"I'll Do It Myself": The Greatest Feat of Piloting in Space | Simon Whistler | March 16, 2021 | Highlight History
Posted on 10/25/2021 11:02:14 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
On April 9, 1959, the newly-formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, introduced the world to a new breed of heroes: the Mercury Seven, America’s first astronauts. Se-lected from a pool of over 500 military test pilots, these men represented the best the nation had to offer, and its best hope in the intensifying Space Race against the Soviets. Almost immediately, the Mercury Seven became national heroes: on May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard would became the first American in space, while on February 20, 1962, John Glenn would become the first American to orbit the earth, a feat which catapulted him to superstardom. But among these early pioneers was an astronaut who, while less well-known to the public, would become a legend in the aviation community. His name was Gordo Cooper.
(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...
"I'll Do It Myself": The Greatest Feat of Piloting in Space | Simon Whistler | March 16, 2021 | Highlight History
Faith 7 Space Flight - Astronaut Gordon Cooper Prayer 1963 | December 31, 2020 | deliverthewordtv
In the bonus section, it was nice to get a laugh by being reminded of the Turtle question.
Looks like they got their jobs due to systemic racism, space racism a.k.a. spaceism...
It’ll come out in the wash.
Heh, time for me to watch that movie again, it's been at least a few years.
Interesting, thanks!
So I’m in the Air force or Navy aviation and the brass comes up and says, “would you like to go into space?”
Cool, what are the particulars?
We will strap your ass onto this candle with 100 tons of hydrazine and liquid O2, and light it.
Can I pass on this one? I got a bad headache.
5.56mm
You bet!
Yep, two million parts and all of them let to the lowest bidder.
(Attributed to Gus Grissom, RIP)
LOL! Close, darned house rules around here, but you’re buyin’. ;^)
My guess is, those early space suits had to have large codpieces.
[snip]
Scouting for lab rabbits, more likely.
I didn’t quite hear you.
I said, “Lab rabbits.”
What’s that mean?
It means you don’t need
honest-to-God pilots.
What you ought to get is a lab rabbit
to curl up in your damn capsule...
with its heart beating...
and a wire up the kazoo.
I don’t hold with it.
I don’t either.
You want a pilot to be a ballistic missile.
And then splashdown.
Possibly get lost at sea.
There’s some things you can’t change.
Some peckerwood’s
got to take the beast up.
And some peckerwood’s got to land it.
And that peckerwood is called a pilot.
...
Delta Charlie 9, you are clear to land...
at 180 degrees.
Jos Jimnez on approach.
My name, Jos Jimnez.
Yeah, Shepard, I forgot.
You are clear at 180 degrees.
Some boys here want to talk to you
about being an astronaut.
They want to make me an astronaut?
Oh, I hope not.
Are you sure the Navy’s got good pilots?
They call them aviators in the Navy.
They say they’re better than pilots.
Gentlemen, I’d like you
to meet Alan Shepard.
What?
I’d like you to meet Alan Shepard.
Just the man we came to see.
Well. Pleasure.
You’ve heard about our project.
We’re going up against the Russians.
It’s got the highest...
Priority.
It’s a hazardous...
undertaking. In fact,
it’s extremely hazardous.
It’s so hazardous that
if you decide not to volunteer...
it will not be held against you in any way.
- Sounds dangerous.
- It is.
Count me in.
[/snip]
Only if you show me your membership card...
I learned the phrase “screwed the pooch” from that movie.
And as long as we’re quibbling, you never did actually ask the question.
Are you a Turtle?
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