Okla-homey
5/15/2008, 06:43 AM
May 15, 1963, The flight of Faith 7
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/2672/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa11016305.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
45 years ago on this day in 1963, Leroy Gordon Cooper is launched into space aboard Faith 7 on the longest American space mission to that date. Cooper was the last American ever to go into space alone.
Cooper was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma. He grew up there and in Murray, Kentucky. Cooper served in the Marine Corps in 1945 and 1946, then received an Army commission after completing three years of coursework at the University of Hawaii. Cooper met his first wife Trudy (the only wife of a Mercury astronaut with a private pilot's license) while in Hawaii and they married in 1947.
Cooper transferred his commission to the Air Force in 1949, was placed on active duty and received flight training at Perrin AFB, Texas and Williams AFB, Arizona. He was flying fighters in Europe when he was tapped for the USAF test pilot program at Edwards AFB in the California high desert.
While at Edwards, Cooper was intrigued to read an announcement saying a contract had been awarded to McDonnell Aircraft in St. Louis, Missouri to build a space capsule. Shortly after this he was called to Washington, D.C. for a NASA briefing on Project Mercury and the part astronauts would play in it. Cooper went through the selection process with the other 109 pilots and was not surprised when he was accepted as one of the first seven American astronauts. I say "not surprised" because Gordo was probably the most "confident" astronaut of the original seven. IOW, he was his own biggest fan, despite the fact he never hit a hole-in-one.;)
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/7431/mercuryportraitbigst3.gif
The original seven astronauts selected for the Mercury program are: (front row, left to right) Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Donald K. Slayton, John H. Glenn, Jr., and M. Scott Carpenter, (back row, left to right) Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Virgil I. Grissom and L. Gordon Cooper.
Each of the Mercury astronauts was assigned to a different portion of the project along with other special assignments. Cooper specialized in the Redstone rocket (and developed a personal survival knife for astronauts to carry). He also chaired the Emergency Egress Committee, responsible for working out emergency launch pad procedures for escape. Cooper served as capsule communicator (CAPCOM) for John Glenn's first orbital spaceflight in Mercury-Atlas 6 (Friendship 7) and Scott Carpenter's flight on Mercury-Atlas 7 (Aurora 7). He was backup pilot for Wally Schirra in Mercury-Atlas 8 (Sigma 7).
http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/8500/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa13.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Faith 7 was the capstone of Project Mercury, the NASA program that put the first American into space in 1961 and the first astronaut into orbit in 1962. Cooper completed 22 orbits of the earth and spent 34 hours in space just three days after his 36th birthday.
http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/6159/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa4.png (http://imageshack.us)
Cooper was the first American astronaut to spend more than a day in space. On the afternoon of May 16, Faith 7 landed safely in the Pacific Ocean, four miles from the recovery ship USS Kearsarge.
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/7682/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa22.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Gordo home safe aboard USS Kearsarge
Cooper was honored by parades in Hawaii and Washington, D.C., where he addressed a joint session of Congress, and in New York City, where he was greeted by a massive ticker-tape crowd. Later, "Gordo" Cooper's hometown of Shawnee, Oklahoma celebrated the return of the sixth Mercury astronaut from space.
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/8500/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa13.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Opened in 1930, oldest restaurant in Shawnee. Young "Gordo" loved the joint.
Gordon Cooper's space milestones:
1963 - Last American to fly into space alone
1963 - Flew 22 orbits (solo) in Mercury 9 (Faith 7)
1963 - Gave one of the opening addresses to the first meeting of the League of African Nations (from Space)
1963 - Used the first television camera in Space
1963 - First pilot-controlled reentry from Space
1963-1965 - First Military man to address the Joint Sessions of Congress twice
1965 - Flew 122 orbits as command pilot of Gemini 5
1965 - First man to fly two orbital flights
1965 - First man to fly a fuel cell in space
1965 - First man to fly a radar set in space
1965 - First man to track a typhoon from Space
1965 - Established the World Record of most hours in Space for the United States National Aeronautic Association Record Distance in Earth orbit 1965 - National Aeronautic Association Record Duration in Earth orbit
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/200/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa21.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Gordo's candle is lit
Cooper developed Parkinson's disease late in life and at age 77 died from heart failure at his home in Ventura, California on October 4, 2004.
Gordon Cooper Technology Center in Shawnee, Oklahoma is named after Cooper. GCTC serves an area in East Central Oklahoma covering approximately 3 counties and serving the communities of Asher, Bethel, Boley, Bowlegs, Butner, Chandler, Cromwell, Dale, Earlsboro, McLoud, Macomb, Maud, Meeker, New Lima, Paden, Prague, Seminole, Shawnee, Strothers, Tecumseh, Varnum, Wellston, and Wewoka.
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/2662/81852684ot2.png
BTW, Gordo Cooper was also the first astronaut to sleep on the launchpad. He fell asleep during Launch Control's pre-launch procedures and they let him snooze until about five minutes prior to launch.
