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Astronaut Gordon 'Gordo' Cooper, 1927-2004

Posted by timothy on from the good-run dept.

Grant writes "Leroy Gordon 'Gordo' Cooper, one of America's first seven astronauts, died today in his home at the age of 77. A number of space related sites are carrying the news." Grant points to coverage at SpaceRef.com, Space.com, Nasa Watch, and CNN, writing "His accomplishments will continue to inspire and he will be missed."

22 of 295 comments (clear)

  1. Sadly ironic by PrimeWaveZ · · Score: 4, Interesting

    That his death occured on the day the Anasari X-Prize was claimed by the first group successful for launching a commercially-developed space vehicle.

    1. Re:Sadly ironic by rebeka+thomas · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I think it's interesting how LONG these astronauts are living. They seem to all be getting up to the 70s/80s.

      Mustn't be too much bad with the radiation and stresses involved in being launched up into space regularly. Unless of course that's not what they did...

      --
      RST
    2. Re:Sadly ironic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Ironic? Coincidental more like. The two are different.

      See the usage note at http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=ironic

    3. Re:Sadly ironic by Watcher · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It probably didn't help that he, and all of the Mercury 7 except for Glenn, was a smoker.

      The stress also couldn't have helped much.

      As it is, with some things like cancer, it doesn't matter how old you are, or how good your physical condition, it can still take you down. Good health helps, but something like the more common forms of pancreatic or stomach cancer can knock the best of us out for the count.

    4. Re:Sadly ironic by erick99 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Life expectancy is based on birth year. His life expectancy was 59.7 years. He did well!

      --
      http://www.busyweather.com/
  2. Gordo by globaljustin · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This is a time for everyone captivated by spaceshipone to remember Gordon Cooper and all the astronauts for their contributions to space exploration and for just having the right stuff.

    Notice on spaceshipone's first space flight last week, when asked about the 29 rolls at the top of his ascent, the pilot brushed it all off, "oh, it was nothing, training just took over."

    Also, notice spaceshipone's incredible resemblance to the X-planes tested in 50's by test pilots like Chuck Yeager. Basically, spaceshipone is using 1950's technology to make its headlines.

    It was the mercury astronauts and Russian cosmonauts who brought our backward world kicking and screaming to new frontiers first.

    --
    Thank you Dave Raggett
    1. Re:Gordo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      The X-15 and NF-104A space planes were similar to SS-1, but they were flown in the 60s, not the 50s (first flights of the X-15 were in 1959, but all of the serious research results were from the 60s.) Chuck Yeager tried to fly the NF-104A, but he didn't have the right stuff for it. He screwed up flying the portion of the flight under aerodynamic control so badly that he both never got to a high enough altitude where spacecraft controls (reaction control system) were required, and he put the plane into a unrecoverable coffin corner of the flight envelope. He almost managed to save the plane by creatively using its drag 'chute as a ballistic recovery 'chute to stop the flat spin he got himself into, but his technique was wrong after he released the 'chute (actually, his technique was wrong before then, since he hadn't reset trim), so the NF-104 just resumed its spin. Chuck was out of options at that point, and the NF-104 bit him -- almost killed him.

      Yeager was a damn fine pilot at the time, and certainly a very daring one, but he wasn't the world's best test pilot. He flew too much by the seat of his pants for that, and lacks in technical/engineering knowledge. With a plane like the NF-104, X-15, or SS-1 that is capable of leaving the atmosphere, Yeager is literally out of his element. Don't believe all of the hype and ego-stories about Yeager. There have been several pilots that flew better flight test than Yeager did, even if they haven't gotten the press. Bob Smith, chief test pilot of the NF-104A is one.

  3. Re:Farewell by BigFire · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Truely a fantastic pilot. Sure he was more than confident, but he has the skills to back that up. During his historic Mercury 7 flight, he watch as each and every single one of the automatic guidence system failed on re-entry. In the end, he has two instruments left for guidence, the window and his watch. He still managed to bring his craft closer to the actual splashdown bullseye than all previous 6 capsules.

  4. Gordon Cooper and the existence of UFOs by sailracer6 · · Score: 4, Interesting
    It is interesting to note that Gordon Cooper alleged in a book he wrote a few years ago, "Leap of Faith," that he encountered 'flying saucers' landing and flying while working as a military test pilot in the early 1950s, and that footage he had taken of these saucers was confiscated from him.

    I don't know anything else. Would someone else care to comment on this?

    Amazon link to the book:
    http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0061098779/ qid=1096943403/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_2_1/002-2236212-76 16055

    1. Re:Gordon Cooper and the existence of UFOs by ravenspear · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Notice I did not say anything about what might be piloting the craft. That is a common error in judgment many people make because of stereotypes in this topic. All we really know at this point is that some anomalous craft have been observed.

