Mercury 7 astronaut Gordon Cooper has died

[VaBeachGuy 12]

 

I don't think it's a big secret here that I've always admired America's astronauts, specifically the astronauts of the 50's and 60's. So this news is sad for me to see.

 

By PAUL CHAVEZ, Associated Press Writer

 

LOS ANGELES - Gordon Cooper, who was the youngest and perhaps cockiest member of the original seven Mercury astronauts and set the space endurance record that helped clear the way for the first moon landing, has died. He was 77.

 

Cooper died Monday at his home in Ventura, NASA (news - web sites) officials said in a statement. He died of natural causes, said Mitch Breese, of the county medical examiner's office.

 

Cooper had been suffering from heart problems and showed symptoms of heart failure on Saturday and Sunday, former Mercury astronaut Wally Schirra said.

 

"We were probably the most bonded seven men in the history of aviation and space and mankind, and to lose another one is pretty tough for us," Schirra told Associated Press Radio.

 

<!--SPOILER BEGIN--><div onClick="openClose('c1e75456288c8b7f04bc72fa3311c0c3')" style="font-weight: bold">Click For Spoiler</div><div id="c1e75456288c8b7f04bc72fa3311c0c3" style="display:none"><!--SPOILER END-->As one of the nation's first astronauts, Cooper became a hero to a generation of Americans in the early 1960s as the country tried to catch the Soviet Union in the space race.

 

"He truly portrayed the right stuff, and he helped gain the backing and enthusiasm of the American public, so critical for the spirit of exploration," NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe said.

 

On May 15, 1963, Cooper piloted Faith 7, the Mercury program's last flight, circling the globe 22 times in 34 hours and 20 minutes. The mission, the first space flight of more than 24 hours, made him the last astronaut to orbit Earth alone and the first to take a nap during the journey.

 

Cooper became the first man to make a second orbital flight two years later during the Gemini 5 mission, when he and Charles Conrad established a space endurance record by traveling more than 3.3 million miles in 190 hours, 56 minutes.

 

The flight proved humans could survive in a weightless state for the length of a trip to the moon and tested a new power source for future flights — fuel cells. It also let the United States take the lead in the space race by surpassing the Soviet Union in man-hours in orbit.

 

John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth and a former U.S. senator, recalled that the onboard clock was not working properly for the Faith 7 mission. Cooper, whom everyone called "Gordo," relied on Glenn's voice for a manual countdown for the timing of firing rockets that would ensure landing in the right spot.

 

"He followed my count and hit the button on 'zero.' It worked; he got back," Glenn said.

 

Cooper's rambunctious attitude was immortalized in Tom Wolfe's book "The Right Stuff" and the 1983 movie of the same name.

 

Cooper gave his signature line during a 1995 reunion of surviving Mercury astronauts. When asked who was the greatest fighter pilot he ever saw, Cooper enthusiastically answered, "You're looking at him!"

 

But Schirra said Cooper was not as rowdy as actor Dennis Quaid portrayed him in the movie.

 

"He's much less emotional and much less flyboy stuff," Schirra said. "He was a nice, steady engineer. He was more of an engineer than a test pilot, actually."

 

The death of Cooper came the day that privately built SpaceShipOne broke through the Earth's atmosphere for the second time in five days, capturing a $10 million prize aimed at opening the final frontier to tourists.

 

"Gordon Cooper's legacy is permanently woven into the fabric of the Kennedy Space Center (news - web sites) as a Mercury Seven astronaut," said center director Jim Kennedy. "His achievements helped build the foundation of success for human space flight that NASA and KSC have benefited from for the past four decades."

 

Three of the original Mercury astronauts are still alive — Scott Carpenter, Glenn and Schirra.

 

Virgil "Gus" Grissom died in the 1967 Apollo 1 fire; Donald K. "Deke" Slayton died of brain cancer in 1993; and Alan Shepard Jr., died of leukemia in 1998.

