Where No Man Has Gone Before: A History of Apollo Lunar Exploration Missions

APPENDIX 6

Prime And Backup Crews, Support Crews, and Capsule Communicators for Apollo Lunar Missions*

Prime Crews and Backup Crews for:

*Source: Astronauts and Cosmonauts, Biographical and Statistical Data [Revised May 31, 1978], report prepared for the House Committee on Science and Technology by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, July 1978; Apollo mission reports.

Apollo 8

Prime Crew

Commander:
Frank Borman, Colonel,* U.S. Air Force. Born March 14, 1928, Gary, Indiana. B.5. 1950, U.S. Military Academy; M.S. (aeronautical engineering), 1957, California Institute of Technology. Chosen with the second group of astronauts in 1962; backup command pilot for Gemini IV, command pilot for Gemini VII, the longest manned mission (14 days) up to that time.
Command Module Pilot:
James Arthur Lovell, Jr., Captain, U.S. Navy. Born March 25, 1929, Cleveland, Ohio. B.5. 1952, U.S. Naval Academy. Chosen with the second group of astronauts in 1962; backup pilot for Gemini IV, pilot for Gemini VII, backup command pilot for Gemini IX, command pilot for Gemini XII; later served as backup commander for Apollo 11 and commander for Apollo 13.
Lunar Module Pilot:
William Anderson Anders, Major, U.S. Air Force. Born October 17, 1933, in Hong Kong. B.S. 1955, U.S. Naval Academy; M.5. (nuclear engineering), 1963, Air Force Institute of Technology. Chosen with the third group of astronauts in 1963; backup pilot for Gemini XI; later served as backup command module pilot for Apollo 11.
*Military ranks given are those held at the time of the mission.

Backup Crew

Commander:
Neil A. Armstrong (see prime crew, Apollo 11).
Command Module Pilot:
Edwin A. Aldrin (see prime crew, Apollo 11).
Lunar Module Pilot:
Fred W. Haise (see prime crew, Apollo 13).

Apollo 10

Prime Crew

Commander:
Thomas Patton Stafford, Colonel, U.S. Air Force. Born September 17, 1930, Weatherford, Oklahoma. B.S., 1952, U.S. Naval Academy. Chosen with the second group of astronauts in 1962; backup pilot for Gemini III, pilot for Gemini VI, backup commander for Apollo 7; later commander, Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.
Command Module Pilot:
John Watts Young, Commander, U.S. Navy. Born September 24, 1930, San Francisco, California. B.S. (aeronautical engineering), 1952, Georgia Institute of Technology. Chosen with the second group of astronauts in 1962; pilot of Gemini III, backup pilot for Gemini VI, command pilot for Gemini X; later backup commander for Apollo 13, commander for Apollo 16 (ninth man to walk on the moon), and backup commander for Apollo 17. Later commanded several flights of the Space Shuttle Orbiter.
Lunar Module Pilot:
Eugene Andrew Cernan, Commander, U.S. Navy. Born March 14, 1934, Chicago, Illinois. B.S. (electrical engineering), 1956, Purdue University; M.S. (aeronautical engineering), 1961, Purdue and the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. Chosen with the third group of astronauts in 1963. Pilot for Gemini IX, backup pilot for Gemini XII, backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 7; later backup commander for Apollo 14 and commander of Apollo 17 (eleventh man to walk on the moon).

Backup Crew

Commander:
Leroy Gordon Cooper, Colonel, U.S. Air Force. Born March 6, 1927, Shawnee, Oklahoma. B.S. (aeronautical engineering), 1956, U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology. Chosen with the first group of astronauts in 1959. Backup pilot for Mercury-Atlas 8, pilot for Mercury-Atlas 9 (last flight in the Mercury project), command pilot for Gemini V, backup command pilot for Gemini XII.
Command Module Pilot:
Donn Fulton Eisele, Major, U.S. Air Force. Born June 23, 1930, Columbus, Ohio. B.S., 1952, U.S. Naval Academy; M.S. (astronautics), 1960, Air Force Institute of Technology. Chosen with the third group of astronauts in 1963; command module pilot for Apollo 7.

