Gemini IX-A launched 1966

Gemini IX-A crew: Tom Stafford, Gene Cernan

Mission patch

Gemini IX-A, launched June 3, 1966, was the seventh crewed Gemini flight.  Its crew consisted of Tom Stafford and Gene Cernan.  Elliott See was intended to be the commander and Charles Bassett to be pilot, but they were killed in a training accident in February.

The main objective was to dock with the Agena Target Vehicle, but because of a launch preparation error on the target vehicle, they were unable to.

The second objective was for Cernan to conduct an EVA and test the Air Force's Astronaut Maneuvering Unit, but this was not achieved since Cernan experienced cardiac stress, overheating and fatigue during the EVA.

The third objective, carrying out scientific experiments, was completed.

They returned to Earth June 6.

Happy birthday, Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison "Jack" Schmitt!

Harrison "Jack" Schmitt, born July 3, 1935 in Santa Rita, New Mexico, flew to the moon on Apollo 17, becoming the twelfth person to walk on the moon.  He received his PhD in geology from Harvard University in 1964. 

He was assigned to be the Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 17, with Eugene Cernan and Ronald Evans.  He  is the second to  last person to have walked on the moon.

He resigned from NASA in 1975 to seek election to the U. S. Senate for New Mexico and won in 1976.

Gemini IX-A launched 1966

Gemini IX-A crew: Thomas Stafford, Eugene Cernan

Mission patch

Gemini IX-A, launched June 3, 1966, was renamed after the original mission, planned to launch May 17, was cancelled when the rendezvous vehicle was destroyed during a launch failure.  Its crew, Thomas Stafford and Eugene Cernan, tried to dock with the backup rendezvous craft, the Augmented Target Docking Adaptor (ATDA) because the nose pairing failed to eject from the docking target.

The original crew, Elliot See and Charles Bassett, was killed in an aircraft crash February 26, 1966.

Cernan performed a two-hour EVA in an attempt to demonstrate the Astronaut Maneuvering Unit, but could not complete it due to stress, fatigue and overheating.

They returned to Earth June 6.

Georgy Beregovoy, Soyuz 3 cosmonaut, born 1921

Cosmonaut Georgy Beregovoy, born April 15, 1921, went into space only once on Soyuz 3.  It was a one-man mission launched in October 1968 and he orbited Earth for almost four days. 

He had been scheduled to fly Voskhod 3 in 1966 but the mission never happened. 

In October 1969, Beregovoy and fellow cosmonaut Konstatin Feokistov visited Disneyland as guests of NASA, joined by Eugene Cernan, Neil Armstrong and others.

He passed away in June 1995 during heart surgery.

Gene Cernan, last man on the moon, born 1934

Eugene "Gene" Cernan, born March 14, 1934 in Chicago, Illinois, was the last man to walk on the moon.  He made two trips to the moon on separate occasions, the first in Apollo 10 and the second in Apollo 17. 

His first mission in space was on Gemini IX with Tom Stafford in June 1966.  They were selected as the backup crew but the primary crew (Elliot See and Charles Bassett) was killed in a crash on February 28, 1966.  Cernan and Stafford performed rendezvous procedures that would be used on Apollo 10.

He and Stafford went into space on Apollo 10 in May 1969 on what would be the final "dress rehearsal" for the moon landing, which Apollo 11 accomplished two months later.

His final flight was as commander of Apollo 17 in December 1972. It was the last mission of the Apollo program.  He and Harrison Schmitt performed three EVAs for about 22 hours.  He was the last man to climb up the ladder into the Lunar lander.

Cernan published his memoir The Last Man on the Moon in 1999.

He passed away in January 2017 at 82 years old.

Apollo 17 astronaut Ronald Evans born 1933

Ronald Ellwin Evans, Jr., born November 10, 1933 in St. Francis, Kansas, walked on the moon as part of the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, the last trip to the moon.  Harrison Schmidte and Gene Cernan took the last steps on the lunar surface while Evans orbited above as the Command Module Pilot.

On the trip back to Earth, Evans completed an EVA for one hour and 6 minutes to retrieve some cameras and an inspection of the equipment bay area.  This was his only trip into space.

He passed away in Scottsdale, Arizona of a heart attack April 7, 1990.

Happy birthday, Oklahoma astronaut Tom Stafford!

Thomas "Tom" Stafford, born September 17, 1930 in Weatherford, Oklahoma, is an astronaut who has flown in two Gemini missions, Apollo 10 and an Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.  He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland before being accepted by NASA to be an astronaut September 17, 1962.

What a birthday present!

In December 1965, he piloted Gemini VI which performed the first rendezvous in space with Wally Schirra.  Less than six months later, he commanded Gemini IX with Eugene Cernan in  June 1966.

He commanded Apollo 10 in May 1969 with Eugene Cernan and John Young to the moon.  It was considered a 'dry run' for the first lunar landing.

In 1975, he commanded the Apollo spaceship with Vance Brand and Deke Slayton the first rendezvous with the Soviet Soyuz, a milestone in space history.

Apollo 10 launches 1969

Apollo 10, the fourth manned mission in the Apollo program and the second to travel to the moon (Apollo 8 was the first), launched May 18, 1969.  The mission was a "dress rehearsal" for an actual landing on the moon by Apollo 11, two months later.

On board were Commander Thomas P. Stafford (from Oklahoma!), Command Module Pilot John W. Young, and Lunar Module Pilot Eugene A. Cernan.  The Command Module was given the nickname Charlie Brown and the Lunar Module was dubbed Snoopy.

During the descent stage in the Lunar Module (Snoopy), the craft began to roll because Stafford and Cernan made duplicate commands in the computer.  Snoopy rolled over eight times before they brought it under control, just 2 seconds before crashing onto the moon's surface.

Also, the crew of Apollo 10 reported hearing strange music on the far side of the moon.  Some suggested aliens but most likely, it was interference between the lunar and command (Charlie Brown) modules.

Remembering astronaut Gene Cernan (1934-2017)

Gene Cernan, the last man on the Moon, passed away today from ongoing health issues.  He went into space three times, as the pilot of Gemini 9A, Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 10 and Commander of Apollo 17.  He is the eleventh man to walk on the moon.

Being the last person to ascend the ladder into the lunar module, Gene spoke these words:

Bob, this is Gene, and I'm on the surface; and, as I take man's last step from the surface, back home for some time to come – but we believe not too long into the future – I'd like to just (say) what I believe history will record: that America's challenge of today has forged man's destiny of tomorrow. And, as we leave the Moon at Taurus–Littrow, we leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind. Godspeed the crew of Apollo 17.

— Cernan

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a17/a17.clsout3.html

Apollo 17, last trip to the Moon, launched 1972

Apollo 17 crew (L-R): Lunar Module Pilot Harrison H. Schmitt; Commander Eugene A. Cernan (seated); Command Module Pilot Ronald E. Evans

December 7, 1972, Apollo 17 began its trip to the Moon, the last manned mission of the Apollo program.  Eugene Cernan became the last man to walk on the lunar surface, just three years after Neil Armstrong became the first man on the moon.

Cernan and Schmitt spent about 3 days on the Moon, longer than any previous crew, and logged over 22 miles on the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), traveling almost 5 miles from the lunar lander.

They splashed down in the south Pacific Ocean, December 19.