Tag Archives: Purdue University

Eugene Andrew Cernan (14 March 1934–16 January 2017)

Aviation, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Eugene A. Cernan, Mission Commander, inside the Lunar Module Challenger after the third EVA, 13 December 1972. (Harrison H. Schmitt/NASA)
Eugene Andrew Cernan (The Provi of 1952)

Eugene Andrew Cernan was born at Chicago, Illinois, 14 March 1934. He was the second child of Andrew George Cernan, a manufacturing foreman, and Rose A. Cihlar Cernan. Gene Cernan graduated from Proviso East High School, Maywood, Illinois, in 1952.

Cernan entered Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, as an engineering student. He was a midshipman in the U.S. Navy Reserve Officers Training Corps (R.O.T.C.), and a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity (ΦΓΔ) , serving as treasurer. He was also president of the Quarterdeck Society and the Scabbard and Blade, and a member of the Phi Eta Sigma (ΦΗΣ) honor society and Tau Beta Pi (ΤΒΠ) engineering honor society. He served on the military ball committee and was a member of the Skull and Crescent leadership honor society. During his Midshipman Cruise in 1955, Cernan served aboard the Worcester-class light cruiser USS Roanoke (CL-145). Cernan graduated from Purdue in 1956 with Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering (B.S.E.E.).

Cernan was commissioned as an ensign, United States Navy, 2 June 1956, and was assigned to flight training. He was promoted to lieutenant (junior grade), 1 December 1957. Lieutenant Cernan completed flight school and qualified as Naval Aviator. He was assigned to Attack Squadron 126 (VA-126) at NAS Miramar, San Diego, California, flying the North American Aviation FJ-4B Fury. On 1 June 1960, Cernan was promoted to the rank of lieutenant.

North American Aviation FJ-4B Fury of VA-126, circa 1960. (U.S. Navy)

Lieutenant Eugene A. Cernan married Miss Barbara Jean Atchley, 6 May 1960, at San Diego. Mrs. Cernan was a flight attendant for Continental Airlines. They would have a daughter, Tracy. The Cernans divorced 7 July 1981.

Lieutenant Cernan was next assigned to Attack Squadron 113 (VFA-113) at NAS Lemoore, California. VFA-113 (“Stingers”) flew the Douglas A-4C Skyhawk, and deployed aboard the Essex-class aircraft carrier USS Hancock (CVA-19).

Eugene A. Cernan, NASA Astronaut, circa 1964. (NASA)

Cernan earned a Master of Science Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School at Monterey, California, in 1963.

In October 1963, Lieutenant Cernan was selected as an Astronaut for the National Aviation and Space Administration (NASA). He was one of 14 members of NASA Astronaut Group 3, which was announced 18 October 1963.

Gene Cernan was promoted to the rank of commander, United States Navy, 3 June 1966. He flew as pilot of Gemini IX-A, 3-6 June 1966. (Thomas P. Stafford was the command pilot.) The mission included a rendezvous with a Lockheed Agena target vehicle. A planned docking with the Agena could not be carried out because the docking shroud had failed to deploy correctly. On 6 June, Cernan conducted an “EVA” (Extravehicular Activity, of “space walk”). During the 2 hour, 7 minute EVA, numerous difficulties were encountered.

Astronaut Gene Cernan outside the Gemini IX-A capsule in earth orbit, 6 June 1966, (NASA S66-38515)
In a ceremony held at The Pentagon, Admiral David L. McDonald, Chief of Naval Operations, pins astronaut wings on Commander Eugene A. Cernan, 26 July 1966. (Corpus Christi Caller-Times)

Commander Cernan was next assigned as the backup pilot of Gemini XII and backup lunar module pilot of Apollo 7.

Gene Cernan was the Lunar Module pilot of Apollo 10, the full rehearsal for the first lunar landing, 18 May–26 May 1969. He flew the LM Snoopy to 47,400 feet (14,445 meters) above the lunar surface at 21:29:43 UTC, 22 May.

Apollo 10 Lunar Module Snoopy photographed by John Watts Young just after separation from the Command and Service Module Charlie Brown. Gene Cernan can be seen in the window on the left. (NASA)

Cernan was promoted to the rank of captain, United States Navy, 10 July 1970. He was next assigned as the backup to Alan B. Shepard as mission commander for Apollo 14.

On 23 January 1971, Cernan was flying a Bell Model 47G-3B-1 helicopter, NASA 947 (N947NA, serial number 6665), on a proficiency flight, when it crashed in the Indian River near Malabar, Florida. The helicopter was destroyed and Cernan was slightly injured. The official investigation reported the cause as a “misjudgement in estimating altitude.” In his autobiography, Cernan wrote,

“Without ripples, the water provided no depth perception and my eyes looked straight through the clear surface to the reflective river bottom. I had lost sight of the water.”