Apollo 11

Prime Crew

Commander:
Neil Alden Armstrong (civilian). Born August 5, 1930, Wapakoneta, Ohio. B.S. (aeronautical engineering), 1955, Purdue University. Naval aviator and NASA test pilot, working in the X-15 program at the time of his selection with the second group of astronauts in 1962. Backup command pilot for Gemini V, command pilot for Gemini VIII, backup commander for Apollo 8; first man to walk on the moon.
Command Module Pilot:
Michael Collins, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Air Force. Born October 31, 1930, Rome, Italy. B.S., 1952, U.S. Military Academy. Chosen with the third group of astronauts in 1963. Served as backup pilot for Gemini VII, pilot for Gemini X; assigned to Apollo 8 but replaced when a bone spur required surgery.
Lunar Module Pilot:
Edwin Eugene ("Buzz") Aldrin, Jr., Colonel, U.S. Air Force. Born January 20, 1930, Montclair, N.J. B.S., 1951, U.S. Military Academy; Sc.D. (astronautics), 1963, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chosen with the third group of astronauts in 1963. Backup pilot for Gemini IX, pilot for Gemini XII; second man to walk on the moon.

Backup Crew

Commander:
James A. Lovell (see prime crew, Apollo 8).
Command Module Pilot:
William A. Anders (see prime crew, Apollo 8).
Lunar Module Pilot:
Fred W. Haise (see prime crew, Apollo 13).

Apollo 12

Prime Crew

Commander:
Charles ("Pete") Conrad, Jr., Commander, U.S. Navy. Born June 2, 1930, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. B.S. (aeronautical engineering), 1953, Princeton University. Chosen with the second group of astronauts in 1962. Served as pilot for Gemini V, backup command pilot of Gemini VIII, command pilot for Gemini XI, backup commander for Apollo 9; third man to walk on the moon. Later served as commander of Skylab 2.
Command Module Pilot:
Richard Francis Gordon, Jr., Commander, U.S. Navy. Born October 5, 1929, Seattle, Washington. B.S. (chemistry), 1951, University of Washington. Chosen with the third group of astronauts in 1963. Served as backup pilot for Gemini VIII, pilot for Gemini XI, backup command module pilot for Apollo 9; later served as backup commander for Apollo 15.
Lunar Module Pilot:
Alan LaVerne Bean, Commander, U.S. Navy. Born March 15, 1932, Wheeler, Texas. B.S. (aeronautical engineering), 1955, The University of Texas. Chosen with the third group of astronauts in 1963. Served as backup command pilot for Gemini X, backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 9; fourth man to walk on the moon. Later served as commander for Skylab 3 and backup commander for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.

Backup Crew

Commander:
David R. Scott (see prime crew, Apollo 15).
Command Module Pilot:
Alfred M. Worden (see prime crew, Apollo 15).
Lunar Module Pilot:
James B. Irwin (see prime crew, Apollo 15).

Apollo 13

Prime Crew

Commander:
James A. Lovell (see Apollo 8 prime crew).
Command Module Pilot:
John Leonard Swigert, Jr. (civilian). Born August 30, 1931, Denver, Colorado. B.S. (mechanical engineering), 1953, University of Colorado; M.S. (aerospace science), 1965, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, M.S. (business administration), 1967, University of Hartford. Chosen with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966. Originally assigned as backup command module pilot on Apollo 13; took over the prime crew position 72 hours before launch when Thomas Mattingly (see Apollo 16 prime crew, below) was found to have been exposed to rubella.
Lunar Module Pilot:
Fred Wallace Haise (civilian). Born November 14, 1933, Biloxi, Mississippi. B.S. (aeronautical engineering), 1951, University of Oklahoma. Served as an aviator in the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Air Force. Chosen with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966. Served as backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 11 and later as backup commander for Apollo 16.

Backup Crew

Commander:
John W. Young (see Apollo 10 prime crew).
Command Module Pilot:
John L. Swigert (see Apollo 13 prime crew).
Lunar Module Pilot:
Charles M. Duke (see Apollo 16 prime crew).

