Astronauts

[msc 18,379]

Astronaut and meteorologist Piers Sellers has revealed in a New York Times editorial that he has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

 

Ideas and possibilities for June in that case, rather than 2017.

[YoungWillz 20,898]

mpfc, I presume, given the thread title, that you've read "Moondust" by Andrew Smith?

 

If not, (and, anyone else interested in the Apollo missions) I highly recommend buying it, borrowing it (as I did) or taking it out of the local library. It's no exaggeration to say that it left me wondering, sitting outside in the middle of the night last summer, staring up at the moon through binoculars, just mind-blown, pondering life's Big Questions. This book really got me thinking...

 

In particular, I recommend the chapter on Edgar Mitchell; arguably the coolest, sanest, funniest man ever to get a chance to walk on the moon, whose lunar mission profoundly changed his views on life, the universe and everything.

Please, if you're at all interested, find this book and read it. Even if you think you already know every salient thing about the lunar missions, this book will give you more insight. And that's a Star Crossed guarantee you can take to the bank!

 

Edit: It's either déja-vu, or I really have eulogized about this book elsewhere on this forum. In either case, I stand by my post(s).

 

Edgar Mitchell's death at 85 reported here: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/local/apollo-14-astronaut-edgar-mitchell-85-dies-in-west/nqKdg/

 

One DDP team awaits an out of this world points bonus.

 

Edit: Daily Mirror: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/apollo-14-astronaut-edgar-mitchell-7319281

[RoverAndOut 4,694]

With the death of Edgar Mitchell, I found myself wondering how many of the men on the moon were still going. Having read this entire thread, I see no one has published an up-to-date list in quite some time so, with nothing to do this morning, here goes:

1. Neil Armstrong - Apollo 11, b.1930, d.2012
2. Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin - Apollo 11, b.1930 (aged 86)
3. Pete Conrad - Apollo 12, b.1930, d.1999
4. Alan Bean - Apollo 12, b.1932 (aged 83)
5. Alan Shepard - Apollo 14, b.1923, d.1998
6. Edgar Mitchell - Apollo 14, b.1930, d.2016
7. David Scott - Apollo 15, b.1932 (aged 83)
8. James Irwin - Apollo 15, b.1930, d.1991
9. John W. Young - Apollo 16, b.1930 (aged 85)
10. Charles Duke - Apollo 16, b.1935 (aged 80)
11. Eugene Cernan - Apollo 17, b.1934 (aged 81)
12. Harrison Schmidt - Apollo 17, b.1935 (aged 80)

While I'm at it, here are the men who flew to the moon (or intended to), but didn't get out:

1. Frank Borman - Apollo 8, b.1928 (aged 87)
2. Jim Lovell - Apollo 8 and 13, b.1928 (aged 87)
3. Bill Anders - Apollo 8, b.1933 (aged 82)
4. Tom Stafford - Apollo 10, b.1930 (aged 85)
5. Michael Collins - Apollo 11, b.1930 (aged 85)
6. Dick Gordon - Apollo 12, b.1929 (aged 86)
7. Jack Swigert - Apollo 13, b.1931, d.1982
8. Fred Haise - Apollo 13, b.1933 (aged 82)
9. Stu Roosa - Apollo 14, b.1933, d.1994
10. Al Worden - Apollo 15, b.1932 (aged 83)
11. Ken Mattingley - Apollo 16, b.1936 (aged 79)
12. Ron Evans - Apollo 17, b.1933, d.1990
(John W. Young and Eugene Cernan also flew on Apollo 10, the test run for the Moon landing, but are included among the moonwalkers)

And finally, the pre-Apollo astronauts:

The Mercury Seven
Virgil 'Gus' Grissom, b.1926, d.1967
John Glenn - First American to orbit the Earth, b.1921 (aged 94)
Scott Carpenter - Second orbital Mercury flight, b.1925, d.2013
Walter 'Wally' Schirra, Third orbital Mercury flight, b.1923, d.2007
Gordon 'Gordo' Cooper, Last American to fly in space alone, b.1927, d.2004
Donald 'Deke' Slayton, b.1924, d.1993
(Alan Shepard already listed above)

Project Gemini
16 astronauts took part, 3 Mercury veterans, 11 who took part in Apollo missions to the moon. The only others were:
James A. McDivitt - also part of Apollo 9, b.1929 (aged 86)
Edward H. White - first American to walk in space, b.1930, d.1967

Early Apollo missions
Roger B. Chaffee - Apollo 1, b.1935, d.1967
Walt Cunningham - Apollo 7, b.1932 (aged 83)
Donn Eisele - Apollo 7, b.1930, d.1987
David Scott - Apollo 9, b.1935 (aged 80)
Rusty Schweikart - Apollo 9, b.1935 (aged 80)
(Gus Grissom, Edward H. White and 'Wally' Schirra also involved but included elsewhere)

So 7 of the men who walked on the moon are still going, 9 of those who went but didn't get out are still alive and 4 of the early Apollo astronauts are still going. That said, looking at the ages, the next 10-20 years will probably see all of them off sadly. True pioneers.