—The Last Man on the Moon, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1999, Chapter 25 at Page 258

Captain Eugene A. Cernan, U.S.N., in the cockpit of NASA 947, a Bell 47G-3B-1, as it hovers in ground effect, circa 1971. (NASA)

Gene Cernan’s third space flight was as commander of Apollo 17, 6–19 December 1972, with Ronald E. Evans as Command Module pilot and Harrison H. Schmitt as the Lunar Module pilot. Cernan and Schmitt were on the surface of the Moon for 3 days, 2 hours, 59 minutes, 40 seconds. During that time they made three excursions outside the lunar lander, totaling 22 hours, 3 minutes 57 seconds.

Apollo 17 was the last manned mission to the Moon in the Twentieth Century. Gene Cernan was the last man to stand on the surface of the Moon.

Eugene A. Cernan at the Taurus-Littrow Valley during the third EVA of the Apollo 17 mission. (Harrison H. Schmitt/NASA)

Gene Cernan retired from the United States Navy and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1 July 1976. According to his NASA biography, Cernan had logged 566 hours, 15 minutes of space flight.

In 1987 Cernan married Jan Nanna (née Janis E. _) at Sun Valley, Idaho. She had two daughters, Kelly and Daniele, from a previous marriage.

Captain Eugene Andrew Cernan, United States Navy (Retired) died at a hospital in Houston, Texas. His remains were buried at the Texas State Cemetery at Austin, Texas.

Eugene Andrew Cernan (NASA)

© 2018 Bryan R.. Swopes

Neil Alden Armstrong (5 August 1930–25 August 2012)

Aviation, Space Flight, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Neil Alden Armstrong, Astronaut, The First Human to Set Foot on the Surface of The Moon. (NASA)

The following is the official NASA biography from the John H. Glenn Research Center:

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
John H. Glenn Research Center
Lewis Field
Cleveland, Ohio 44135

Neil A. Armstrong

Neil A. Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio, on August 5, 1930. He began his NASA career in Ohio.

After serving as a naval aviator from 1949 to 1952, Armstrong joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in 1955. His first assignment was with the NACA Lewis Research Center (now NASA Glenn) in Cleveland. Over the next 17 years, he was an engineer, test pilot, astronaut and administrator for NACA and its successor agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

As a research pilot at NASA’s Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., he was a project pilot on many pioneering high speed aircraft, including the well known, 4000-mph X-15. He has flown over 200 different models of aircraft, including jets, rockets, helicopters and gliders.

Armstrong transferred to astronaut status in 1962. He was assigned as command pilot for the Gemini 8 mission. Gemini 8 was launched on March 16, 1966, and Armstrong performed the first successful docking of two vehicles in space.

As spacecraft commander for Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing mission, Armstrong gained the distinction of being the first man to land a craft on the moon and first to step on its surface.

Armstrong subsequently held the position of Deputy Associate Administrator for Aeronautics, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. In this position, he was responsible for the coordination and management of overall NASA research and technology work related to aeronautics.

He was Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Cincinnati between 1971-1979. During the years 1982-1992, Armstrong was chairman of Computing Technologies for Aviation, Inc., Charlottesville, Va.

He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Purdue University and a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southern California. He holds honorary doctorates from a number of universities.

Armstrong is a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and the Royal Aeronautical Society; Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the International Astronautics Federation.

He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco. He served as a member of the National Commission on Space (1985-1986), as Vice-Chairman of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident (1986), and as Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Peace Corps (1971-1973).

Armstrong has been decorated by 17 countries. He is the recipient of many special honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom; the Congressional Space Medal of Honor; the Explorers Club Medal; the Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy; the NASA Distinguished Service Medal; the Harmon International Aviation Trophy; the Royal Geographic Society’s Gold Medal; the Federation Aeronautique Internationale’s Gold Space Medal; the American Astronautical Society Flight Achievement Award; the Robert J. Collier Trophy; the AIAA Astronautics Award; the Octave Chanute Award; and the John J. Montgomery Award.

Armstrong passed away on Aug. 25, 2012 following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures. He was 82.