Apollo 14

Prime Crew

Commander:
Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr., Captain, U.S. Navy. Born November 18, 1923, East Derry, New Hampshire. B.S., 1944, U.S. Naval Academy. Chosen with the first group of astronauts in 1959, he was the United States' first man in space (Mercury-Redstone 3, Freedom 7, suborbital flight March 1961) and backup pilot for Mercury-Atlas 9 (Faith 7). He was grounded because of an inner-ear ailment until May 1969; On returning to flight status he was assigned as commander of Apollo 14 and became the fifth man (the only one of the first group of astronauts) to walk on the moon.
Command Module Pilot:
Stuart Allen Roosa, Major, U.S. Air Force. Born August 15, 1933, Durango, Colorado. B.S. (aeronautical engineering), 1960, University of Colorado. Chosen with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966. Apollo 14 was his first assignment; he later served as backup command module pilot for Apollo 16 and Apollo 17.
Lunar Module Pilot:
Edgar Dean Mitchell, Commander, U.S. Navy. Born September 17, 1930, Hereford, Texas. B.S. (industrial management), 1952, Carnegie Institute of Technology; B.S. (aeronautical engineering), 1961, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, Sc.D. (aeronautics and astronautics), 1964, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chosen with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966; sixth man to walk on the moon. Later served as backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 16.

Backup Crew

Commander:
Eugene A. Cernan (see prime crew, Apollo 10).
Command Module Pilot:
Ronald E. Evans (see prime crew, Apollo 17).
Lunar Module Pilot:
Joe Henry Engle, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Air Force. Born August 26, 1932, Abilene, Kansas. B.S. (aeronautical engineering), 1955, University of Kansas. Qualified as an astronaut in the NASA-Air Force X-15 project, he was chosen with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966. Apollo 14 was his first and only Apollo assignment; he later participated in the approach and landing tests and the orbital flight tests of the Space Shuttle Orbiter.

Apollo 15

Prime Crew

Commander:
David Randolph Scott, Colonel, U.S. Air Force. Born June 6, 1932, in San Antonio, Texas. B.S., 1954, U.S. Military Academy; M.S. (aeronautics and astronautics) and Engineer of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1963, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chosen with the third group of astronauts in 1963. Served as pilot for Gemini VIII, command module pilot for Apollo, 9; seventh man to walk on the moon.
Command Module Pilot:
Alfred Merrill Worden, Major, U.S. Air Force. Born February 7, 1932, in Jackson, Michigan. B.S., 1955, U.S. Military Academy; M.S. (astronautical/aeronautical engineering and instrumentation engineering), 1963, University of Michigan. Chosen with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966. Served as backup command module pilot on Apollo 12.
Lunar Module Pilot:
James Benson Irwin, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Air Force. Born March 17, 1930, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. B.S., 1951, U.S. Naval Academy; M.S. (aeronautical and instrumentation engineering), 1957, University of Michigan. Served as backup lunar module pilot on Apollo 12; eighth man to walk on the moon. Resigned from NASA and the Air Force in 1972.

Backup Crew

Commander:
Richard F. Gordon (see prime crew, Apollo 12).
Command Module Pilot:
Vance DeVoe Brand (civilian). Born May 9, 1931, Longmont, Colorado. B.S. (business), 1953, B.S. (aeronautical engineering), 1960, University of Colorado; M.S. (business administration), 1964, University of California at Los Angeles. Served as aviator in the U.S. Marine Corps and as flight test engineer and test pilot with the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. Chosen with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966. Assigned to support crew for Apollo 13; later served as command module pilot for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project and commanded two flights of the Shuttle Orbiter.
Lunar Module Pilot:
Harrison Hagan ("Jack") Schmitt (see prime crew, Apollo 17).

Apollo 16

Prime Crew

Commander:
John W. Young (see prime crew, Apollo 10).
Command Module Pilot:
Thomas K. Mattingly II, Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Navy. Born March 17, 1936, Chicago, Illinois. B.S. (aeronautical engineering), 1958, Auburn University. Chosen with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966. Served as command module pilot for Apollo 13 until three days before launch, when it was discovered that he had been exposed to rubella (German measles) and had no immunity. Later commanded the fourth orbital test flight of the first Space Shuttle Orbiter, Columbia.
Lunar Module Pilot:
Charles Moss Duke, Jr., Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Air Force. Born October 3, 1935, Charlotte, North Carolina. B.S., 1957, U.S. Naval Academy. Chosen with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966. Served as backup lunar module pilot on Apollo 13. Tenth man to walk on the moon.