I've not bothered with the shuttle crews, 1. Because there's so many of them and 2. Because most of them are not really likely to die in the next couple of years. I've also steered clear of the cosmonauts, not because I don't respect them equally but simply because I know virtually nothing about the Russian space program. I'm sure someone better informed could update that list if they wished to. All I know is Valentina Tereshkova is still going strong at 78. Hope someone finds this interesting/useful!

 

EDITED FOR GLENN AND CERNAN

[RoverAndOut 4,694]

As my last post was well received, and since I find myself with a little free time again on a Saturday morning and I was curious, I thought I'd investigate the Russian programs, not least so that the comprehensive up-to-date lists of early astronauts and cosmonauts are close together. While the Russian programs were smaller, it's quite complicated as the Soviets started out with 20 candidates, of which 12 went into space on various programs, along with 3 who weren't in original 20.

 

From tests, 20 candidates were put forward to go to 'Star City' and train and, of these, 6 were selected for accelerated training and were known as the 'Vanguard Six', the Soviet equivalent of America's 'Mercury Seven'. During training, 2 of the 6 were replaced. The eight selected were:

 

Yuri Gargarin - First man in space on Vostok 1, b. 1934, d. 1968

Gherman Titov - First manned mission lasting a full day on Vostok 2, b. 1935, d. 2000

Andriyan Nikolayev - Part of first simultaneous manned flights on Vostok 3, Soyuz 9, b. 1929, d. 2004

Pavel Popovich - Part of first simultaneous manned flights on Vostok 4, b. 1930, d. 2009

Anatoly Kartashov - Suffered minor haemorrhaging in a centrifuge test and was replaced, never flew in space, b. 1932, d. 2005

Valentin Varlamov - Injured a cervical vertebra in a swimming accident during training and was replaced, never flew in space, b. 1934, d. 1980

Valery Bykovsky - Replaced Kartashov; longest solo orbital flight on Vostok 5, also flew on Soyuz 22 and 31, b. 1934 (aged 81)

Grigori Nelyubov - Replaced Varlamov; dismissed from program in 1963 for drunk and disorderly conduct and committed suicide three years later, b. 1934, d. 1966

 

Of the remaining 12, 7 more went into space on various programs, as listed below:

 

Vladimir Komarov - Voskhod 1, Soyuz 1, first cosmonaut to go into space more than once, first man to die on a space mission when Soyuz 1 crash landed, b. 1927, d. 1967

Pavel Belyayev - Voskhod 2, b. 1925, d. 1970

Alexey Leonov - Voskhod 2, first spacewalk, Soviet commander of Apollo-Soyuz mission 1975, b. 1934 (aged 81)

Yevgeny Khrunov - Soyuz 5/4, b. 1933, d. 2000

Boris Volynov - Soyuz 5, 21, b. 1934 (aged 81)

Georgy Shonin - Soyuz 6, b. 1935, d. 1997

Viktor Gorbatko - Soyuz 7, 24 and 37, b. 1934 (aged 81)

The remaining 5 selected for initial cosmonaut training were:

 

Ivan Anikeyev - Dismissed from program in 1963 for drunk and disorderly conduct, never flew in space, b. 1933, d. 1992

Valentin Bondarenko - Died due to injuries sustained in a fire during a low pressure isolation experiment, never flew in space, b. 1937, d. 1961

Valentin Filatyev - Dismissed from program in 1963 for drunk and disorderly conduct, never flew in space, b. 1930, d. 1990

Mars Rafikov - Dismissed from program in 1962 for "a variety of offenses, including womanizing and 'gallivanting' in Moscow restaurants, and so forth", never flew in space, b. 1933, d. 2000

Dmitri Zaikin - Backup commander for Voskhod 2, left the space service in 1969 due to stomach ulcers while training for the Soyuz program, never flew in space, b. 1932, d. 2013