August 2012

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/about/bios/neilabio.html

Neil Alden Armstrong, age 6
Neil Alden Armstrong, age 6
Ensign Neil A. Armstrong, United States Naval Reserve, 23 May 1952. (U.S. Navy)
Ensign Neil Alden Armstrong, United States Navy, circa 1951. (U.S. Navy)
Ensign Neil Alden Armstrong, United States Navy, circa 1951. (U.S. Navy)
Ensign Neil A. Armstrong, as wingman to Lieutenant (j.g.) Ernie Moore, is flying the second Grumman F9F-2 Panther, Bu. No. 125122 (marked S 116), assigned to VF-51, USS Essex (CV-9), 1951. (Naval Aviation Museum)
Ensign Neil A. Armstrong, as wingman to Lieutenant (j.g.) Ernie Moore, is flying the second Grumman F9F-2 Panther, Bu. No. 125127 (marked S 116), assigned to VF-51, USS Essex (CV-9), 1951. (Naval Aviation Museum)
3 September 1951, Ensign neil Armstrong was flying his Grumman F9F-2 Panther, Bu. No., 125122, escorting a photo reconnaissance aircraft over Koreawhen his airplane was damaged by enemy ground fire. At low altitude, he struck and anti-aircraft cable whoich further damaged the fighter and made it impossible to land. Armstrong was abl eto reach friendly territory and ejected safely. This photograph was taken a short time later. (U.S. Navy)
3 September 1951, Ensign Neil A. Armstrong was flying his Grumman F9F-2 Panther, Bu. No., 125122, escorting a photo reconnaissance aircraft over Korea when his airplane was damaged by enemy ground fire. At low altitude, he struck an anti-aircraft cable which further damaged the fighter and made it impossible to land. Armstrong was able to reach friendly territory and ejected safely. This photograph was taken a short time later. (U.S. Navy) 
NASA Engineering Test Pilot Neil A. Armstrong, 1958. (NASA)
NASA Engineering Test Pilot Neil A. Armstrong, 1958. (NASA) 
NASA test pilot Neil A. Armstrong dons a pressure suit before his first flight in teh North American Aviation X-15 hypersonic research rocketplane, at Edwards AFB, 30 November 1960. (NASA)
NASA test pilot Neil A. Armstrong dons a David Clark Co. MC-2 full-pressure suit before his first flight in the North American Aviation X-15 hypersonic research rocketplane, at Edwards AFB, 30 November 1960. (NASA)
Neil Armstrong with the first North American Aviation X-15A, 56-6670, on Rogers Dry Lake after a flight, 1960. (NASA)
Neil Armstrong with the first North American Aviation X-15A, 56-6670, on Rogers Dry Lake after a flight, 1960. Armstrong made seven flights in the X-15, including the longest, “Neil’s Cross Country”. (NASA)
NASA Research Test Pilot Neail A. Armstrong with teh Bell X-14 at NASA Ames Research Center, February 1964. (NASA)
NASA Research Test Pilot Neil A. Armstrong with the Bell X-14 at NASA Ames Research Center, February 1964. (NASA via Jet Pilot Overseas) 
Neil A. Armstrong during a training exercise near Cimmaron, new Mexico, June 1964. (NASA via Jet Pilot Overseas)
NASA Project Gemini astronaut Neil A. Armstrong during a field training exercise near Cimarron, New Mexico, June 1964. (NASA via Jet Pilot Overseas)
Astronauts David R. Scott, Pilot (left) and Neil A. Armstrong, Command Pilot (right) with U.S. Air Force pararescue jumpers at the end of the nearly disastrous Gemini 8 mission, 17 March 1966. (NASA)
Astronauts David R. Scott, Pilot (left) and Neil A. Armstrong, Command Pilot (right) with U.S. Air Force pararescue jumpers at the end of the nearly disastrous Gemini 8 mission, 17 March 1966. (NASA)
NASA Project Apollo Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong with a Bell Aerosystems Lunar Landing Research Vehicle, 1969. (Ralph Morse/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)
NASA Project Apollo Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong with a Bell Aerosystems Lunar Landing Research Vehicle, 1969. (Ralph Morse/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)
Neil Alden Armstrong, Mission Commander, Apollo 11, 16 july 1969. (NASA)
Neil Alden Armstrong, Mission Commander, Apollo 11, 16 July 1969. (NASA)
Neil Armstrong steps onto the Moon, 10:56 p.m. EDT, 20 July 1969. (NASA)
Neil Armstrong steps onto the Moon, 10:56 p.m. EDT, 20 July 1969. (NASA)
Neil Alden Armstrong inside the Lunar Module on the surface of the Moon, 20 July 1969. (NASA)
Neil Alden Armstrong inside the Lunar Module Eagle on the surface of The Moon, 20 July 1969. (Edwin E. Aldrin, NASA) 
Professor Neil A. Armstrong in his classroom at the University of Cincinnati College of Engineering, 1974. (Peggy Palange, UC Public Information Office)
Professor Neil A. Armstrong in his classroom at the University of Cincinnati College of Engineering, 1974. (Peggy Palange, UC Public Information Office) 
A bronze statue of Neil Alden Armstrong in front of the Hall of Engineering.
An 8-foot tall bronze statue of Neil Alden Armstrong, sculpted by Chas Fagan, sits in front of the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.

© 2015, Bryan R. Swopes