Backup Crew

Commander:
Fred W. Haise (see prime crew, Apollo 13).
Command Module Pilot:
Stuart A. Roosa (see prime crew, Apollo 14).
Lunar Module Pilot:
Edgar D. Mitchell (see prime crew, Apollo 14).

Apollo 17

Prime Crew

Commander:
Eugene A. Cernan (see prime crew, Apollo 10).
Command Module Pilot:
Ronald Ellwin Evans, Commander, U.S. Navy. Born November 10, 1933, St. Francis, Kansas. B.S. (electrical engineering), 1956, University of Kansas; M.S. (aeronautical engineering), 1964, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. Chosen with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966. Apollo 14 was his first crew assignment; later served as command module pilot for Apollo 17 and backup command module pilot for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.
Lunar Module Pilot:
Harrison Hagan ("Jack") Schmitt (civilian). Born July 3, 1935, Santa Rita, New Mexico. B.S. (science), 1957, California Institute of Technology; Ph.D. (geology), 1964, Harvard University. At the time of selection as an astronaut Dr. Schmitt was working with the Astrogeology Branch, U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Arizona, as project chief for lunar field geological methods and was involved in photographic and telescopic mapping of the moon. Chosen with the first group of scientist- astronauts in 1965. Served as backup lunar module pilot on Apollo 15; twelfth and last man, and the only geologist, to walk on the moon.

Backup Crew

Commander:
Fred Haise (see prime crew, Apollo 13)
Command module pilot:
Alfred Worden (see prime crew, Apollo 15)
Lunar module pilot:
James Irwin (see prime crew, Apollo 15)

APOLLO EARTH ORBIT MISSIONS

Two other missions, Apollo 7 and Apollo 9, were earth-orbiting missions conducted to test the redesigned Apollo (Block II) spacecraft and the lunar module before committing them to a lunar mission.

Apollo 7

Prime Crew

Commander:
Walter Marty Schirra, Jr., Captain, U.S. Navy. Born March 12, 1923, Hackensack, New Jersey. B.S., 1945, U.S. Naval Academy. Chosen with the first group of astronauts in 1959; the only member of this group to fly in Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. Served as backup pilot for Mercury-Atlas 7 (Aurora 7) and pilot for Mercury-Atlas 8 (Sigma 7), backup command pilot for Gemini III, command pilot of Gemini VI (first mission to conduct a rendezvous).
Command Module Pilot:
Donn F. Eisele (see backup crew, Apollo 10).
Lunar Module Pilot (no lunar module assigned to this flight):
Ronnie Walter Cunningham (civilian). Born March 16, 1932, Creston, Iowa. B.A., 1960, and M.A., 1961 (physics), University of California at Los Angeles. Chosen with the third group of astronauts in 1963.

Backup Crew

Commander:
Thomas P. Stafford (see prime crew, Apollo 10).

Command Module Pilot:

John W. Young (see prime crew, Apollo 10).

Lunar Module Pilot:

Eugene A. Cernan (see prime crew, Apollo 10).

Apollo 9

Prime Crew

Commander:
James Alton McDivitt, Colonel, U.S. Air Force. Born June 10, 1929, Chicago, Illinois. B.S. (aeronautical engineering), 1959, University of Michigan. Chosen with the second group of astronauts in 1962. Command pilot for Gemini IV. Served as manager of the Apollo Spacecraft Project Office at MSC from 1969 to 1972.
Command Module Pilot:
David R. Scott (see prime crew, Apollo 15).
Lunar Module Pilot:
Russell Louis Schweickart (civilian). Born October 25, 1935, Neptune, New Jersey. B.S. (aeronautical engineering), 1956; M.S. (aeronautics and astronautics), 1963, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chosen with the third group of astronauts in 1963. Later served as backup commander for Skylab 2.