  5. Nice early mention in Gene Kranz's book by stucooper · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'm reading Gene Kranz's book "Failure is Not an Option" and there's a nice mention early on about how he gets a lift from the airport to the base by some madman in sunglasses and an open necked shirt who gets saluted by the guards at the gate and drives 100 miles per hour and faster. Wondering why civilian speedsters get saluted at the gate, Kranz realises he's met his first Mercury astronaut, who was in fact Gordo Cooper.

  6. Best epitaph from "The Right Stuff" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    From the end of the film "The Right Stuff" based on the book by Tom Wolfe. Not written as an epitaph, but it fits.

    On that glorious day in May 1963
    Gordo Cooper went higher, farther, and faster than any other American:
    22 complete orbits around the world.
    He was the last American ever to go into space alone
    and for a brief moment, Gordo Cooper became
    the greatest pilot anyone had ever seen.

    Godspeed Gordo Cooper

  7. Dude. by Vlion · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I hope he learned of SpaceShipOne's flight.
    It would be really tragic if he died without knowing that private mankind was going into sub-orbital
    flight successfully.

    I mean, its like an era of space flight ended today.
    Private enterprise pushed a starship(admittedly, miniscule) into flight, and one of the Mercury Seven died.

    --
    /b
    |f(x)dx = F(b) - F(a)
    /a
  8. Astronaught by ssummer · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Today we gained a new astronaut and also lost one. Anyone know exactly how many people have made it into space? (living and dead [not counting Carl Sagan])?

  9. Re:Reminds me of a line... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting


    Gordo (played by Dennis Quaid) steals the show at the end of the movie! Here's the movie's narrator's outcue...


    "The Mercury program was over.

    Four years later, astronaut Gus Grissom was killed, along with astronauts White and Chaffey, when fire swept through their Apollo capsule.

    But on that glorious day in May, 1963, Gordo cooper went higher, farther, and faster than any other American.

    Twenty-two complete orbits around the world.

    He was the last American ever to go into Space alone.

    For a brief moment, Gordo Cooper became the greatest pilot anyone had ever seen."

    You can read a transcript of the entire film here...

    http://www2.ice.usp.ac.jp/wklinger/film/scripts/ri ghtstuff-s.txt

  10. Gordo steals the show at the end of the movie by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting


    The movie The Right Stuff is one of my all time favorite flicks... I remember seeing it in the theater when I was a kid. (I've seen it several times since then, of course.)

    Gordo (played by Dennis Quaid) steals the show at the end of the movie! Here's the movie's narrator's outcue, which, combined with the imagery of Dennis Quaid blasting into space and Bill Conti's awesome musical score, is one of the all-time coolest moments in cinema:

    "The Mercury program was over.

    Four years later, astronaut Gus Grissom was killed, along with astronauts White and Chaffey, when fire swept through their Apollo capsule.

    But on that glorious day in May, 1963, Gordo cooper went higher, farther, and faster than any other American.

    Twenty-two complete orbits around the world.

    He was the last American ever to go into Space alone.

    For a brief moment, Gordo Cooper became the greatest pilot anyone had ever seen!"

    You can read a transcript of the entire film here...

    http://www2.ice.usp.ac.jp/wklinger/film/scripts/ri ghtstuff-s.txt

  11. Godspeed, Gordo by WCMI92 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    After seeing "The Right Stuff", and hearing my dad (who met him) tell me about meeting Gordo Cooper when he was an elementary student in Eastern Ky, he was always my favorite of the Mercury Seven.

    He was truly one with the "right stuff".

    Like the rest of the original 7, he was not only a fantastic pilot, he was also a scientist, and a damn good one.

    It's ironic that on the day we lose the last American to go into space alone, we send another American into space alone.

    --
    Corporatism != Free Market
  12. Mr. Cooper is not alone by ravenspear · · Score: 2, Interesting

    For interested /. readers, this is a brief list of some of the major people (military and civilian) who are known to have given convincing testimony to the reality of unusual craft (UFOs) they have witnessed. It is by no means exhaustive. Most of them have stated in some way or another that a percentage of craft encountered were definitely unknown to the Air Force and were not discussed because of that. Many also testified that they received orders to keep their mouths shut about it. Thankfully, they felt it was important enough to disregard that order. Investigations into what these people have stated (which I have been doing for several years now) is extremely fascinating. They are not kooks. Many are career military officers, scientists, academics, and others of high station. I have a great respect for them. I only wish more people would at least hear them before dismissing the whole notion. Their accounts do not come from the Weekly World News. They are not wearing tinfoil hats. They are very serious about it.

