James McDivitt, born June 10, 1929 in Chicago, Illinois, participated in both Gemini and Apollo programs. He joined the US Air Force in 1951 and retired as brigadier general in 1972.
His first trip into space was as commander of Gemini IV in June 1965. Fellow astronaut Edward White conducted the first EVA by an American during the mission.
His second and final mission was aboard Apollo 9 as commander in March 1969. It was the first flight of the full Apollo spacecraft, with the command and service module (CSM) and the Lunar Module (LM). The mission lasted ten days.
The Thing from Another World, released in the US April 7, 1951, is a classic black-and-white science fiction/horror film which has spawned two remakes. Its story is about an Air Force crew and scientists stationed in the Artic, and they find a flying saucer and a humanoid body frozen in the ice. Unfortunately, the creature is still alive after being defrosted accidentally and they must defend themselves. It's based on the novella Who Goes There? by John Campbell, published in 1938.
James Arness stars as the "Thing".
It was the 46th biggest box-office release in 1951, beating out The Day the Earth Stood Still. It garnered mixed reviews upon its release, some saying it lacked "genuine entertainment values". Another said it was "just another monster epic, totally lacking in the force and tension of the original story".
It is now considered to be one of the best films of 1951 and in 2001, the Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry, for being culturally significant.
Daniel "Chappie" James, Jr., born February 11, 1920, was the first African-American to reach the rank of four-star general in any of the US armed forces. He attended the Tuskegee Institute, teaching black pilots during WWII. He flew combat missions in the Korean War and Vietnam War. He has received the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, two Air Force Distinguished Service Medals, two Legion of Merits, three Distinguished Flying Crosses, Meritorious Service Medal and fourteen Air Medals.
On September 1, 1975, he was promoted to the rank of four-star general and assigned as commander in chief of NORAD in Colorado.
He passed away of a heart attack February 25, 1978, only three weeks following his retirement from the Air Force.
It isn't usual to wish someone happy birthday while they are in space at the time, but today is Nick Hague's birthday. He is currently aboard the International Space Station as part of Expedition 59. Hague was born September 24, 1975 in Belleville, Kansas. He graduated from the US Air Force Academy. After he joined the Air Force, he was commissioned as Second Lieutenant in May 1998 and promoted to Colonel in 2016,
Hague's first trip into space aboard Soyuz MS-10 was aborted shortly after take-off. He and fellow astronaut Aleksey Ovchinin escaped safely.
Hague's second trip into space was aboard Soyuz MS-12, which was successfully launched March 2019, with Ovchinin and Christina Koch to the ISS. They are scheduled to return to Earth in October 2019.
Loren Shriver, born September 23, 1944 in Jefferson, Iowa, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights. From 1969 to 1973 he was an academic pilot instructor at Vance Air Force Base over here in Enid, Oklahoma.
His first mission into space was aboard Discovery (STS-51-C) as pilot in January 1985. It was the first space shuttle flight to carry a classified payload for the Dept. of Defense.
His second flight was aboard Discovery (STS-31) as commander in April 1990. This mission deployed the Hubble Space Telescope.
Shriver's third and final flight was on Atlantis (STS-46) as commander in July-August 1992. The mission deployed the Italian Space Agency's Tethered Satellite Relay System and the European Space Agency's European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA).
Lee Archambault, born August 25, 1960 in Oak Park, Illinois, is a veteran of two space shuttle flights. After receiving a commission of Second Lieutenant from the US Air Force, he completed pilot training at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas.
His first mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-117) as pilot in June 2007 to the International Space Station. It was the longest flight of Atlantis, lasting almost two weeks.
His second and final mission was aboard Discovery (STS-119) as commander in March 2009 to the ISS. The mission delivered assembly parts to the space station.
George Zamka, born June 29, 1962 in Jersey City, New Jersey, is a veteran of two space shuttle flights. He graduated with a Bachelor's in mathematics from the US Naval Academy in 1984. Then he became a Second Lieutenant in the US Marines. In 1994, he graduated from the US Air Force Test Pilot School.
