Fifty years on...

[Growler]

Despite budget setbacks, the losses of Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia, and withering public support, NASA continues to pursue manned space flight.

Fifty years ago today, 5 May, 1961, American Navy Pilot Alan Shepard strapped a Redstone rocket to his back and made his short jaunt (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Shepard#Mercury:_Freedom_7_pilot) some 115 miles or so into near-Earth orbit, going downrange some ~300 miles over the course of his ~15 minutes flight. In so doing, he opened the fledgling space agency's Manned Spaceflight program.

Bravo Zulu, Admiral Shepard; Rest in Peace, we remember.

[FIREWALL]

:salute:

[Lionclaw]

:salute:

[August]

:salute:

I think i'll watch "From the Earth to the Moon" tonight.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_the_Earth_to_the_Moon_%28TV_miniseries%29

[Gerald]

Yes we remember, :salute:

[Platapus]

Time for one of Platapus' almost interesting space trivia questions!

Who was the first person to go in to space twice?

Think carefully. (muhahaha)

[August]

Time for one of Platapus' almost interesting space trivia questions!

Who was the first person to go in to space twice?

Think carefully. (muhahaha)

Virgil Grissom?

[Torplexed]

http://www.universetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/alan-shepard-apollo.jpg

"Light this candle!" :salute:

[Jimbuna]

~SALUTE~

[Jimbuna]

Virgil Grissom?

Rgr that:

Virgil Gus Grissom (1926-1967) first flew into space in July 1961, on the second suborbital Mercury mission. It was officially called Mercury-Redstone 4, but the spacecraft was more popularly known as Liberty Bell 7. In March 1965, he piloted the first manned flight for the Gemini program, Gemini 3 (nicknamed the Molly Brown), and orbited Earth three times with co-pilot John Young (1930-). Grissom thus became the first man to fly into space twice.

[Platapus]

Virgil Grissom?

Rgr that:

Virgil Gus Grissom (1926-1967) first flew into space in July 1961, on the second suborbital Mercury mission. It was officially called Mercury-Redstone 4, but the spacecraft was more popularly known as Liberty Bell 7. In March 1965, he piloted the first manned flight for the Gemini program, Gemini 3 (nicknamed the Molly Brown), and orbited Earth three times with co-pilot John Young (1930-). Grissom thus became the first man to fly into space twice.


Nope

Joseph Albert Walker

X-15 pilot

19 July 63 reached an altitude of 106km
22 Aug 63 reached an altitude of 108 km

Under Air Force rules any flight above 80.5 km qualifies the pilot for Astronaut wings and the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) defines space travel as an altitude exceeding 100km aka the Karman line.

[Torplexed]

:salute:

I think i'll watch "From the Earth to the Moon" tonight.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_the_Earth_to_the_Moon_%28TV_miniseries%29

I'm thinking more The Right Stuff myself.

Although it was believed that the movie would boost John Glenn's 1984 presidential bid, it made everybody want to vote for Chuck Yeager instead. :D

[August]

Well every now and then I learn something worth remembering on this forum. Thanks Platapus!

[Platapus]

Here is another brain teaser

Who was the last American to orbit the earth as the only occupant of the spacecraft (solo)?

Think carefully :D

[Torplexed]

Here is another brain teaser

Who was the last American to orbit the earth as the only occupant of the spacecraft (solo)?

Think carefully :D

Guess I'll be the sacrificial lamb and go with the usual choice of Gordon Cooper. :O:

[Growler]

Here is another brain teaser

Who was the last American to orbit the earth as the only occupant of the spacecraft (solo)?

Think carefully :D

Apollo 17 CM pilot Ron Evans, who, while in the command module orbiting the moon, was also in orbit around the Earth.

[Platapus]

Apollo 17 CM pilot Ron Evans, who, while in the command module orbiting the moon, was also in orbit around the Earth.

Clever :yeah:

But I am thinking of a man only in Earth Orbit.

But clever thinking!!