Backup Crew

Commander,
Charles Conrad (see prime crew, Apollo 12).
Command Module Pilot,
Richard F. Gordon (see prime crew, Apollo 12).
Lunar Module Pilot
Alan L. Bean (see prime crew, Apollo 12).

APOLLO SUPPORT CREWS

Apollo 7

Jack L. Swigert (prime crew, Apollo 13)

Ronald E. Evans (prime crew, Apollo 17)

Edward Galen Givens, Jr., Major, U.S. Air Force, born January 5, 1930, Quanah, Texas. B.S., 1952, U.S. Naval Academy. Chosen with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966; killed in an automobile accident June 6, 1967.

Apollo 8

Thomas K. Mattingly II (prime crew, Apollo 16).

Gerald Paul Carr, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps. Born August 22, 1932, Denver, Colorado. B.S. (mechanical engineering), 1954, University of Southern California; B.S. (aeronautical engineering), 1961, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School; M.S. (aeronautical engineering), 1962, Princeton University. Chosen with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966. No other Apollo crew assignments; later served as commander for Skylab 4.

John Sumter Bull, Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Navy. Born September 25, 1935, Memphis, Tennessee. B.S. (mechanical engineering), 1957, William Marsh Rice University. Chosen with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966. Withdrew from the program in 1968 for medical reasons.

Apollo 9

Edgar D. Mitchell (prime crew, Apollo 14)

Fred W. Haise (prime crew, Apollo 13)

Alfred M. Worden (prime crew, Apollo 15)

Apollo 10

Joe H. Engle (backup crew, Apollo 14)

James B. Irwin (prime crew, Apollo 15)

Charles M. Duke, Jr. (prime crew, Apollo 16)

Apollo 11

Thomas K. Mattingly II (prime crew, Apollo 16)

Ronald E. Evans (prime crew, Apollo 17)

John L. Swigert (prime crew, Apollo 13)

William Reid Pogue, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Air Force. Born January 23, 1930, Okemah, Oklahoma. B.S. (education), 1951, Oklahoma Baptist University; M.S. (mathematics), 1960, Oklahoma State University. Chosen with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966. Later served on support crews for Apollo 13 and Apollo 14 and as pilot for Skylab 4.

Apollo 12

Gerald P. Carr (support crew, Apollo 8)

Paul Joseph Weitz, Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Navy. Born July 25, 1932, Erie, Pennsylvania. B.S. (aeronautical engineering), 1954, Pennsylvania State University; M.S. (aeronautical engineering), U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. Chosen with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966. Later served as pilot on Skylab 2.

Edward George Gibson (civilian). Born November 8, 1936, Buffalo, New York. B.S. (engineering), 1959, University of Rochester; M.S. (engineering), 1960, Ph.D. (engineering), 1964, California Institute of Technology. Chosen with the first group of scientist-astronauts in 1965. Later served as scientist-pilot on Skylab 4.

Apollo 13

Vance D. Brand (backup crew, Apollo 15)

William R. Pogue (support crew, Apollo 11)

Jack Robert Lousma, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps. Born February 29, 1936, Grand Rapids, Michigan. B.S. (aeronautical engineering), 1959, University of Michigan; Aeronautical Engineer, 1965, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. Chosen with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966. Later served as pilot for Skylab 3 and backup docking module pilot for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.

Apollo 14

William R. Pogue (Backup crew, Apollo 11 and Apollo 13)

Bruce McCandless II, Commander, U.S. Navy. Born June 8, 1937, Boston, Massachusetts. B.S., 1958, U.S. Naval Academy; M.S. (electrical engineering), 1965, Stanford University. Chosen with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966. Later served as backup pilot for Skylab 2.

Charles Gordon Fullerton, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Air Force. Born October 11, 1936, Rochester, New York. B.S. (mechanical engineering); 1957, M.S. (mechanical engineering), 1958, California Institute of Technology. Transferred to the NASA astronaut corps in 1969 from the Air Force Manned Orbiting Laboratory project (canceled). Later served on the support crew for Apollo 17.

