CapComs and others

The following individuals either served as "Capsule Communicators" during one of the missions or is mentioned in the dialog or commentary. The term "CapCom" is a holdover from the early flights of astronauts in the "capsules" of the Mercury program.

Dr. Joseph P. Allen, civilian

Allen was born June 27, 1937 in Crawfordsville, Indiana. He was trained in physics at DePauw University and, as a Ph.D candidate in nuclear physics, at Yale. Allen was selected as a member of the sixth group of astronauts in August 1967. He served with distinction as the Mission Scientist and EVA CapCom on Apollo 15 and contributed a great deal of subtle humor to Apollo 17 as the "Goodnight" CapCom. After Apollo, he served on the staff of the President's Council on International Economic Policy and, from 1975 to 1978, served as the Director of the Legislative Affairs Division at NASA headquarters. He first flew in space in November, 1982 as a member of the fifth Shuttle crew (STS-5) along with fellow Apollo alumni Vance Brand, Bob Overmyer, and Bill Lenoir. He made his second flight, the 14th Shuttle mission, in November 1984. During this flight, he and Dale Gardner made a pair of spacewalks to retrieve two communications satellites which, the previous year, had failed to reach geostationary orbit. Retired from NASA and is currently President and Chief Executive Officer of Space Industries International, Inc. in Houston, Texas.

Maj. Charles A. Bassett, III, USAF.

Personal: Born December 30, 1931, Dayton, Ohio. Died February 28, 1966 in the crash of a T-38 jet near St. Louis. Was married, two children.
Education: B.S. in electrical engineering, Texas Technological College, 1960.
Spaceflights: None.

Was selected in 1963 with the third group of astronauts and had been chosen to pilot Gemini 9.

Col. Gerald P. Carr, USMC (Retired).

Personal: Born August 22, 1932, Denver, Colorado. Married.
Education: B.S. in mechanical engineering, University of Southern California, 1954. B.S. in aeronautical engineering, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, 1961. M.S. in aeronautical engineering, Princeton University, 1962.
Spaceflights: Commander, Skylab 4 (1973).

Chosen with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966. Served as Landing and LM Launch CapCom on Apollo 12. Was instrumental in the development of the lunar roving vehicle used by the Apollo 15, 16, and 17 astronauts, and was commander of Skylab 4. Retired from the Marine Corps in September 1975 and resigned from NASA in June 1977. Worked as Vice President, Bovay Engineers, Inc.; as a senior consultant for Applied Research Inc., in Houston, Texas; and is now President, CAMUS, Inc., Huntsville, Arkansas, and Director of the Arkansas Aerospace Education Center in Little Rock.

Col. L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., USAF (Retired)

Personal: Born March 6, 1927, Shawnee, Oklahoma. Married, 2 children (from a previous marriage).
Education: B.S. in aeronautical engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, 1956.
Spaceflights: Pilot, Mercury-Atlas 9 (1963). Command pilot, Gemini 5 (1965).

Chosen in the first group of astronauts in 1959. Served as the backup pilot of Mercury-Atlas 8, pilot for Mercury-Atlas 9 (Faith 7), command pilot for Gemini 5, backup command pilot for Gemini 12, and backup commander for Apollo 10. Retired from NASA and the Air Force in July 1970 to form Gordon Cooper Associates in Hialeah, Florida and later worked as Vice President for Research and Development for WED Enterprises, Glendale, California and President of XL, Inc., a Los Angeles business consulting company. Currently chief executive of Galaxy Group, Inc., which refurbishes airplanes and is located in Van Nuys, California.

Maj-Gen. Joe H. Engle, Air National Guard/USAF

Personal Born August 26,1932, Abilene, Kansas. Married, two children.
Education: B.S. in aeronautical engineering, University of Kansas, 1955.
Spaceflights: Commander, STS-2 (1981) and STS 51-I (1985).

Selected for the X-15 Program in June 1963 and made a total of 16 X-15 flights, reaching an altitude of 280,600 feet and thereby qualifying for the astronaut title. Chosen as a NASA astronaut with the fifth group in 1966. Was backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 14 and commander of one of the two crews who flew shuttle approach and landing tests, and was later backup commander for the first shuttle orbital flight test, commander of the second orbital flight test of the shuttle (STS-2), and commander of STS 51-I. Served as Deputy Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight at NASA Headquarters from March to December 1982. Served as Air National Guard Assistant to the Commander in Chief, U.S. Space Command. Currently a consultant fot the Air National Guard and an aerospace and sporting goods technical consultant. Maintains flight status in F-16 ANG aircraft.

Capt. Theodore C. Freeman, USAF

Personal: Born February 18, 1930, Haverford, Pennsylvania. Died October 31, 1964, in a T-38 jet crash at Ellington AFB, Texas. Was married, one child.
Education: B.S., U.S. Naval Academy, 1953. M.S. in aeronautical engineering, University of Michigan, 1960.
Spaceflights: None.