[razark]

Apollo 17 CM pilot Ron Evans, who, while in the command module orbiting the moon, was also in orbit around the Earth.
If we're going with tricky answers, either Dale Gardner or Joseph Allen. They were the last two astronauts to operate the MMU on STS-51-A.

Edit:
Or, if you don't want to count the MMU/spacesuit as a spacecraft, Command Module Pilot David Scott, on Apollo 9?

[Growler]

Clever :yeah:

But I am thinking of a man only in Earth Orbit.

But clever thinking!!

Well, you did say, "Think carefully." :D

[Torplexed]

Didn't American astronaut Michael Foale have to stay alone in the Mir space station or the attached Soyuz capsule for his safety while the Russians outside in their space suits did repairs to it's exterior? :hmmm:

[razark]

Didn't American astronaut Michael Foale have to stay alone in the Mir space station or the attached Soyuz capsule for his safety while the Russians outside in their space suits did repairs to it's exterior? :hmmm:
Not quite:
The two Russian cosmonauts of Mir 23, Vasily Tsibliyev and Aleksandr Lazutkin, conducted an intravehicular activity (IVA) to inspect the collision damage from the interior of the space station. During Mir 24, Foale and Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyev conducted a six-hour EVA in the Russian Orlan spacesuit to inspect exterior damage to the station's Spektr module.

[Platapus]

If we're going with tricky answers, either Dale Gardner or Joseph Allen. They were the last two astronauts to operate the MMU on STS-51-A.

Edit:
Or, if you don't want to count the MMU/spacesuit as a spacecraft, Command Module Pilot David Scott, on Apollo 9?

Wow I would say you win on several levels with that answer. But yes, Dave Scott was the answer I was looking for.

You sure do know your useless space trivia! :yeah:

[Platapus]

Here is a bit of trivia about Alan Shepard.

When he went up in space, Alan had some sensors placed at various places on his body. To mark where the sensors were to be placed, for some reason it was decided to tattoo marks on Alan's body. :doh:

For the rest of his life, he had these permanent tattoos of the sensor location on his body.

I guess NASA did not have any magic markers. :D

It is commonly understood that the reason that Chuck Yeager could not be an astronaut was because he did not have a college degree.

Which of the original seven Mercury pilots did not have a college degree but still went into space?

[sharkbit]

Which of the original seven Mercury pilots did not have a college degree but still went into space?

My guess-Gus Grissom

:)

[Platapus]

Nope

Glenn and Carpenter did not have college degrees when they were selected to fly nor did they have their degree by the time of their first flight.

Both attended college. Carpenter was one class short of his degree when he flew Aurora-7. After his flight, the University decided that his experiences made up for the flight and he was granted his degree. It could be said that Carpenter was the only astronaut to earn his degree in space!! :yeah:

[razark]

It is commonly understood that the reason that Chuck Yeager could not be an astronaut was because he did not have a college degree.

Which of the original seven Mercury pilots did not have a college degree but still went into space?
Dang it... missed it by minutes.

John Glenn?
In April 1959, despite the fact that Glenn had not earned the required college degree, he was assigned to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as one of the original group of seven astronauts chosen for Project Mercury.Or Scott Carpenter?
He returned to Boulder in November 1945 to study aeronautical engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder. At the end of his senior year, he missed the final examination in heat transfer, leaving him one requirement short of a degree. After his Mercury flight, the university granted him the degree on grounds that, "His subsequent training as an Astronaut has more than made up for the deficiency in the subject of heat transfer."

[Platapus]

You're a wiener! :yeah:

[Gerald]

You're a wiener! :yeah: A sausage? "wiener"

[Platapus]

A sausage? "wiener"

A big wiener! :salute:

[Gerald]

A big wiener! :salute: :DL

[Jimbuna]

Nope

Joseph Albert Walker

X-15 pilot

19 July 63 reached an altitude of 106km
22 Aug 63 reached an altitude of 108 km

Under Air Force rules any flight above 80.5 km qualifies the pilot for Astronaut wings and the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) defines space travel as an altitude exceeding 100km aka the Karman line.

Cheat!! :DL