Astronaut Group 2

Astronaut Group 2

NASA's Astronaut Group 2, also known as The New Nine, was the second group of astronauts selected by NASA in September 1962. The group was required to augment the original Mercury 7 with the announcement of the Gemini program and leading to the Apollo program. While the Original 7 had been selected to accomplish the relatively more simple task of orbital flight, the new challenges of rendezvous and lunar landing led to the selection of candidates with advanced engineering degrees (for four of the New Nine) as well as test pilot experience. In addition, Group 2 became the first group with civilian test pilots in the group; one flew for General Electric, while another flew the X-15 research plane for NASA.

*Neil A. Armstrong:Gemini 8, Apollo 11:Commander, first docking (Gemini ATV) in space and first mission abort from earth orbit; Commander, first manned lunar landing; first person to walk on the Moon.

*Frank F. Borman, II:Gemini 7, Apollo 8:Commander, first 14 day manned mission; Commander, first mission to orbit the Moon.

*Charles Conrad, Jr:Gemini 5, Gemini 11, Apollo 12, Skylab 2:Pilot, first 8 day manned mission and first re-boost to set record for human earth orbit altitude record; Commander, second manned lunar landing; third man to walk on the Moon. Commander, first successful US space station mission and space endurance record of 28 days.

*James A. Lovell, Jr:Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8, Apollo 13:Pilot, first mission to orbit the Moon. First man to travel to vicinity of the Moon twice. Commander, first mission abort beyond earth orbit aboard Apollo 13. Absolute human altitude record.

*James A. McDivitt:Gemini 4, Apollo 9:Commander, first American EVA mission. Commander, first manned use of Lunar Module

*Elliot M. See, Jr:Slated to command Gemini 9, but died in a plane crash before the mission.

*Thomas P. Stafford:Gemini 6A, Gemini 9A, Apollo 10, Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.:Pilot, first United States orbital rendezvous; Commander, lunar landing test mission; Commander, first joint US-USSR space mission. Flew on

*Edward H. White, II:Gemini 4 :Pilot, first American EVA mission; conducted first American EVA. Slated to be the Prime Crew Pilot for first Apollo mission, but died in the Apollo 1 fire.

*John W. Young:Gemini 3, Gemini 10, Apollo 10, Apollo 16, STS-1, STS-9:Pilot, first mission to change orbit plane; Commander, first mission to dock with two different craft ("Gemini ATV") in Earth orbit. Command Module Pilot, lunar landing test mission; first person to orbit the Moon solo and orbit the Moon twice; Commander, fifth lunar landing; ninth person to walk on the Moon; Commander, first Space Shuttle mission; first person to travel into space 6 times.

External links

* [http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2000-001333.html Astronaut Groups One and Two from Great Images in NASA]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Astronaut Group 3 — Astronaut Group 3, was the third group of Astronauts selected by NASA in October 1963. This was the first time that NASA included candidates who had no test pilot background (as would be the case for all future groups, except for the Group 7 MOL… …   Wikipedia

  • Astronaut Group 4 — was the fourth group of astronauts selected by NASA in June 1965. While the astronauts of the previous three groups were required to have college degrees, they were primarily chosen for their test pilot backgrounds. The six members of Group 4, on …   Wikipedia

  • Astronaut Group 6 — (the XS 11 ) was announced by NASA on 11 August 1967, the second group of scientist astronauts. Only five of the eleven were given formal assignments in Apollo, and these were all non flying. Assignments for the group were delayed by the… …   Wikipedia

  • Astronaut Group 7 — was announced by NASA on 14 August 1969, and was the last group to be selected during the Apollo era. After the USAF Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) project was cancelled, NASA hired seven of the astronauts selected for that program to form this …   Wikipedia

  • Astronaut Group 8 — NASA s Astronaut Group 8 was the first selection in nine years of astronaut candidates since Astronaut Group 7 in 1969. Due to the long delay between the last Apollo mission and the first flight of the Space Shuttle in 1981, few astronauts from… …   Wikipedia

  • Astronaut Group 5 — NASA s Astronaut Group 5 (the Original 19 ) selected by NASA in April 1966. Of the Lunar Module Pilots that walked on the Moon, half came from Group 5. The group as a whole is roughly split between the half who flew to the Moon and the other half …   Wikipedia

  • NASA Astronaut Group 4 — Group photo Main article: List of astronauts by selection Astronaut Group 4 (The Scientists) was the fourth group of astronauts selected by NASA in June 1965. While the astronauts of the previous three groups were required to have college and… …   Wikipedia

  • NASA Astronaut Group 16 — Group photo NASA s Astronaut Group 16 was announced by NASA on 1 May 1996. The class was nicknamed The Sardines for being such a large class, humorously implying that their training sessions would be as tightly packed as sardines in a can. These… …   Wikipedia

  • NASA Astronaut Group 2 — Group 2 astronauts: Back row: See, McDivitt, Lovell, White, Stafford. Front row: Conrad, Borman, Armstrong, Young NASA s Astronaut Group 2, also known as The New Nine, was the second group of astronauts selected by NASA in September 1962. The… …   Wikipedia

  • NASA Astronaut Group 3 — Group photograph Astronaut Group 3 was the third group of astronauts selected by NASA. Their selection was announced in October 1963. Fourteen astronauts made up Group 3. Four died in training accidents before they could fly in space. All of the… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”