His first trip into space was aboard Discovery (STS-120) as pilot October-November 2007 to the International Space Station.
His second and final mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-130) as commander in February 2010 to the ISS.
John McCreary Fabian, born January 28, 1939 in Goose Creek, Texas, is a veteran of two space shuttle missions. He joined the US Air Force in 1962, and received flight training at Williams Air Force Base in Arizona.
His first mission into space was aboard Challenger (STS-7) in June 1983 as mission specialist. Sally Ride was on board as the first U.S. female astronaut. Ronald Reagan, then President, sent Jelly Belly jelly beans with the astronauts, the first jelly beans in space.
Fabian's second and final mission was aboard Discovery (STS-51-G) in June 1985 as mission specialist. It was the first flight for Shannon Lucid and the only flights for Patrick Baudry (CNES) and Sultan Salman al Saud, the first Arab, first Muslim and first royal astronaut.
Richard "Mike" Mullane, born September 10, 1945 in Wichita Falls, Texas, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights and has spent over 2 weeks in space. As a colonel in the Air Force, he flew combat missions in the Vietnam War in 1969. He was chosen by NASA to become an astronaut in 1978.
His first mission was aboard Discovery (STS-41-D) as mission specialist in August-September 1984. During this flight, three commercial communications satellites were deployed.
His second flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-27) as mission specialist in December 1988. During lift-off, the heat shield was damaged and impacted the right wing. They managed to complete the mission successfully and land on December 6 without incident. However, this same scenario proved fatal for the crew of Columbia 15 years later.
Mullane's third and final flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-36) as mission specialist February-March 1990. It carried a classified payload for the Department of Defense, like his previous mission.
After retiring from NASA, he wrote a book, Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut, which describes his experiences as a space shuttle astronaut.
John Casper, born July 9, 1943 in Greenville, South Carolina, is a veteran of 4 space shuttle flights. After getting a Maser of Science degree in Astronautics from Purdue University in 1967, he attended U.S. Air Force to become a fighter pilot. He flew 229 combat missions in the Vietnam War.
He served as pilot on his first space flight on Atlantis (STS-36) February-March 1990. It was a Department of Defense flight so its payload was confidential.
His second flight was as commander on Endeavour (STS-54) January 1993, during which the fifth Tracking and Data Relay Satellite was deployed.
Casper was assigned as commander aboard Columbia (STS-62) in March 1994. The landing of the mission was chronicled by the Discovery Channel for a special featuring the Space Shuttle program.
His fourth and final mission was as commander aboard Endeavour (STS-77) in May 1996. A Coca-Cola fountain dispense with Coca-Cola and Diet Coke was taken aboard.
For the second time in a week, a former astronaut has passed away. Donald Peterson, who was a mission specialist on Challenger's maiden voyage (STS-6) passed away May 27 from Alzheimer's disease and bone cancer. He was 84.
He was in the third group of astronauts assigned to the US Air Force's Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) program, but when MOL was cancelled he went to NASA as an astronaut.
He served as astronaut support crew for Apollo 16 and then was assigned to the space shuttle program. During the STS-6 mission, he and Story Musgrave performed the first ever EVA of the shuttle program, logging just over 4 hours.
Lt. Ronald Johnson was the first black trooper in the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. He graduated from the patrol's academy in 1968 when he was 34 years old. Johnson had retired from the U.S. Air Force and applied to the academy the previous year but was told the department had "lost his application". And the commander at the time said the OHP was not ready for a black trooper.
Johnson reapplied the following year and, out of 26 recruits, he was one of seven men to graduate. He retired from the OHP in 1987 and passed away in 2011.
William "Bill" Pogue, born January 23, 1930 in Okemah, Oklahoma, went into space as part of the Skylab 4 crew November 1973-February 1974. It was the third and final crew aboard the U.S.' first space station. He received his Master of Science degree in Math from Oklahoma State University in 1960.