Apollo 15

Karl Gordon Henize (civilian). Born October 17, 1926, Cincinnati, Ohio. B.S. (mathematics), 1947; M.S. (astronomy), 1948, University of Virginia; Ph.D. (astronomy), 1954, University of Michigan. Chosen with the second group of scientist-astronauts in 1967. Principal investigator for ultraviolet astronomy experiments in the Skylab project. Later flew on Space Shuttle missions.

Robert Allan Ridley Parker (civilian). Born December 14, 1936, New York, New York. B.A. (astronomy and physics), 1958, Amherst College; Ph.D. (astronomy), 1962, California Institute of Technology. Chosen with the second group of scientist-astronauts in 1967. Later served as support crewman and mission scientist for Apollo 17 and chief scientist for the Skylab missions.

Joseph Percival Allen IV (civilian). Born June 27, 1937, Crawfordsville, Indiana. B.A. (mathematics and physics), 1959, DePauw University; M.S. (physics), 1961, Ph.D. (nuclear physics), 1965, Yale University. Chosen with the second group of scientist-astronauts in 1967. Later served as mission scientist for Apollo 15; left the astronaut corps in 1975 to serve as NASA's Assistant Administrator for Legislative Affairs; returned in 1978 to participate in the Space Shuttle program.

Apollo 16

Philip Kenyon Chapman (civilian). Born March 5, 1935, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (naturalized in U.S. May 8, 1967). B.Sc. (physics and mathematics), 1956, Sydney University; M.S. (aeronautics and astronautics) 1964, Ph.D. (instrumentation), 1967, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chosen with the second group of scientist-astronauts in 1967.

Anthony Wayne England (civilian). Born May 15, 1942, Indianapolis, Indiana. B.S. and M.S. (geology and physics), 1965, Ph.D. (planetary sciences), 1970, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chosen with the second group of scientist-astronauts in 1967. Later mission scientist for Apollo 16.

Henry Warren Hartsfieid, Jr., Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Air Force. Born November 21, 1933, Birmingham, Alabama. B.S. (physics), 1954, Auburn University; M.S. (engineering science), 1971, University of Tennessee. Transferred to the NASA astronaut corps in 1969 from the Air Force Manned Orbiting Laboratory project (canceled). Later flew on two Space Shuttle Orbiter flights.

Apollo 17

Robert A. R. Parker (support crew, Apollo 15).

Charles G. Fullerton (support crew, Apollo 14).

Robert Franklyn Overmyer, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps. Born July 14, 1936, Lorain, Ohio. B.S. (physics), 1958, Baldwin-Wallace College, M.S. (aeronautics), 1964, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. Transferred to the NASA astronaut corps in 1969 from the Air Force Manned Orbiting Laboratory project (canceled). Later served as support crewman and capsule communicator in Moscow for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project and commanded STS Mission 31-B in the Space Shuttle program.

Astronaut Classes Selected Through 1969

First group, selected April 9, 1959:

Selection criteria: under 40 years of age; less than 5 ft., 11 in. tall; hold a bachelor's degree in engineering or equivalent; graduate of test pilot school; qualified jet pilot with at least 1,500 hours of flying time.

  • Lt. M. Scott Carpenter, USN;
  • Capt. L. Gordon Cooper, USAF;
  • Lt. Col. John H. Glenn, Jr., USMC;
  • Capt. Virgil I. ("Gus") Grissom, USAF (died in AS-204 fire, Jan. 27, 1967);
  • Lt. Comdr. Walter M. Schirra, Jr., USN;
  • Lt. Comdr. Alan B. Shepard, Jr., USN; and
  • Capt. Donald K. ("Deke") Slayton, USAF.

Second group, selected September 17, 1962:

Selection criteria: under 35 years of age; bachelor's degree in a physical or biological science or engineering; experience as a jet test pilot, having graduated from a military test pilot school or attained experimental flight test status in the armed services, the aircraft industry, or NASA.

