Appendix E: Astronauts’ Biographies

1st Crew

Commander: Capt. Charles Conrad, Jr., USN. Born 2 June 1930 in Philadelphia. B.S. in aeronautical engineering, Princeton University, 1953. Completed U.S. Navy Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, Md.; joined NASA in 1962 with the second group of astronauts. Pilot of Gemini 5, 21-29 Aug. 1965; commander of Gemini 11, 12-15 Sept. 1966; commander of Apollo 12, 14-24 Nov. 1969. Third man to set foot on the moon, 19 Nov. 1969.

Scientist-pilot: Comdr. Joseph P. Kerwin, MC, USN. Born 19 Feb. 1932 in Oak Park, Ill. B.A. in philosophy, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Mass., 1953; M.D., Northwestern University Medical School, 1957. Commissioned in Navy Medical Corps 1958; qualified as pilot 1962. Joined NASA in 1965 with the first group of scientist-astronauts (4th group selected). No spaceflight experience prior to Skylab.

Pilot: Comdr. Paul J. Weitz, USN. Born 25 July 1932 in Erie, Pa. B.S. in aeronautical engineering, Pennsylvania State University, 1954; M.S., U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, 1964. Commissioned 1954, qualified as pilot 1956. Served six months on U.S.S. Independence, earning the Air Medal with four stars, The Navy Commendation Medal, and the Navy Unit Citation. Selected as an astronaut in 1966 with the fifth group of astronauts. No spaceflight experience prior to Skylab.

2d Crew

Commander: Capt. Alan L. Bean, USN. Born 15 March 1932 in Wheeler, Tex. B.S. in aeronautical engineering, University of Texas (Austin), 1954. Commissioned from NROTC on graduation; qualified as a pilot and completed the Navy Test Pilot School. Joined NASA in 1963 with the third group of astronauts. After backup assignments on Gemini 10 and Apollo 9, he was lunar-module pilot on Apollo 12 and was the fourth man to walk on the moon, 19 Nov. 1969.

Scientist-pilot: Owen K. Garriott (civilian). Born 22 November 1930 in Enid, Okla. B.S. in electrical engineering, University of Oklahoma, 1953; M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering, Stanford University, 1957, 1960. Taught and conducted research at Stanford until 1965; selected as an astronaut in 1965 with the first group of scientist-astronauts. No spaceflight experience prior to Skylab.

Pilot: Maj. Jack R. Lousma, USMC. Born 22 August 1932 in Grand Rapids, Mich. B.S. in aeronautical engineering, University of Michigan, 1959. Commissioned in 1959; qualified as a pilot in 1960. Joined NASA with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966. No spaceflight experience prior to Skylab.

3d Crew

Commander: Lt. Col. Gerald P. Carr, USMC. Born 22 August 1932 in Denver. B.S. in mechanical engineering, University of Southern California, 1954. Commissioned from NROTC on graduation, he qualified as a pilot and served as a fighter pilot with Marine squadrons overseas from 1962 to 1965. Joined NASA with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966. No spaceflight experience prior to Skylab.

Scientist-pilot: Edward G. Gibson (civilian). Born 8 November 1936 in Buffalo, N.Y. B.S. in engineering, University of Rochester, 1959; M.S. in engineering, Ph.D. in physics, California Institute of Technology, 1960, 1964. Senior research scientist in the Applied Research Laboratories of the Philco Corp. until selected as an astronaut in 1965 with the first group of scientist-astronauts. No spaceflight experience before Skylab.

Pilot: Lt. Col. William R. Pogue, USAF. Born 23 January 1930 in Okemah, Okla. B.S. in education, Oklahoma Baptist University, 1951; M.S. in mathematics, Oklahoma State University, 1960. Commissioned in 1952, flew 43 combat missions in Korea, earning the Air Medal and the Air Force Commendation Medal. Member of the USAF Thunderbirds, 1955-1957. Taught mathematics at the Air Force Academy, 1960-1963. Graduated from the RAF Empire Test Pilots’ School and served two years as a test pilot with the British Ministry of Aviation. Joined NASA in 1966 with the fifth group of astronauts selected. No spaceflight experience prior to Skylab.

Backup for 1st Crew

Commander: Russell L. Schweickart (civilian). Born 25 October 1935 in Neptune, N.J. B.S. and M.S. in aeronautical engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1956, 1963. Conducted research in upper atmosphere physics at the Experimental Astronomy Laboratory at MIT before joining NASA with the third group of astronauts in 1963. Served as lunar-module pilot on Apollo 9, 3-13 March 1969, testing extravehicular activity procedures and simulating a lunar-orbit rendezvous with the command module.

Scientist-pilot: F. Story Musgrave (civilian). Born 19 August 1935 in Boston. B.S. in statistics from Syracuse University, 1958; M.B.A. in operations analysis from University of California at Los Angeles, 1959; B.A. in chemistry from Marietta College, 1960; M.D. from Columbia Medical School, 1964; M.S. in biophysics from the University of Kentucky, 1966; studied physiology at University of Kentucky. Selected with the second group of scientist-astronauts in 1967. No spaceflight experience.

Pilot: Lt. Comdr. Bruce McCandless II, USN. Born 8 June 1937 in Boston. B.S. from U.S. Naval Academy, 1958; M.S. in electrical engineering, Stanford University, 1965. Qualified as a pilot in 1960 and served on board U.S.S. Forrestal and U.S.S. Enterprise, 1960-1964. Joined NASA with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966. No spaceflight experience.

Backup for 2d and 3d Crews

Commander: Vance D. Brand (civilian). Born 9 May 1931 in Longmont, Colo. B.S. in business, University of Colorado, 1953; B.S. in aeronautical engineering, 1960; M.B.A. from UCLA, 1964. Pilot, Marine Corps, 1953-1957; test engineer with Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, 1960-1966. Graduated from U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, 1963, and served as experimental test pilot and leader of a Lockheed advisory group with the West German Air Force. No spaceflight experience prior to Skylab; later flew as pilot on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission, 15-24 July 1975.

Scientist-pilot: William B. Lenoir (civilian). Born 14 March 1939 in Miami, Florida. B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in electrical engineering, MIT, 1961, 1962, 1965. Taught and conducted research at MIT, 1964-1967. Joined NASA with the second group of scientist-astronauts in 1967. No spaceflight experience.

Pilot: Don L. Lind (civilian). Born 18 May 1930 in Midvale, Utah. B.S. in physics, University of Utah, 1953; Ph.D. in high energy physics, University of California (Berkeley), 1964. Conducted experiments on low-energy particles in the earth’s magnetosphere at Goddard Space Flight Center, 1964-1966. Qualified as a Navy pilot in 1955 and served two years active duty before joining NASA in 1966 with the fifth group of astronauts.

SOURCE: House Committee on Science and Technology, Astronauts and Cosmonauts: Biographical and Statistical Data, report prepared by the Science Policy Research Div., Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, 94th Cong., 1st sess., June 1975; NASA Hq., “Skylab News Reference,” March 1973.