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The Last of NASA's Original Pilot Astronauts pp 1–31Cite as

The selections

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Part of the book series: Springer Praxis Books ((SPACEE))

Abstract

During the middle years of the 1960s, over a period of 19 months, 36 American pilots were selected for the nation’s human space program, divided almost equally between the ‘civilian’ NASA astronaut program and the classified ‘military’ Air Force space station program.

“You can apply for NASA, you can apply for MOL, and you can apply for both. But if you apply for both, I guarantee you we are going to pick you for MOL and not let NASA have y’all.”

Buck Buchanan, Deputy Commandant, USAF Test Pilot School, Edwards AFB, California.

From Charles M. Duke, NASA Oral History, 1999.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Formerly the Air Force Flight Test Pilot School (AFFTPS).

  2. 2.

    Yeager, one of the most famous test pilots in the world and the man who finally broke the sound barrier in the X-1 on October 14, 1947, had been educated only to high school level. Without a college degree, he was not eligible to apply for the NASA astronaut program. Ironically, many of the pilots he had trained did have a college education and were eligible.

  3. 3.

    Since 1964, Lt. Gen. Bohannon had arranged for a pair of Air Force Flight Surgeons to undertake pilot training annually, to supplement their normal role of gathering biomedical data on pilots from the back seat of high performance aircraft. According to American researcher John Charles, the aim was to create a cadre of pilot-physicians for possible selection as MOL crewmembers. Unfortunately, while several unidentified flight surgeons completed the course, none were selected for MOL training, and details of the program remain classified over 50 years later. [1]

  4. 4.

    Over time the MSC/JSC ‘CB’ mail code for the Astronaut Office became a verbal shorthand for several astronauts, though just as many still called it “the Office,” which the authors have adhered to where possible in this book.

  5. 5.

    The original correspondence to Jerry Carr, filed in his personal correspondence, was dated January 6. This letter stated he was to forward medical and dental records to Brooks by January 10 and to report there by January 19 for medical evaluations starting the next day.

  6. 6.

    In his 2011 biography, Al Worden says he shared a room at Brooks with MOL candidate Robert Lawrence, whom he found to be “one of the nicest, down to earth guys I ever met.” [Worden 2011 p. 56], However on the MOL candidate listing for medicals, Lawrence is listed as being at Brooks from February 3, 1966, not January 27.

  7. 7.

    From the first group, Deke Slayton and Al Shepard were medically grounded, though both were trying to reverse that decision, while John Glenn had retired to enter politics. Ted Freeman from the third group had been killed in an aircraft accident in October 1964, and Duane Graveline from the fourth (scientist astronaut) group had resigned for personal reasons just two months after selection.

  8. 8.

    This, of course, discounts Joe Engle’s three X-15 ‘astro-flights’ prior to joining the NASA astronaut program.

References

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  6. Acknowledgments to Mike Cassutt for the original research and for detailing his findings, in various emails, regarding the selection of MOL candidates

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  7. Email from Mike Cassutt: January 12, 2009

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Astronautical Historian, Astro Info Service Ltd, Halesowen, West Midlands, UK

    David J. Shayler F.B.I.S

  2. Bangor, New South Wales, Australia

    Colin Burgess

Authors
  1. David J. Shayler F.B.I.S
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  2. Colin Burgess
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Shayler, D.J., Burgess, C. (2017). The selections. In: The Last of NASA's Original Pilot Astronauts . Springer Praxis Books(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51014-9_1

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