I then decided to follow on from Space exploration research and look at humans that have explored space and what they have achieved, i feel that this will be very useful for me if i pursue this path for my history of as it gives me another [possible brach of human space exploration?
I have looked into the people themselves and a some background information on their lifes and what they achieved within space exploration.
Neil Alden Armstrong was born in 1930 in Wapakoneta, Ohio. From age six, he was interested in flying. When he was fifteen, he took flying lessons, earning the money for the lessons himself. Neil received his pilot's license before he got his driver's license. At nineteen, he enlisted in the Navy. In the Korean War, he flew seventy-eight combat missions and eluded death twice. After the war, Neil graduated from Purdue with a bachelor's in Aeronautical Engineering. Later he received a master's in Aerospace Engineering. Neil Armstrong became a test pilot for NASA. He was the command pilot of Gemini 8 in 1966. Neil Armstrong, "Buzz" Aldrin, and Michael Collins were chosen to fly Apollo 11 to the moon. Neil Armstrong had the privilege of being the first human ever to set foot on another world. A plaque was placed on the moon, reading, "We came in peace for all of mankind." While Michael Collins stayed in the spacecraft, Buzz and Neil played on and collected samples of the moon's surface. The event was televised and many pictures of the Earth and the moon's landscape were taken. After the three astronauts came home, there were great celebrations all over the world. Neil Armstrong received the Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, the NASA Distinguished Service Award, the NASA Exceptional Service Award, and seventeen other medals from countries around the word.
Born on January 20, 1930 in Montclair, New Jersey, Buzz Aldrin was the son of Marion Moon and Edwin Aldrin. He graduated third in the Class of 1951 at West Point. Aldrin flew sixty-six combat missions in Korea. After returning to the United States, he received a Doctorate in Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He devised techniques for manned space rendezvous that were used in NASA missions. Buzz Aldrin was chosen by NASA to be an astronaut in late 1963. Aldrin went up into space and, along with Neil Armstrong, became the second man to walk on another world. The Presidential Medal of Freedom was bestowed upon both Armstrong and him.. After returning home, Aldrin married Lois Driggs Cannon. They have six children. In 1993, Aldrin patented a space station design he created. Three years later, he published his first sci-fi novel, Encounter With Tiber. He resides in Sun Valley, Idaho.
On July 18, 1921, in Cambridge, Ohio, John H. Glenn was born. His family moved to New Concord before he began school. After graduating from high school, he entered at Muskingum College. In 1943, Glenn was commissioned in the Marine Corps. Between World War II and the Korean War, he flew 149 missions and earned six Distinguished Flying Crosses and an Air Medal with eighteen clusters. Glenn became a test pilot for the Navy and Marine's attack aircraft. The US Space Program chose him to be one of the first seven astronauts in 1959. In February of 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth. The Space Congressional Medal of Honor was given to him. In 1965, Glenn retired from the Marine Corps. In 1974 he won a Senate seat, carrying all counties in Ohio. He has since won four consecutive terms and is still serving.
James Lovell, Jr., was born on March 25, 1928, in Cleveland, Ohio. He graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1952 with a BS degree. He enrolled in the US Naval Test Pilot School in 1958. In 1962, he was one of nine selected by NASA to become astronauts. Lovell was command module pilot of Apollo 8, the first orbit around the Moon. He also commanded Apollo 13, the mission that had to be aborted because of an explosion onboard. Lovell resigned from NASA and the Navy in 1973. Lovell is now president of Lovell Communications.Lovell and his wife have four children.
Kathryn Thornton was born in Montgomery, Alabama. She received a bachelor's in physics from Auburn University in 1974. Thornton also earned a Master's of Physics in 1977 and a Doctorate of Physics in 1979. Completing her training in 1985, Thornton has spent over 593 hours in space, including 21 hours of spacewalks. On a five-day mission in 1989, she was a mission specialist, orbiting earth seventy-nine times. In 1992, Thornton served the crew onboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. The Endeavour spent over 200 hours in space on that flight. As a mission specialist, Thornton helped service and repair Hubble in 1993. On her fourth flight, she served as payload commander on Columbia. She is a professor at the University of Virginia and Director at the Center for Science Education, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Curry School of Education. Thornton has two stepsons and three daughters. Her husband is Stephen Thornton, a physics professor.
Captain Walter M. Schirra was one of the seven astronauts named by NASA in April 1959. On October 3, 1962 he piloted the six orbit Sigma 7 Mercury flight which lasted 9 hours and 15 minutes. The spacecraft attained a velocity of 17,557 miles per hour at an altitude of 175 statue miles and traveled almost 144,000 statue miles before re-entry into the earth'a atmosphere. Recovery of the Sigma 7 spacecraft occured in the Pacific ocean about 275 miles northeast of midway island.
Captain Eugene Cernan was one of the fourteen astronauts selected by NASA in October 1963. He occupied the pilot seat alongside of command pilot Tom Stafford on the Gemini XI mission. During this 3-day flight which began on June 3, 1966, the spacecraft achieved a circular orbit of 161 statute miles. The crew used three different techniques to effect rendezvous with the previously launched Augmented Target Docking Adopters. Cernan, the second American to walk in space, completed two hours and twenty minutes with a perfect re-entry and recovery as Gemini IX landed within one and a half miles of the prime recovery ship USS WASP and three eighths of a mile off the predetermined target. Cernan subsequently served as backup pilot for Gemini 12 and as backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 7.
John Glenn Jr. was assigned to the NASA space task group at Langley Research Center in April 1959 after his selection as a Project Mercury Astronaut. The space task group was moved to Houston and became part of the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center in 1962. Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth aboard his Mercury space capsule and returned to space recently aboard the Space Shuttle STS-95, becoming the oldest person in space. He has logged over 218 hours in space.
Captain James A. Lovell was selected as an astronaut by NASA in September 1962. He has since served as backup pilot for the Gemini 4 flight and backup Commander to Neil Armstrong for the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission. On December 4,1965, he and Frank Borman were launched into space on the history-making Gemini 7 mission. The flight lasted 330 hours and 35 minutes and included the first rendezvous of two MMS (Manned Maneuverable Spacecraft)
Dr. Mae Jemison successfully completed her astronaut training program in August 1998, becoming the fifth African American astronaut and the first African American female astronaut in NASA history. In August 1992, SPACELAB J was a successful joint U.S. and Japanese science mission, making Mae Jemison the first African American in space. Mae Jemison is outspoken about the impact of technical advanteges in the African American population, and encourges African Americans to purse careers in science and engineering.
Rear Admiral Alan B. Shepard was one of the Mercury astronauts named by NASA in April 1959 and he holds the destinction of being the first American into space. On May 5, 1961, in the Freedom 7 spacecraft, he was launched by a Redstone vehicle on a ballistic trajectory Suborbital flight, a flight which carried him to an altitude of 116 miles and to a landing point 302 statute miles down the Atlantic Missil Range.
No comments:
Post a Comment