  • Neil A. Armstrong;
  • Maj. Frank Borman, USAF;
  • Lt. Charles ("Pete") Conrad, Jr., USN;
  • Lt. Comdr. James A. Lovell, Jr., USN;
  • Capt. James A. McDivitt, USAF;
  • Elliott M. See, Jr. (died in T-38 crash, Feb. 28, 1966);
  • Capt. Thomas P. Stafford, USAF;
  • Capt. Edward H. White II, USAF (died in AS-204 fire, Jan. 27, 1967) and
  • Lt, Comdr. John W. Young, USN.

Third group, selected October 18, 1963:

Selection criteria: under 34 years of age; bachelor's degree in science or engineering; experimental flight test status or l,000 hours of jet flying time.

  • Maj. Edwin E. ("Buzz") Aldrin, Jr., USAF (Ph.D., astronautics);
  • Capt. William A. Anders, USAF;
  • Capt. Charles A. Bassett II, USAF (died in T-38 crash, Feb. 28, 1966);
  • Lt. Alan L. Bean, USN;
  • Lt. Eugene A. Cernan, USN;
  • Lt. Roger B. Chaffee, USN (died in AS-204 fire, Jan. 27, 1967);
  • Capt. Michael Collins, USAF;
  • R. Walter Cunningham;
  • Capt. Donn F. Eisele, USAF;
  • Capt. Theodore C. Freeman, USAF (died in T-38 crash, Oct. 31, 1964);
  • Lt. Comdr. Richard F. Gordon, Jr., USN;
  • Russell L. Schweickart;
  • Capt. David R. Scott, USAF; and
  • Capt. Clifton C. Williams, USMC (died in T-38 crash, Oct. 5, 1967).

Fourth group, selected June 28, 1965: (scientist-astronauts)

Selection criteria: doctor's degree in medicine, engineering, or one of the natural sciences. Applicants were evaluated by a committee of the National Academy of Sciences and those considered qualified were then reviewed by NASA for selection.

  • Owen K. Garriott, Ph.D. (engineering);
  • Edward G. Gibson, Ph.D. (engineering);
  • Duane E. Graveline, M.D. (resigned before beginning training);
  • Lt. Comdr. Joseph P. Kerwin (M.D.), MC, USN;
  • F. Curtis Michel, Ph.D. (physics) (resigned 1969); and
  • Harrison H. ("Jack") Schmitt, Ph.D. (geology).

Fifth group, selected April 4, 1966:

Selection criteria same as those for the third group.

  • Vance D. Brand;
  • Lt. John S. Bull, USN (resigned for health reasons, 1968);
  • Maj. Gerald P. Carr, USMC;
  • Capt. Charles M. Duke, Jr., USAF;
  • Capt. Joe H. Engle, USAF;
  • Maj . Edward G. Givens, Jr., USAF (died in auto crash, June 6, 1967);
  • Fred W. Haise, Jr.;
  • Maj. James B. Irwin, USAF;
  • Don L. Lind., Ph.D. (physics);
  • Capt. Jack R. Lousma, USMC;
  • Lt. Thomas K. Mattingly II, USN;
  • Lt. Bruce McCandless II, USN;
  • Comdr. Edgar D. Mitchell, USN (Sc.D., aeronautics and astronautics);
  • Maj. William R. Pogue, USAF;
  • Capt. Stuart A. Roosa, USAF;
  • John L. Swigert, Jr.;
  • Lt. Comdr. Paul J. Weitz, USN; and
  • Capt. Alfred M. Worden, USAF.

Sixth group, selected August 4, 1967: (scientist-astronauts)

Selection criteria same as those for fourth group.

  • Joseph P. Allen IV, Ph.D. (physics);
  • Philip K. Chapman, Ph.D. (instrumentation) (resigned, 1972);
  • Anthony W. England, Ph.D. (awarded 1970, earth and planetary sciences) (resigned, 1972);
  • Karl G. Henize, Ph.D. (astronomy);
  • Donald L. Holmquest, M.D. (took leave, 1971; resigned 1973);
  • William B. Lenoir, Ph.D. (engineering);
  • John A. Llewellyn, Ph.D. (chemistry) (resigned, 1968);
  • F. Story Musgrave, M.D.;
  • Brian T. O'Leary, Ph.D. (astronomy) (resigned, 1967);
  • Robert A. R. Parker, Ph.D. (astronomy); and
  • William E. Thornton, M.D.

