASA Group 7 Astronaut Selection". NASA. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  17. ^ Shayler & Burgess 2017, pp. 245–246, 364.
  18. ^ "Astronaut Bio: Karol J. Bobko" (PDF). NASA. April 2006. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  19. ^ Shayler & Burgess 2017, pp. 246–248, 369–370.
  20. ^ "Astronaut Bio: Robert L. Crippen" (PDF). NASA. September 1997. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  21. ^ Shayler & Burgess 2017, pp. 248–250, 372–373.
  22. ^ "Astronaut Bio: C. Gordon Fullerton" (PDF). NASA. January 2008. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  23. ^ a b Orloff 2000, pp. 270–271.
  24. ^ Shayler & Burgess 2017, pp. 251–252, 375–376.
  25. ^ "Astronaut Bio: Henry W. Hartsfiled, Jr" (PDF). NASA. August 1997. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  26. ^ Weber, Bruce (July 22, 2014). "Henry Hartsfield Jr. Is Dead at 80; Flew, With Fortune, on 3 Shuttles". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  27. ^ Shayler & Burgess 2017, pp. 253–254, 379.
  28. ^ "Astronaut Bio: Robert Overmyer" (PDF). NASA. March 1996. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  29. ^ Shayler & Burgess 2017, pp. 254–256, 379.
  30. ^ "Astronaut Bio: Donald H. Peterson" (PDF). NASA. May 1994. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  31. ^ Shayler & Burgess 2017, pp. 256–257, 383–384.
  32. ^ "Astronaut Bio: Richard H. Truly" (PDF). NASA. March 1992. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  33. ^ a b c Homer 2019, p. 91.
  34. ^ Day, Dwayne (26 August 2019). "Review: Spies in Space". The Space Review. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  35. ^ Shayler & Burgess 2017, pp. 304–305.
  36. ^ Shayler & Burgess 2017, pp. 308–309.
  37. ^ "Joe H. Engle". X-15 Biographies. NASA. October 1999. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  38. ^ Shayler & Burgess 2017, pp. 314–315.
  39. ^ Shayler & Burgess 2017, pp. 324–331.
  40. ^ Shayler & Burgess 2017, pp. 350–351.
  41. ^ Shayler & Burgess 2017, pp. 401–402.

Bibliography

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=NASA_Astronaut_Group_7&oldid=1218381782"