Pogue was in the U.S. Air Force from 1951 until he was selected by NASA for the Apollo program. He was the pilot of Skylab 4 with fellow astronauts Gerald Carr and Edward Gibson.
Pogue retired from the Air Force and NASA in 1975.
He passed away in Cocoa Beach, Florida March 3, 2014 from natural causes.
Thomas Jones, born January 22, 1955 here in Baltimore, Maryland, is a veteran of four (magic number!) space shuttle flights. He graduated from high school in Essex and got his Bachelor's Degree from the United States Air Force Academy. While serving 6 years in the Air Force, he got pilot training in Oklahoma! Wikipedia doesn't say where, though.
His first flight was on Endeavour (STS-59) in April 1994 as mission specialist. His second flight was also on Endeavour (STS-68) September-October 1994 as mission specialist.
He was scheduled to conduct two EVAs during his third mission on Columbia (STS-80) with fellow astronaut Tammy Jernigan in November-December 1996. However, problems with the airlock hatch resulted in both being cancelled.
His fourth and final mission was on Atlantis (STS-98) in February 2001 to the International Space Station. This time he completed three successful EVAs totaling over 19 hours in space.
Michael Phillip Anderson, born December 25, 1959 in Plattsburg, NY, was a veteran of two Space Shuttle missions. After graduating from the University of Washington in Seattle he became a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. In 1986, he was selected to attend undergraduate pilot training at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma.
Anderson reported to NASA in March 1995 and qualified to become a mission specialist. His first Space Shuttle flight was on Endeavour (STS-89) in January 1998 to the space station Mir.
His second and final flight was aboard the ill-fated mission of Columbia (STS-107) which disintegrated over north Texas upon its return in February 2003.
Carl Joseph Meade, born November 16, 1950 in Illinois, obtained the rank of Colonel in the US Air Force and is a veteran of 3 space shuttle flights.
His first mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-38) (the anniversary of its launch was yesterday) in November 1990 as mission specialist.
His second flight was on Columbia (STS-50) in June 1992 also as mission specialist.
His third and final mission was on Discovery (STS-64) in September 1994. During this flight, Meade tested the self-rescue jetpack, performing the first untethered spacewalk in 10 years. He spent over 3 1/2 hours maneuvering the jetpack.
Sidney McNeill Gutierrez is an astronaut born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which makes him the first Hispanic astronaut born in the U.S.A.! The previous Hispanic astronauts had been born elsewhere and some of them immigrated to the U.S., becoming naturalized citizens before going into space.
He has a degree in aeronautical engineering from the Air Force Academy and was a member of their Parachute Team with over 550 jumps. He became an astronaut for NASA in 1985 and has flown on two Space Shuttle missions.
His first trip into space was as pilot for Columbia (STS-40) in June 1991. It was also the first mission dedicated completely to life sciences and the first to carry 3 women crew members.
His second mission was as commander on the Endeavour (STS-59) in April 1994. The mission's objective was to study the Earth and her atmosphere.
Manuel Fernandez entered the Army Air Corps in February 1943, and was commissioned second lieutenant in 1944, earning his pilot wings, but did not see conflict during WWII. However, a decade later he saw combat in the Korean War, where he served with the 334th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron from September 1952 to May 1953. He flew 124 missions.
He became the third highest ranking American ace with 14.5, but he did it in only 9 months! When he left Korea he was the #1 American ace. The two pilots who surpassed his record took longer to do it.
Unfortunately, I could not find any video footage of Major Fernandez.
Dr. Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr. was the first black astronaut, June 30, 1967 when he was selected by the US Air Force in their Manned Orbital Laboratory program. This makes him the first black astronaut although he never made it to space. Later that same year, Dr. Lawrence was killed when the F-104 Starfighter, whose pilot he was instructing crashed at Edwards AFB in California, December 8.