In addition to this, 3 cosmonauts went into space who were not part of the original 20. These were:

Valentina Tereshkova, Vostok 6, first woman in space, b. 1937 (aged 78)

Konstantin Feoktistov - Voskhod 1, first civilian in space, b. 1926, d. 2009

Boris Yegorov - Voskhod 1, first physician in space, b. 1937, d. 1994

 

Knowing where to stop the cosmonaut list is tricky, since the next program, Soyuz, started in 1967 and has continued ever since (which is pretty impressive all things considered). I have decided I will list the first stage of Soyuz, up to the Soyuz 11 disaster in 1971, after which there was a 2 year gap. This roughly correlates with Apollo 17, the last pre-Space Shuttle astronaut mission.

 

(Vladimir Komarov, Soyuz 1 mentioned elsewhere)

Georgy Beregovoy - Soyuz 2, b. 1921, d. 1995

Vladimir Shatalov - Soyuz 4, 8 and 10, b. 1927 (aged 88)

Aleksei Yeliseyev - Soyuz 5/4. 8 and 10, b. 1934 (aged 81)

(Boris Volynov, Soyuz 5/4, 21 mentioned elsewhere)

Valeri Kubasov - Soyuz 6 and 19 (Apollo-Soyuz mission), b. 1935, d. 2014

(Georgy Shonin, Soyuz 6 mentioned elsewhere)

Anatoly Filipchenko - Soyuz 7 and 16, b. 1928 (aged 87)

Vladislav Volkov - Soyuz 7 and 11, b. 1935, d. 1971

(Viktor Gorbatko, Soyuz 7, 24 and 37 mentioned elsewhere)

Vitaly Sevastyanov - Soyuz 9 and 18, b. 1935, d. 2010

(Andriyan Nikolayev, Soyuz 9 mentioned elsewhere)

Nikolay Rukavishnikov - Soyuz 10, 16 and 33, b. 1932, d. 2002

Georgy Dobrovolsky - Soyuz 11, b. 1928, d. 1971

Viktor Patsayev - Soyuz 11, b. 1933, d. 1971

 

Soyuz 11 was the first craft to successfully dock with the Salyut space station. While re-entry was successful, all three cosmonauts were found dead in the capsule after a malfunction caused the capsule to depressurise.

 

So, in summary, one of the accelerated Vanguard Six cosmonauts is still going, 3 of the other early entrants are still living, the first woman in space is still alive and 3 of the other cosmonauts from early Soyuz missions are still pegging. Apologies if this lacks a little of the clarity of the first one, the Soviet side was harder to research accurately and I included a little extra information as I think the cosmonaut program is less well known overall than the astronaut program. Hope it serves its purpose though.

 

Overall then, I make it 21 Americans and 8 Soviets still alive as of February 2016 from missions up to 1972.

[Davey Jones' Locker 1,324]

Man, that vodka must really be terrible stuff for your system...

[Magere Hein 1,399]

Man, that vodka must really be terrible stuff for your system...

 

Yes, one of the effects is becoming drunk and disorderly.

[Davey Jones' Locker 1,324]

 

Man, that vodka must really be terrible stuff for your system...

 

Yes, one of the effects is becoming drunk and disorderly.

 

I'll drink to that.

[RoverAndOut 4,694]

Apollo 10 astronauts heard 'eerie music' on the dark side of the moon that couldn't have come from Earth, new transcripts declassified in 2008 reveal. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3456741/Apollo-10-astronauts-heard-mysterious-music-far-moon-newly-uncovered-tapes-reveal-no-wasn-t-Pink-Floyd.html

[Magere Hein 1,399]

Apollo 10 astronauts heard 'eerie music' on the dark side of the moon that couldn't have come from Earth, new transcripts declassified in 2008 reveal. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3456741/Apollo-10-astronauts-heard-mysterious-music-far-moon-newly-uncovered-tapes-reveal-no-wasn-t-Pink-Floyd.html

Hey, the moon landings didn't happen, did they?

[maryportfuncity 10,589]

 

Apollo 10 astronauts heard 'eerie music' on the dark side of the moon that couldn't have come from Earth, new transcripts declassified in 2008 reveal. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3456741/Apollo-10-astronauts-heard-mysterious-music-far-moon-newly-uncovered-tapes-reveal-no-wasn-t-Pink-Floyd.html

Hey, the moon landings didn't happen, did they?

