May 30, 1934 – Russian cosmonaut Leonov (first spacewalker) is born

Russian cosmonaut Alexey Arkhipovich Leonov became the first person to perform a spacewalk, also known as an EVA, on March 18, 1965 aboard Voskhod 2. He was born May 30, 1934.

According to Wikipedia:

“Leonov was one of the twenty air force pilots selected as the first cosmonaut group in 1960. His spacewalk was originally to have taken place on the Vostok 11 mission, but this was cancelled, and the historic event happened on the Voskhod 2 flight instead. He was outside the spacecraft for 12 minutes on March 18, 1965, connected to the craft by a five-foot tether. At the end of the 12 minute spacewalk, Leonov’s spacesuit had inflated in the vacuum of space to the point where he could not reenter the airlock. He opened a valve to allow some of the suit’s pressure to bleed off, and was barely able to get back inside the capsule. Leonov had spent some eighteen months undergoing intense weightlessness training for the mission.”

May 24, 1962 – Mercury-Atlas 7, launch of Aurora 7

Malcolm Scott Carpenter, one of the original seven astronauts selected by NASA in the early 1960s, was born on May 1st, 1925. He flew aboard the Aurora 7 spacecraft on May 24, 1962.

Wikipedia says:

“Working through five onboard experiments, Carpenter helped among other things to identify the mysterious ‘fire fly’ particles of frozen liquid around the craft, first observed by John Glenn. Carpenter was the first American astronaut to eat solid food in space.”

May 18, 1969 – launch of Apollo 10

The fourth manned mission in the Apollo program was Apollo 10, launching on May 18, 1969. The Apollo 10 crew was the second U.S. crew to orbit the Moon. This mission tested the lunar module in orbit.

Crew: Gene Cernan, Tom Stafford and John Young (L/R)
Image credit: NASA

Wikipedia says:

“The module came to within 8.4 nautical miles (15.6 km) of the lunar surface during practice maneuvers. According to the 2001 Guinness World Records Apollo 10 has the record for the highest speed attained by a manned vehicle: 39,897 km/h (11.08 km/s or 24,791 mph). The speed record was set during the return from the Moon on 26 May 1969.”

Image credit: NASA

See the Apollo 10 press kit (pdf – 4.6mb)

May 15, 1963 – Faith 7 (Mercury 9) launches into orbit

Gordon Cooper was one of the original seven Mercury program U.S. astronauts. He flew on the Mercury 9 (Faith 7) and Gemini 5 NASA missions.

Wikipedia says:

“Cooper was launched into space on May 15, 1963 aboard the Mercury-Atlas 9 (Faith 7) spacecraft, the last Mercury mission. He orbited the earth 22 times and logged more time in space than all five previous Mercury astronauts combined – 34 hours, 19 minutes and 49 seconds, traveling 546,167 miles (878,971 km) at 17,547 mph (28,239 km/h), pulling a maximum of 7.6 g (74.48 m/s²). Cooper achieved an altitude of 165.9 statute miles (267 km) at apogee. He also gained the distinction of becoming the first American astronaut to sleep not only in orbit but on the launch pad during a countdown.”

May 5, 1961 – Freedom 7 launches into orbit

Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr. was born November 18, 1923. He was the second person and the first American in space. He later commanded the Apollo 14 mission, and was the fifth person to walk on the moon.

Wikipedia says:

“On May 5, 1961, Shepard piloted the Freedom 7 mission and became the second person, and the first American, to travel into space. He was launched by a Redstone rocket on a ballistic trajectory suborbital flight—a flight which carried him to an altitude of 116 statute miles and to a landing point 302 statute miles down the Atlantic Missile Range. Unlike Gagarin’s flight, Shepard remained in control of his craft at all times. The flight, return from space and subsequent collection by helicopter were seen live on television by millions.

On his successful return to Earth, Shepard was celebrated as a national hero, honored with parades in Washington, New York and Los Angeles and meeting President John F. Kennedy.”

Quotes:

On being nominated to be the first U.S. astronaut to orbit space…. “That was competition at its best. Not because of the fame or the recognition that went with it, but because of the fact that America’s best pilots went through this selection process down to seven guys, and of those seven, I was the first to go.”
- Alan Shepard, quoted in Into that Silent Sea (p. 75). Shepard was quoted stating the above in an interview for the Hall of Science and Exploration.

Suggested Reading:

• Light This Candle: The Life and Times of Alan Shepard. Neal Thompson.

May 1, 1925 – American astronaut Scott Carpenter is born

Malcolm Scott Carpenter, one of the original seven astronauts selected by NASA in the early 1960s, was born on May 1st, 1925. He flew aboard the Aurora 7 spacecraft on May 24, 1962.

Wikipedia says:

“Working through five onboard experiments, Carpenter helped among other things to identify the mysterious ‘fire fly’ particles of frozen liquid around the craft, first observed by John Glenn. Carpenter was the first American astronaut to eat solid food in space.”

Quotes:

“I am frequently asked if I was afraid [regarding being launched into space]. Yes, I was afraid. But fear is neither shameful nor to be feared, it is to be respected; it does a lot of good things for you when things get dirty. It improves your vision, extends you peripheral vision, reduces reaction time, makes you stronger, and improves your endurance. It is a very valuable companion. What people, I think, are chary about here is that fear is the same as panic. But panic is uncontrolled fear – and that is deadly. But if you use fear, and control it, it can save your life. It can be a pistol!”
- Scott Carpenter, quoted in Into that Silent Sea (p. 154).