 

Cooper, born March 6, 1927, in Shawnee, Okla., joined the Marines during World War II and transferred to the Air Force in 1949. He earned a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1956.

 

He then flew numerous flights as a test pilot in the Flight Test Division at Edwards Air Force Base near Los Angeles. Cooper was selected as a Mercury astronaut in April 1959.

 

Cooper is survived by his wife, Suzan, and their children. Funeral details were not immediately available.<!--SPOILER DIV--></div><!--SPOILER DIV-->

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor..._us/obit_cooper

[gul_nodrog 2]

It is truly sad when these "larger than life" folks leave us. I have watched The Right Stuff probably close to 100 times ... Dennis Quaid's portrayal of "Gordo" Cooper is just so funny.

 

After reading "Man on the Moon" (not sure of that title, but it's what Tom Hanks based From the Earth to the Moon on), I get more than a little ticked off at Tom Wolfe's erroneous depiction of Gus Grissom. The Right Stuff is still a classic movie, but why did he feel the need to make Grissom out to be a boob? A little bit the same for Gordon Cooper. Oh, well.

 

How many of the original seven are still alive now? Wally Schirra, I know, but who else?

[VaBeachGuy 12]

It is truly sad when these "larger than life" folks leave us.  I have watched The Right Stuff probably close to 100 times ... Dennis Quaid's portrayal of "Gordo" Cooper is just so funny.

 

After reading "Man on the Moon" (not sure of that title, but it's what Tom Hanks based From the Earth to the Moon on), I get more than a little ticked off at Tom Wolfe's erroneous depiction of Gus Grissom.  The Right Stuff is still a classic movie, but why did he feel the need to make Grissom out to be a boob?  A little bit the same for Gordon Cooper. Oh, well.

 

How many of the original seven are still alive now?  Wally Schirra, I know, but who else?

269148[/snapback]

 

Right now there's only 3 left alive of the 7. John Glenn, Scott Carpenter and Wally Schirra. Gus died in the Apollo 1 fire, Deke Slayton died in about 1992 of cancer. Alan Shepard died in about 1999 also of cancer and now Gordon Cooper.

[Yillara Skye 1]

I have been interested in the space program since I was little, and one of my relatives worked in Mission Control during the days of the Apollo missions.

 

 

 

This is definately a sad day.

Edited October 5, 2004 by Yillara_Soong

[RikerChick 5]

Very sad to hear. My grandfather was an engineer who helped with the lunar module's and several other things for NASA, so the space program is something that's always been important to our family.

[mj 7]

Having been born and raised in Indiana, Gus Grissom was one of my favorite astronauts in the early days of the space program. I remember how sad we were at his passing..I still remember.

 

I loved the space program, and kept scrapbooks of the Apollo missions. All the astronauts were my heroes, and I mourn the passing of any of them. They truly were 'larger than life,' and will live on in our memories, as the various space programs move to the future.

 

Kind of sad that his passing coincides with the latest progress being made in space: the possible access to space by entrepreneurs and others.

[Wishfire 2]

I cannot say that I know any of the specifics, but I do know that he and all his colleagues, as well as many others, have paved the road for modern efforts and advancements, as well as the knowledge that comes with them. It's sad to note his passing, but it's also an amazing thing to look forward and wonder, "Where will we go next?"

[BakulaBabe 2]

This is such sad news. When I was a kid, my family and I would sit around the TV watching EVERYTHING involving spaceflight, including all of the early manned launches. I can't even begin to describe how exciting it was back then, when it was all truly "where no man has gone before".

[Jaz4stfguy 0]

I remember the early space flights of the Mercury and Gemini space programs. I recall the images of the capsules "splash-down" in the ocean on our black and white T.V. And how can anyone from that era forget the voice of Walter Cronkite telling us, the T.V. viewers, a play-by-play account of the flight, and the shots of Mission Control. I, too, have watched "The Right Stuff" and I thoroughly enjoyed it. My heart goes out to the family of Gordon Cooper.