the astronaut passed away the commander of the mission and one of the few people in history who flew twice to the moon
the american astronaut passed away at the age of ninety seven the astronaut flew to space four times in historic missions he was one of three people who flew twice to the moon and the only one of them who did not get to land on it the astronaut took part in the mission the first time a manned spacecraft orbited the moon and he commanded the mission that almost ended in disaster when an explosion occurred on the way to the moon
we are very proud of the amazing life he had and of his achievements in his career especially his legendary leadership in the early era of manned spaceflight the announcement said but to all of us he was a father a grandfather and the leader of the family we will miss his optimism his sense of humor and the way he made each of us feel that we can do the impossible
the space agency sent its condolences to the family of the astronaut whose life and work inspired millions for decades his courage helped us reach the moon and turned a potential disaster into a success we learned from
born in ohio in march nineteen twenty eight his father was killed in a car accident when he was five and his mother raised him alone after moving they settled in wisconsin where he finished high school he was an excellent student active in scouts and interested in rockets building model planes at a young age when he was sixteen he built and launched a one meter rocket powered also by gunpowder after getting help from one of his teachers the rocket exploded at about twenty five meters luckily because if it had happened lower he would have been killed
he studied engineering with a navy scholarship and said later that without this program he would not have been able to afford an education he worked washing dishes and serving in a restaurant and also took care of lab animals while playing on the university football team after two years he began the early stage of pilot training but there were budget cuts and many students feared they would not qualify he moved to the naval academy where he finished engineering in nineteen fifty two his final project dealt with rocket fuel his decision to move saved his life because many of his classmates were sent to the korean war and not all returned he continued training and in nineteen fifty four earned his wings he flew several types of aircraft and served on an aircraft carrier in the pacific in nineteen fifty eight he completed test pilot school
that same year he applied for the first astronaut group but was not accepted because of a temporary medical issue he continued serving as a project officer an instructor and a safety officer
in nineteen sixty two he applied again and was accepted the second group included several test pilots the astronauts were expected to be the backbone of the program to bring humans to the moon the agency prepared for lunar missions using spacecraft for two astronauts to learn docking maneuvering long missions and spacewalks
his first assignment was backup crew for a mission where an american astronaut made the first spacewalk later he was assigned as pilot for a mission in nineteen sixty five the main goal was to show that a two week space mission was possible in the small spacecraft he described it as spending two weeks with another person in the front seats of a small car with no ability to open a window
despite the challenges the astronauts succeeded they also took part in the first formation flight in space another spacecraft was supposed to dock with an unmanned vehicle but it exploded during launch so the agency decided to launch it anyway and perform a close approach with the crewed spacecraft they proved the maneuver was possible paving the way for the next mission
he was later backup commander for another mission and was moved to backup for yet another mission after the original crew was killed in an accident this placed him in position to command the last mission of the program the main goal was to improve spacewalk ability the astronaut with him performed three spacewalks and they completed docking with an unmanned vehicle successfully
the lunar program began with a tragedy when three astronauts were killed in a fire this led to major redesigns he and two others spent forty eight hours in rough sea conditions to test the command module the module performed well but the astronauts were sick
his first assignment in the lunar program was as backup for a mission but when a medical issue prevented a different astronaut from flying he replaced him in the main crew of the mission the first manned flight around the moon the mission was groundbreaking humans left earth gravity for the first time orbited another world and photographed it they also made a historic broadcast and took the first picture of earth rising over the lunar horizon he was responsible for navigation using a telescope and star measurements the burn to return home was done while on the far side of the moon without communication when contact resumed on christmas morning he said santa claus exists
the mission paved the way for later landings and the crew was named people of the year it was decided that the backup crew would fly the first landing mission but because of the importance of the mission the commander considered replacing one astronaut in the crew but chose not to do so
he was then assigned to command his own lunar mission he was supposed to land with another astronaut while a third astronaut stayed in lunar orbit but concerns over the readiness of a veteran astronaut led to switching missions so his crew was moved to command another mission their target was geological exploration days before the mission there was concern that the crew was exposed to illness two crew members were immune but the third was replaced by a backup astronaut
the three astronauts launched in april nineteen seventy the commander was the first person to fly to the moon twice the mission progressed normally and even the media lost interest but on the third day an explosion shook the spacecraft and systems failed
they first thought a meteor hit the spacecraft but when they realized it was not they began working to figure out what happened and how to return home a tank exploded and electricity oxygen and water were affected they moved into the lunar module as a lifeboat the landing was canceled
to save power they shut down almost all systems they suffered extreme cold improvised navigation without computers and used ground instructions to survive including solving a carbon dioxide filter problem with makeshift tools
after four difficult days they returned safely landing in the ocean their story became a famous movie based on the commanders book a well known actor played him and he appeared in a small cameo the movie also popularized the phrase houston we have a problem although the first report was made by another astronaut and the words were not exact
after the mission ended successfully the president traveled to meet the crew