 

 

 

Aye, you have it in one here - the basic problem with most of the conspiracies being that they'll grab any nugget and shoe-horn it into a spurious argument; ignoring the fact that NASA employed around 100,000 people - directly and otherwise - at its height (so presumably almost all of them have kept quiet ever since!)

 

This latest nugget fits more with the spaceship Moon (i.e. the aliens put it there but its a constructed craft rather than a natural occurance in the solar system)

[En Passant 3,728]

Ey up,time for my tin hat again, good job i only recently dug it out. And a rewatch of Capricorn One won't go amiss.

[RoverAndOut 4,694]

 

 

Apollo 10 astronauts heard 'eerie music' on the dark side of the moon that couldn't have come from Earth, new transcripts declassified in 2008 reveal. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3456741/Apollo-10-astronauts-heard-mysterious-music-far-moon-newly-uncovered-tapes-reveal-no-wasn-t-Pink-Floyd.html

Hey, the moon landings didn't happen, did they?

 

 

 

Aye, you have it in one here - the basic problem with most of the conspiracies being that they'll grab any nugget and shoe-horn it into a spurious argument; ignoring the fact that NASA employed around 100,000 people - directly and otherwise - at its height (so presumably almost all of them have kept quiet ever since!)

 

This latest nugget fits more with the spaceship Moon (i.e. the aliens put it there but its a constructed craft rather than a natural occurance in the solar system)

 

I thought Doctor Who had categorically proven a couple of years ago that the Moon was a giant egg for some kind of space bird that laid another one in its place when it was born...?

[YoungWillz 20,898]

Donald E Williams, former NASA astronaut and test pilot, has reportedly died aged 74. https://twitter.com/ASE_Astronauts/status/703716461664034816

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_E._Williams

[gcreptile 10,926]

Buzz Aldrin still active and looking good:

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3468140/Buzz-Aldrin-Getting-Mars-easy-part.html

 

There's going to be a BBC interview with him.

[Sir Creep 7,068]

Buzz Aldrin on FB Live AS I TYPE THIS doing interview and I must say he looks 70. He looks downright young (for 91 or whatever).

Won't be on a Sir Creep list anytime soon.

SC

[Cat O'Falk 3,290]

Buzz Aldrin on FB Live AS I TYPE THIS doing interview and I must say he looks 70. He looks downright young (for 91 or whatever).

Won't be on a Sir Creep list anytime soon.

SC

Not even a theme team?

[Whitehouse 871]

I was born on the day they lit the candle under his arse. Yes, I was born before man walked the moon....

 

 

Djeeze I'm getting old...

[Cat O'Falk 3,290]

I was born on the day they lit the candle under his arse. Yes, I was born before man walked the moon....

 

 

Djeeze I'm getting old...

I was 11 years old and asked my mum if I could stay up to watch it. She said "no, you're not 'stopping' up all night to watch that rubbish".

[CarolAnn 926]

I was three and a half.

[Sir Creep 7,068]

 

I was born on the day they lit the candle under his arse. Yes, I was born before man walked the moon....

Djeeze I'm getting old...

 

I was 11 years old and asked my mum if I could stay up to watch it. She said "no, you're not 'stopping' up all night to watch that rubbish".

Dammit that's funny. I was 6 I believe and unlike Mamma O'Falk, Mamma Creep dragged me arse kicking and screaming, parked me in front of the black&awhile console tv and said "now watch this, it's going to be an historic moment."

SC

[Rotten Ali 600]

I was three and a half.

Ditto, but about 3 years and 2 months old.

[Sir Creep 7,068]

Neill Armstrong dead

http://kfor.com/2016/08/11/former-osu-football-star-neill-armstrong-dies-at-90/

[Joey Russ 7,209]

Neill Armstrong dead

http://kfor.com/2016/08/11/former-osu-football-star-neill-armstrong-dies-at-90/

Wow. I swear he died like 4 years ago. I must have a poor memory or something.

[CarolAnn 926]

 

Neill Armstrong deadhttp://kfor.com/2016/08/11/former-osu-football-star-neill-armstrong-dies-at-90/

Wow. I swear he died like 4 years ago. I must have a poor memory or something.

He died in 2012.

[Joey Russ 7,209]

 

 

Neill Armstrong deadhttp://kfor.com/2016/08/11/former-osu-football-star-neill-armstrong-dies-at-90/

Wow. I swear he died like 4 years ago. I must have a poor memory or something.

He died in 2012.

Really. Gee. Thanks for reminding me. I swear he died a few years earlier.