    Brigadier General Stephen Lovekin: Army National Guard Reserves
    Brigadier General Arthur Exon: US Air Force (ret.)
    Brigadier Thomas Dubose: US Air Force (deceased)
    Merle Shane McDow: US Navy Atlantic Command
    Lance Corporal Jonathan Weygandt: US Marine Corps
    Maj. George A. Filer, III: US Air Force (Ret.)
    Maj. Donald Keyhoe: US Air Force (deceased)
    Nick Pope: British Ministry of Defense Official
    Larry Warren: US Air Force, Security Officer
    Sgt. Clifford Stone: US Army
    Master Sgt. Dan Morris: US Air Force, NRO Operative
    Officer Alan Godfrey: British Police
    Sgt. Karl Wolf: US Air Force
    Ms. Donna Hare: NASA Employee
    Dr. Robert Wood: McDonnell Douglas Aerospace Engineer
    Dr. Paul Czysz: McDonnell Douglas Career Engineer
    Astronaut Edgar Mitchell
    Astronaut Gordon Cooper (deceased)
    John Callahan: FAA Head of Accidents and Investigations
    Michael Smith: US Air Force Radar Controller
    Franklin Carter: US Navy Radar Technician
    Neil Daniels: United Airlines Pilot
    Captain Robert Salas: US Air Force, SAC Launch Controller
    Harry Allen Jordan: US Navy
    Sgt. Chuck Sorrells: US Air Force (ret.)
    Commander Graham Bethune: US Navy (ret.)
    Mr. Enrique Kolbeck: Senior Air Traffic Controller, Mexico
    Dr. Richard Haines
    Mr. Franklin Carter: US Navy
    Sgt. Robert Blazina (ret.)
    Lieutenant Frederick Marshall Fox: US Navy (ret.)
    Lt. Bob Walker: US Army
    Mr. Don Bockelman: US Army
    Professor Robert Jacobs: Lt. US Air Force (ret.)
    Lt. Colonel Dwynne Arneson: US Air Force (ret.)
    Colonel Ross Dedrickson: US Air Force/AEC (ret.)
    Mr. James Kopf: US Navy/ National Security Agency
    Lieutenant Colonel Joe Wojtecki, US Air Force
    Staff Sergeant Stoney Campbell: US Air Force
    Lieutenant Colonel Charles Brown: US Air Force (ret.)
    Admiral Lord Hill-Norton: Five-Star Admiral, Former Head of the British Ministry of Defense
    Major-General Vasily Alexeyev: Russian Air Force,
    Mr. Don Phillips: Lockheed Skunkworks, USAF, and CIA Contractor
    Captain Bill Uhouse: US Marine Corps (ret.)
    Lieutenant Colonel John Williams: US Air Force (ret.)
    Mr. Gordon Creighton: Former British Foreign Service Official
    Mr. John Maynard: Defense Intelligence Agency (ret.)
    Mr. Harland Bentley: US Army
    Dr. Alfred Webre: Senior Policy Analyst Stanford Research Institute
    Denise McKenzie: Former SAIC employee
    Colonel Phillip J. Corso, Sr.: US Army (ret.)
    Sergeant Leonard Pretko: US Air Force
    Mr. Dan Willis: US Navy

    1. Re:Mr. Cooper is not alone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Apealing to authority doesn't work. That list of "credible" witnesses doesn't mean very much because there are millions of people in the armed forces -- the same statistical percentage of nutcases as in the general population.

  13. Re:Farewell by NOLAChief · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Hard to believe...he was at Stennis Space Center just a few weeks ago with fellow astronauts Scott Carpenter and Wally Schirra promoting a scholarship program they had founded, so I got a chance to see him speak. Obviously they had all aged, but it looked like he had more than the others, unfortunately. But his confidence was still there; you could feel it in the room. Truly an extraordinary person. Thank you for leading the way, Mr. Cooper. We'll try to make you proud.

  14. Godspeed Gordo, in your Corvette... by ehintz · · Score: 4, Interesting
    I was fortunate enough to attend the memorial service for Alan Shephard at JSC in Houston back in '98... One of my fondest memories of the service was Gordo's eulogy, in which he said the following:
    "We raced many miles in identical Corvettes," Cooper told the crowd, then looked straight ahead, as if joking to his late friend: "I'm sorry Al, but I never told you that I changed the ratio in the differential. You really weren't any less a driver, it's just that I cheated a little."

    "Now you're up there in that big hangar in the sky," Cooper said. "We miss you, Al. We'll be there before long and we'll try some of that flying ourselves."
    I hope your flying is good Gordo.
    --
    ehintz
  15. OK, mea culpa... by mangu · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Well, he was a Gringo, of course. I was thinking of an "average" industrialized country, but the United States has the lowest life expexctancy of all of the "industrialized" countries. It's lower, according to the CIA Factbook you mention, than that of Finland, Japan, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Canada, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Austria, and Israel. These are all the "industrialized" countries I could remember.


    OTOH, considering that Israel has total/male/female life expectancies of 79.17/77.08/81.37 years, vs. the US 77.43/74.74/80.36, wouldn't it be advisable to downgrade "terrorism" as a source of danger to life in general?