Of greatly lesser significance, on this day in 1982, your correspondent successfully hoodwinked the United States Air Force into swearing him in as a second lieutenant. The closest he ever got to outerspace was about 52,000' in a B-52G.:(
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/4909/insane7zo9vn.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/2672/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa11016305.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
45 years ago on this day in 1963, Leroy Gordon Cooper is launched into space aboard Faith 7 on the longest American space mission to that date. Cooper was the last American ever to go into space alone.
Cooper was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma. He grew up there and in Murray, Kentucky. Cooper served in the Marine Corps in 1945 and 1946, then received an Army commission after completing three years of coursework at the University of Hawaii. Cooper met his first wife Trudy (the only wife of a Mercury astronaut with a private pilot's license) while in Hawaii and they married in 1947.
Cooper transferred his commission to the Air Force in 1949, was placed on active duty and received flight training at Perrin AFB, Texas and Williams AFB, Arizona. He was flying fighters in Europe when he was tapped for the USAF test pilot program at Edwards AFB in the California high desert.
While at Edwards, Cooper was intrigued to read an announcement saying a contract had been awarded to McDonnell Aircraft in St. Louis, Missouri to build a space capsule. Shortly after this he was called to Washington, D.C. for a NASA briefing on Project Mercury and the part astronauts would play in it. Cooper went through the selection process with the other 109 pilots and was not surprised when he was accepted as one of the first seven American astronauts. I say "not surprised" because Gordo was probably the most "confident" astronaut of the original seven. IOW, he was his own biggest fan, despite the fact he never hit a hole-in-one.;)
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/7431/mercuryportraitbigst3.gif
The original seven astronauts selected for the Mercury program are: (front row, left to right) Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Donald K. Slayton, John H. Glenn, Jr., and M. Scott Carpenter, (back row, left to right) Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Virgil I. Grissom and L. Gordon Cooper.
Each of the Mercury astronauts was assigned to a different portion of the project along with other special assignments. Cooper specialized in the Redstone rocket (and developed a personal survival knife for astronauts to carry). He also chaired the Emergency Egress Committee, responsible for working out emergency launch pad procedures for escape. Cooper served as capsule communicator (CAPCOM) for John Glenn's first orbital spaceflight in Mercury-Atlas 6 (Friendship 7) and Scott Carpenter's flight on Mercury-Atlas 7 (Aurora 7). He was backup pilot for Wally Schirra in Mercury-Atlas 8 (Sigma 7).
http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/8500/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa13.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Faith 7 was the capstone of Project Mercury, the NASA program that put the first American into space in 1961 and the first astronaut into orbit in 1962. Cooper completed 22 orbits of the earth and spent 34 hours in space just three days after his 36th birthday.
http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/6159/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa4.png (http://imageshack.us)
Cooper was the first American astronaut to spend more than a day in space. On the afternoon of May 16, Faith 7 landed safely in the Pacific Ocean, four miles from the recovery ship USS Kearsarge.
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/7682/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa22.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Gordo home safe aboard USS Kearsarge
Cooper was honored by parades in Hawaii and Washington, D.C., where he addressed a joint session of Congress, and in New York City, where he was greeted by a massive ticker-tape crowd. Later, "Gordo" Cooper's hometown of Shawnee, Oklahoma celebrated the return of the sixth Mercury astronaut from space.
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/8500/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa13.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Opened in 1930, oldest restaurant in Shawnee. Young "Gordo" loved the joint.
Gordon Cooper's space milestones:
1963 - Last American to fly into space alone
1963 - Flew 22 orbits (solo) in Mercury 9 (Faith 7)
1963 - Gave one of the opening addresses to the first meeting of the League of African Nations (from Space)
1963 - Used the first television camera in Space
1963 - First pilot-controlled reentry from Space
1963-1965 - First Military man to address the Joint Sessions of Congress twice
1965 - Flew 122 orbits as command pilot of Gemini 5
1965 - First man to fly two orbital flights
1965 - First man to fly a fuel cell in space
1965 - First man to fly a radar set in space
1965 - First man to track a typhoon from Space
1965 - Established the World Record of most hours in Space for the United States National Aeronautic Association Record Distance in Earth orbit 1965 - National Aeronautic Association Record Duration in Earth orbit
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/200/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa21.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Gordo's candle is lit
Cooper developed Parkinson's disease late in life and at age 77 died from heart failure at his home in Ventura, California on October 4, 2004.
Gordon Cooper Technology Center in Shawnee, Oklahoma is named after Cooper. GCTC serves an area in East Central Oklahoma covering approximately 3 counties and serving the communities of Asher, Bethel, Boley, Bowlegs, Butner, Chandler, Cromwell, Dale, Earlsboro, McLoud, Macomb, Maud, Meeker, New Lima, Paden, Prague, Seminole, Shawnee, Strothers, Tecumseh, Varnum, Wellston, and Wewoka.
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/2662/81852684ot2.png
BTW, Gordo Cooper was also the first astronaut to sleep on the launchpad. He fell asleep during Launch Control's pre-launch procedures and they let him snooze until about five minutes prior to launch.
Of greatly lesser significance, on this day in 1982, your correspondent successfully hoodwinked the United States Air Force into swearing him in as a second lieutenant. The closest he ever got to outerspace was about 52,000' in a B-52G.:(
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/4909/insane7zo9vn.jpg (http://imageshack.us)