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Eugene Cernan
 
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Eugene Cernan |
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Born on: |
14 Mar 1934 |
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Join NASA in: |
17 Oct 1963 |
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Current status: |
Retired 1 Jul 1976 |
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Spaceflight |
Position |
Date |
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Gemini 9A |
Pilot |
03.06. - 06.06.1966 |
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Apollo 10 |
LMP |
18.05. - 26.05.1969 |
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Apollo 17 |
Cmdr |
07.12. - 19.12.1972 |
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Captain Cernan was one of
fourteen astronauts selected by NASA in October 1963.
He occupied the pilot seat alongside of command pilot Tom
Stafford on the Gemini IX mission. During this 3-day
flight which Began on June 3, 1966, the spacecraft
achieved a circular orbit of 161 statute miles; the crew
used three different techniques to effect rendezvous with
the previously launched Augmented Target Docking Adapter;
and Cernan, the second American to walk in space, logged
two hours and ten minutes outside the spacecraft in
extravehicular activities. The flight ended after 72 hours
and 20 minutes with a perfect re-entry and recovery as
Gemini IX landed within 1-1/2 miles of the prime recovery
ship USS WASP and 3/8 of a mile from the predetermined
target.
Cernan subsequently served as backup pilot for Gemini 12
and as backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 7.
On his second space flight, he was lunar module pilot of
Apollo 10, May 18-26, 1969, the first comprehensive
lunar-orbital qualification and verification flight test
of an Apollo lunar module. He was accompanied on the
248,000 nautical sojourn to the moon by Thomas P. Stafford
(spacecraft commander) and John W. Young (commander module
pilot). In accomplishing all of the assigned objectives of
this mission, Apollo 10 confirmed the operations
performance, stability, and reliability of the command/service
module and lunar module configuration during trans-lunar
coast, lunar orbit insertion, and lunar module separation
and descent to within 8 nautical miles of the lunar
surface. The latter maneuver involved employing all but
the final minutes of the technique prescribed for use in
an actual lunar landing, and allowed critical evaluations
of the lunar module propulsions systems and rendezvous of
the landing radar devices in subsequent rendezvous and
re-docking maneuvers. In addition to demonstrating that
man could navigate safely and accurately in the moon's
gravitational fields, Apollo 10 photographed and mapped
tentative landing sites for future missions.
Cernan's next assignment was backup spacecraft commander
for Apollo 14.
He made his third space flight as spacecraft commander of
Apollo 17--the last scheduled manned mission to the moon
for the United States--which commenced at 11:33 P.M. (CST),
December 6, 1972, with the first manned nighttime launch,
and concluded on December 19, 1972. With him on the voyage
of the command module "America" and the lunar module "Challenger"
were Ronald Evans (command module pilot) and Harrison H. (Jack)
Schmitt (lunar module pilot). In maneuvering "Challenger"
to a landing at Taurus-Littrow, located on the southeast
edge of Mare Serenitatis, Cernan and Schmitt activated a
base of operations from which they completed three highly
successful excursions to the nearby craters and the Taurus
mountains, making the Moon their home for over three days.
This last mission to the moon established several new
records for manned space flight that include: longest
manned lunar landing flight (301 hours 51 minutes);
longest lunar surface extravehicular activities (22 hours
6 minutes); largest lunar sample return (an estimated 115
kg (249 lbs.); and longest time in lunar orbit (147 hours
48 minutes). While Cernan and Schmitt conducted activities
on the lunar surface, Evans remained in lunar orbit aboard
the "America" completing assigned work tasks requiring
geological observations, handheld photography of specific
targets, and the control of cameras and other highly
sophisticated scientific equipment carried in the command
module SIM-bay. Evans also completed a 1-hour, 6-minute
extravehicular activity on the transearth coast phase of
the return flight, successfully retrieving three camera
cassettes and completing a personal inspection of the
equipment bay area. Apollo 17 ended with a splashdown in
the Pacific Ocean approximately 0.4 miles from the target
point and 4.3 miles form the prime recovery ship USS
TICONDEROGA.
Captain Cernan has logged 566 hours and 15 minutes in
space-of which more than 73 hours were spent on the
surface of the moon.
In September, 1973, Cernan assumed additional duties as
Special Assistant to the Program Manager of the Apollo
spacecraft Program at the Johnson Space Center. In this
capacity, he assisted in the planning, development, and
evaluation of the joint United States/Soviet Union
Apollo-Soyuz mission, and he acted for the program manager
as the senior United States negotiator in direct
discussions with the USSR on the Apollo-Soyuz Test
Project.
On July 1, 1976, Captain Cernan retired after over 20
years with the U.S. Navy. He concurrently terminated his
formal association with NASA.
Captain Cernan was the second American to have walked in
space having spanned the circumference of the world twice
in a little more than 2-1/2 hours. He was one of the two
men to have flown to the moon on two occasions, and as
commander of the last mission to the moon, Apollo 17, had
the privilege and distinction of being the last man to
have left his footprints on the surface of the moon.
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