Chosen with the third group of astronauts in 1963.

Col. C. Gordon Fullerton, USAF

Fullerton was born October 11, 1936 in Rochester, New York; and, while a classmate of Jack Schmitt's at the California Institute of Technology, trained as an engineer . He received a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 1958. After graduation from the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards AFB in 1965, Fullerton was serving as a test pilot for the bomber operations division at Wright-Patterson AFB when he was selected into the U.S. Air Force's Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) Program. When that program was canceled in 1969, Fullerton and others transferred to NASA. Fullerton was a member of the Apollo 14 and 17 support crews, serving as the Goodnight and Wake-up CapComLM CapCom on Apollo 14 and the lunar landing and lift-off CapCom on Apollo 17. Subsequently, he joined the Shuttle program and was one of four astronauts who flew Approach and Landing Tests in 1977. In March 1982, he flew as Pilot on the third Shuttle mission (STS-3) and, with Commander Jack Lousma, performed the first - and, thus far, only - Shuttle landing at White Sands, New Mexico when poor weather had closed the dry-lake runways at Edwards. In July 1985, Fullerton commanded the 19th Shuttle flight, STS-51F. He currently supervises NASA's test flight operations at Edwards.

Dr. Owen K. Garriott, civilian

Personal: Born November 22, 1930, Enid, Oklahoma. Married, four children.
Education: B.S. in electrical engineering, University of Oklahoma, 1953. M.S., 1957, and Ph.D., 1960, both in electrical engineering from Stanford University.
Spaceflights: Science pilot, Skylab 3 (1973). Mission specialist, STS-9 (1981).

Chosen with the fourth group of astronauts in 1965. Served as Post-landing and Goodnight CapCom on Apollo 11. Served as the Program Scientist for the Space Station Program Office at Johnson Space Center prior to his retirement from NASA. Was Vice President of Space Programs at Teledyne Brown Engineering, Huntsville, Alabama, but left in 1993 to form Immutherapeutics Inc., also in Huntsville.

Dr. Edward G. Gibson, civilian

Personal: Born November 8, 1936, Buffalo, New York. Married, four children.
Education: B.S. in engineering, University of Rochester, 1959. M.S., 1960, Ph.D., 1964, both in engineering from the California Institute of Technology.
Spaceflights: Science pilot, Skylab 4 (1973).

Chosen with the fourth group of astronauts in 1965. Served as EVA CapCom on Apollo 12. Resigned from NASA in November 1974 to join the Aerospace Corporation as senior staff scientist, and then became a senior consultant for Spacelab operations at VFW Fokker/ERNO in Europe. Rejoined NASA in March 1977, but resigned again in October 1980 to work for TRW and later moved to Booz, Allen and Hamilton. Currently President, Gibson International Corp., Carlsbad, California.

Henry "Hank" Hartsfield, Jr., civilian

Personal: Born November 21, 1933, Birmingham, Alabama. Married, two children.
Education: B.S. in physics, Auburn University, 1954. Graduate work in physics at Duke University and in aeronautics at the Air Force Institute of Technology. M.S. in engineering science, University of Tennessee, 1971.
Spaceflights: Pilot, STS-4 (1982). Commander, STS 41-D (1984) and STS 61-A (1985).

Selected for the MOL program in 1966 and was transferred to the NASA astronaut program in 1969. Was a member of the support crew for Skylab 2, 3, and 4. Retired from the Air Force on August 31, 1977. Piloted STS-4, the final shuttle test flight, and commanded STS 41-D and STS 61-A, the Spacelab D-1 mission. Has left the astronaut corps and is currently at Johnson Space Center as Manager, Man-Tended Capability Phase, Space Station Freedom Program.

Dr. Karl G. Henize, civilian

Personal: Born October 17, 1926, Cincinnati, Ohio. Married, four children.
Education: B.A. in math, University of Virginia, 1947. M.A. in astronomy, University of Michigan, 1948. Ph.D. in astronomy, University of Michigan, 1954.
Spaceflights: Mission specialist, STS 51-F (1985).

Served in the U.S. Naval Reserve, and was chosen in the sixth group of astronauts in 1967. Was a principal investigator for ultraviolet astronomy experiments for the Skylab program and a member of the support crew for Skylab 2, 3, and 4. Flew as a mission specialist on STS 51-F (Spacelab 2). Resigned from the astronaut corps and became a Senior Scientist in the Space Sciences Branch, Johnson Space Center. He died in 1993 during a climb of Mt. Everest.

Capt. Joseph P. Kerwin, M.D., Medical Corps, USN

Personal: Born February 19, 1932, Oak Park, Illinois. Married, three children.
Education: B.A. in philosophy, College of the Holy Cross, 1953. M.D., Northwestern University Medical School, 1957.
Spaceflights: Science pilot, Skylab 2 (1973).