Seventh group, selected August 14, 1969:

(transferred from the canceled Air Force Manned Orbiting Laboratory [MOL] project)

  • Maj. Karol J. Bobko, USAF;
  • Lt. Comdr. Robert L. Crippen, USN;
  • Maj. C. Gordon Fullerton, USAF;
  • Maj. Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr., USAF;
  • Maj. Robert F. Overmyer, USMC;
  • Maj. Donald H. Peterson, USAF; and
  • Lt. Comdr. Richard H. Truly, USN.

Capsule Communicators ("CapComs")

All information transmitted to a spacecraft by voice during a mission was passed up by the capsule communicator or "CapCom." CapComs were picked from the astronaut corps so that they would be familiar with the spacecraft and the mission and would understand procedures.

Following is a list of CapComs for the Apollo missions.

Apollo 7:
Stafford, Evans, Pogue, Swigert, Young, Cernan.
Apollo 8:
Collins, Mattingly, Carr, Armstrong, Aldrin, Brand, Haise.
Apollo 9:
Roosa, Evans, Worden, Conrad, Gordon, Bean.
Apollo 10:
Duke, Engle, Lousma, McCandless.
Apollo 11:
Duke, Evans, McCandless, Lovell, Anders, Mattingly, Haise, Lind, Garriott, Schmitt.
Apollo 12*:
Carr, Gibson, Weitz, Lind, Scott, Worden, Irwin.
Apollo 13:
Kerwin, Brand, Lousma, Young, Mattingly.
Apollo 14:
Fullerton, McCandless, Haise, Evans.
Apollo 15:
Allen, Fullerton, Henize, Mitchell, Parker, Schmitt, Shepard, Gordon, Brand.
Apollo 16:
Peterson, Fullerton, Irwin, Haise, Roosa, Mitchell, Hartsfield, England, Overmyer.
Apollo 17:
Fullerton, Overmyer, Parker, Allen, Shepard, Mattingly, Duke, Roosa, Young.
*Four civilian non-astronauts served as backup CapComs on this mission: Dickie K. Warren, James O. Rippey, James L. Lewis, and Michael R. Wash.

Accumulated Time in Space for American Astronauts:

Mercury through Apollo

Astronaut             Total hours      Missions(b)
                      in Space(a)
================================================================
James Lovell          715              GT-7, GT-12, A-8, A-13
Eugene Cernan         553.32           GT-9, A-10, A-17
John Young            533.6            GT-3, GT-10, A-10, A-16
Charles Conrad        506.8            GT-5, GT-11, A-12

Frank Borman          477.58           GT-7, A-8
James McDivitt        338.95           GT-4, A-9
Richard Gordon        315.88           GT-11, A-12
David Scott           298.88           GT-8, A-15

Walter Schirra        295.22           MA-8, GT-6A, A-7
Thomas Stafford       290.27           GT-6A, GT-9, A-10
Edwin Aldrin          289.82           GT-12, A-11
Jack Schmitt          288.9            A-17

Ron Evans             288.9            A-17
James Irwin           288.2            A-15
Alfred Worden         288.2            A-15
Michael Collins       266.07           GT-10, A-11

Ken Mattingly         265.9            A-16
Charles Duke          265.9            A-16
Donn Eisele           260.15           A-7
Walter Cunningham     260.15           A-7

Alan Bean             244.6            A-12
Gordon Cooper         225.24           MA-9, GT-5
Alan Shepard          216.29           MR-3, A-14
Edgar Mitchell        216.03           A-14

Stuart Roosa          216.03           A-14
Neil Armstrong        205.98           GT-8, A-11
Fred Haise            142.9            A-13
John Swigert          142.9            A-13

Edward White          97.93            GT-4
Virgil Grissom        5.12             MR-4, GT-3
Scott Carpenter       4.93             MA-7
John Glenn            4.92             MA-6

(a) Liftoff to splashdown.

(b) A, Apollo; GT, Gemini-Titan; MA, Mercury-Atlas; MR, Mercury-Redstone (suborbital).

Source: Astronautics and Aeronautics, annual summaries of space flights; Apollo mission reports.