Astronaut Bruce McCandless born 1937

Bruce McCandless II, born June 8, 1937 in Boston, Massachusetts, went into space twice. He graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1958, and received flight training from the Naval Air Training Command in Pensacola, Florida and in Kingsville, Texas.

He was selected as an astronaut in the NASA Astronaut Group 5 at age 28, the youngest member of the group. He served as mission control capsule communicator (CAPCOM) during Apollo 11.  He served as CAPCOM for Apollo 14, as well as astronaut support crew.  He was reassigned to the Skylab program, serving as CAPCOM for Skylab 3 and Skylab 4.

His first mission was aboard Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-41-B) as mission specialist in February 1984. During the mission he performed the first untethered spacewalk, using the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), traveling 322 ft away from the shuttle. He spent eight days in space.

His second mission was aboard Discovery (STS-31) as mission specialist in April 1990. He was planning to conduct an EVA with fellow astronaut Kathryn Sullivan to fix and array that could not be deployed through ground control, but the problem was fixed without the need of an EVA.  He returned to Earth after 5 days in space.

McCandless passed away in December 2017.

Karl Henize, Space Shuttle astronaut, born 1926

Karl Henize, born October 17, 1926 in Cincinnati, Ohio, traveled into space aboard Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-51-F) July-August 1985 as mission specialist.  Chosen as an astronaut by NASA in 1967, he completed jet pilot training at Vance AFB in Enid, Oklahoma(!) and served as support crew for Apollo 15 and Skylab 2-4 missions.

On Challenger, he logged 188 hours in space.

He passed away in October 1993 from high altitude pulmonary edema during a climb of Mount Everest.  He was part of test to study how people's bodies would be affected by radiation for long duration space missions.

William Pogue, Skylab astronaut, born 1930

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.

Happy birthday, Skylab 4 astronaut Edward Gibson!

Edward Gibson, born November 8, 1936 in Buffalo, New York, made one trip into space aboard Skylab 4, the last manned mission to the space station.  With Commander Gerald Carr and Pilot William Pogue, he spent 84 days in space, which was a record at that time.  It was the only flight for all three men.

After his retirement from NASA, he wrote two novels, Reach and In The Wrong Hands, both science fiction about space travel.

Happy birthday, Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart!

Russell Louis Schweickart, born October 25, 1935, was the Lunar Module on Apollo 9, the first manned flight test of the Lunar Module in March 1969.  He was backup commander for the first manned Skylab 2 mission in 1973 and was on the support crew for Skylab 4.


Here Rusty talks about his experience during his EVA on Apollo 9.

Happy birthday, Skylab 4 astronaut Gerald Carr!

Gerald Paul Carr, born August 22, 1932 in Denver, Colorado, is one of three rookie astronauts on Skylab 4, the third and last manned mission to the space station.  He was one of the original 19 astronauts chosen by NASA in 1966.  For over 4 years, Carr and his fellow Skylab 4 astronauts held the record for the longest stay in space, 184 days.

During the mission, the Skylab astronauts got worn out from their hectic work schedule and finally ceased radio transmissions to and from Mission Control for a day.  NASA was furious, of course, but it did lead to some revising of work schedules and the astronauts ended up completing more work that originally planned.

Carr was on the rotation for Apollo 19 but the mission was cancelled in 1970.

Skylab 4 launched 1973

Carr, Gibson and Pogue

The third manned Skylab mission, the third and final crew to the first space station, lifted off November 16, 1973.  The crew, Commander Gerald P. Carr, Science Pilot Edward G. Gibson and Pilot William R. Pogue, spent 84 days in space, the longest period at that time.

During the mission, the crew complained they were being pushed too hard, being made to work long hours without sufficient rest.  NASA thought they weren't working hard enough or efficient enough.  On New Year's Day 1974, the crew, fed up with their work schedule, turned off their communications and enjoyed the view of Earth for a day.  NASA did not find that even remotely funny,  but their work schedule was modified and the crew completed more work than scheduled.

Part of their mission was to make observations of Comet Kohoutek.