Chosen with the fourth group of astronauts in 1965. Was the science pilot for Skylab 2, and was subsequently in charge of the on-orbit branch of the Astronaut Office. Served as NASA's senior scientific representation in Australia from April 1982 to December 1983, and then became the Director of Space and Life Sciences at Johnson Space Center. Currently Manager, Manned Systems Programs, Lockheed Missiles and Space Company, Houston.

Dr. Don L. Lind, civilian

Personal: Born May 18, 1930, Midvale, Utah. Married, seven children.
Education: B.S. in physics, University of Utah, 1953. Ph.D. in high energy physics, University of California at Berkeley, 1964.
Spaceflights: Mission specialist, STS 51-B (1985).

After graduating from Utah, he served as an aviator in the U.S. Naval Reserve. Chosen with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966. Was backup pilot for Skylab 3 and Skylab 4, and flew as a mission specialist on STS 51-B (Spacelab 3). Resigned from NASA and is currently a professor of physics at Utah State University, in Logan.

Col. Jack R. Lousma, USMC (Retired)

Personal: Born February 29, 1936, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Married, three children.
Education: B.S. in aeronautical engineering, University of Michigan, 1959. M.S. in aeronautical engineering, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, 1965.
Spaceflights: Pilot, Skylab 3 (1973).

Chosen with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966. Was pilot for Skylab 3, backup docking module pilot for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, and commander of the STS-3 flight. Retired from NASA in September 1983 and unsuccessfully ran for the Senate in Michigan in 1984. Currently Chairman and Vice President of Marketing and Sales, AeroSport, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Capt. Bruce McCandless, II, USN (Retired)

Personal: Born June 8, 1937, Boston, Massachusetts. Married, two children.
Education: B.S., U.S. Naval Academy, 1958. M.S. in electrical engineering, Stanford University, 1965. M.B.A., University of Houston at Clear Lake, 1987.
Spaceflights: Mission specialist, STS 41-B (1984) and STS-31 (1990).

Chosen with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966. Served as EVA CapCom on Apollo 11 and EVA-1 and LM Launch CapCom on Apollo 14. Was backup pilot for Skylab 2 and a mission specialist on STS 41-B and on STS-31, which deployed the Hubble Space Telescope. Has since retired from NASA and the Navy and works at Martin Marietta Astronautics Co., Denver, Colorado.

Col. Robert F. Overmyer, USMC (Retired)

Overmyer was born July 14, 1936 in Lorain, Ohio and trained in physics at Baldwin Wallace College. He received a Master's Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the U. S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1964. Overmyer was selected as an astronaut in the MOL Program in 1966 and, with many of the other MOL astronauts, joined NASA in 1969 when that program was canceled. Prior to his work as a member of the Apollo 17 Support Crew, he worked on the Skylab program. On Apollo 17, he served as launch CapCom and then as the prime Command Module CapCom. Later, he served as a member of the Apollo-Soyuz support crew and, during the mission, served as a NASA CapCom stationed in Moscow. Overmyer then joined the Shuttle program and first flew as Pilot on STS-5 in November 1982 with Commander Vance Brand. In April 1985, he commanded STS-51B, the 17th Shuttle mission. After leaving NASA, he worked as the Technical Advisor to the President, Space Systems Company, Martin Marietta Corporation and later served as Director of Operations and Robotics, Space Station Division, McDonnell-Douglas Aerospace. In 1995, Overmyer joined Cirrus Design Corporation, Duluth, Minnesota, as a test pilot and, on March 22, 1996 was killed will testing a small-engine prototype near the Duluth Airport. He was survived by his wife Katherine and three children.

Dr. Robert A. R. Parker, civilian

Parker was born in New York City on December 14, 1936. He was trained as an astronomer at Amherst College and at the California Institute of Technology where he received a Ph.D. in 1962. After graduation, he joined the Astronomy Department at the University of Wisconsin where, during the 1966-67 academic year, he supervised future Journal Editor Eric Jones, then a first-year graduate student. In August 1967, he was selected as a member of the second group of scientist-astronauts. He served as a CapCom for Apollo 15 and, then, for Apollo 17, as the Mission Scientist and EVA CapCom. Later, he was Program Scientist for the three Skylab missions flown in 1973 and, in 1974, received the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal. During the Shuttle era he flew on two Spacelab missions: STS-9 in November/December 1983 and the astronomy-oriented mission STS-35 in December 1990. Later, he served in a number of senior management posts in the Office of Space Flight at NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C., including positions as Deputy Associate Administrator (Operations), Director of the Spacelab Operations Program, and Director of Space Operations and Utilization. In 1997, he was selected as the Director of the NASA Management Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, California. He and his wife, Judy, have five children and seven grandchildren.