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Planetary News: Mercury (2004)

'Right Stuff' Astronaut Gordon Cooper Dies at 77

Col. Leroy Gordon Cooper Jr., USAF Ret. -- one of the much-heralded and beloved "Right Stuff" astronauts and the first to spend more than a day in space -- passed away yesterday at his home in Ventura, California. He was 77.

'Gordo,' as he was affectionately known, was the youngest of the Mercury 7, the men chosen to be the first astronauts to go into space. He flew the last and longest Project Mercury orbital mission and spent eight days in space aboard Gemini 5, earning the respect of his superiors and colleagues alike with his 'cool' and his piloting skills.

Cooper's flight in his Faith 7 spacecraft pushed the capabilities of the Mercury capsule to the limits, far exceeding the initial design capability of the spacecraft. The mission, which took place on May 15 and 16, 1963 set a new record for the longest U.S. human space flight. When electrical problems threatened his safe return, Cooper took the controls and manually piloted the capsule through reentry, dropping it so close to the aircraft carrier in the Atlantic Ocean sent to pick him up that NASA didn't need to use the helicopter it had enlisted to bring him in.

Later, in August 1965, Cooper and Charles "Pete" Conrad completed their Gemini 5 mission, despite a series of mishaps, power failures, and glitches. With this flight, the U.S. finally took the manned spaceflight endurance record from Russia, while demonstrating that the crew could survive in zero gravity for the length of time required for a lunar mission.

Author Tom Wolfe immortalized the lives and legends of the Mercury 7 in the best-selling book, The Right Stuff, and the 1983 Academy Award winning movie based on the book saw Cooper, Alan Shepard, Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Donald "Deke" Slayton, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, and Walter "Wally" Schirra, Jr., capture America's heart all over again as new generations came to know these space pioneers. [Dennis Quaid played Cooper in the movie.]

"As one of the original seven Mercury astronauts, Gordon Cooper was one of the faces of America's fledgling space program. 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 in NASA's official statement. "NASA's astronauts extend their deepest sympathies to Gordon Cooper's family," added Kent Rominger, chief of the astronaut office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "He was among the first pioneers in space and his achievements inspired many of us to pursue our dreams of exploring our universe. We salute his many accomplishments as an astronaut and as a husband and father. He will be truly missed."

Cooper was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, on March 6, 1927, just about nine weeks before Charles Lindbergh made his historic solo flight across the Atlantic. From the time he was a boy, he knew the same wanderlust as the 'Lone Eagle.' Young Gordon wanted to fly. He had to fly. After high school graduation, he enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1945 and served through 1946, when he enrolled at the University of Hawaii. After completing three years of schooling, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army.

In 1949, Cooper transferred his commission to the newly-formed United States Air Force. He was placed on active duty and given flight training. From 1950 to 1954, he served as a fighter pilot with the 86th Fighter Bomber Group in Munich, Germany, where he flew F-84s and F-86s. While in Munich, he continued his education by attending night school at the European Extension of the University of Maryland. Once that tour of duty was over, he returned to the United States and immediately enrolled in the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT).

By 1956, Cooper had earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from AFIT. He was then assigned to the Air Force Experimental Flight Test School at Edwards Air Force Base in California. On graduation from there in 1957, he was commissioned as an aeronautical engineer and test pilot in the Performance Engineering Branch of the Flight Test Division at Edwards. His responsibilities included the flight testing of experimental fighter aircraft, and he served as a test pilot there until he was selected as a Mercury astronaut in 1959.

Interestingly, Cooper was almost passed up as a candidate for the history-making flight of Faith 7, the last of the Mercury missions, but fate was on his side. On May 15-16, 1963, he piloted the spacecraft on a 22-orbit mission that completed the operational phase of Project Mercury. During the 34 hours and 20 minutes of flight, Faith 7 attained an apogee of 166 statue miles and a speed of 17,546 miles per hour, traveling 546,167 statue miles.

Cooper could be so cool he could unnerve even the toughest of men. While awaiting launch of his Mercury mission -- without doubt one of the riskiest moments of his life -- he fell asleep. He also became, on this same flight, the first astronaut to sleep in space. As a pilot, his reputation as a "good stick-and-rudder man" loomed large, but he had the opportunity to prove it hands down with the Faith 7 as he manually fired the retrorockets and steered the capsule through an amazingly controlled re-entry and now legendary 'perfect landing' in the Atlantic, something that dropped the jaws of just about all his NASA colleagues. "He [Cooper] would think about anything and always be willing to give his opinion," reflected Sam Beddingfield, NASA's Mechanical Engineer for Project Mercury said. "He knew what he was doing and could always make things work."

Problems nagged at Cooper on his next flight, a then-record eight-day trip aboard Gemini 5 with Charles Conrad, which launched August 21, 1965. The goal of this Gemini mission was to prove astronauts could survive in space long enough to perform a lunar mission. During their eight-day, suspense-filled flight, the duo experienced no end of problems with power systems, thruster fuel, venting gas that caused the spacecraft to roll, and more in a seemingly unending series of mishaps, mechanical failures, and just plain bad luck right up to the end when a computer-generated command caused Gemini 5 to land 103 miles short of its landing target.

But in the end, Cooper and Conrad demonstrated that astronauts could resolve problems in space and they stuck it out for the full duration. They established a new space endurance record on this flight by traveling a distance of 3,312,993 miles in an elapsed time of 190 hours and 56 minutes. While in orbit, they also accomplished a maneuver called a "shadow rendezvous" with an imaginary spacecraft, an experiment demonstrating simply that it could be done. And they even managed to sneak in a few laughs when an accident with freeze dried shrimp resulted in the cabin being filled with little 'pink subsatellites.'

Cooper become the first man to make a second orbital flight and he set a new record for man-hours in space on Gemini 5, accumulating a total of 225 hours and 15 minutes, something that gave the U.S. a much-needed 'win' in the Space Race.

Cooper was selected as backup command pilot of Gemini 12, which launched in November 1965, and for Apollo 10, which flew in May 1969. He left NASA and retired from the USAF on July 31, 1970. He spent the next three decades pursuing a wide range of activities, both professionally and as hobbies.

He founded Gordon Cooper and Associates in 1970 and served as president of the consulting firm that specialized in activities ranging from aerospace to hotel and land development projects. Over the years, Cooper was a director of a number of other organizations, most specializing in energy, advanced electronics systems, efficient homes, boats and marine systems and equipment. In 1975, he became vice president for research and development for Walter E. Disney Enterprises Inc, the research and development subsidiary of Walt Disney Productions.

In 1989, he became chief executive officer of Galaxy Group, Inc., an engineering design group engaged in modifying existing aircraft and designing and manufacturing new aircraft. In his personal time, Cooper enjoyed treasure hunting, archaeology, racing, flying, skiing, boating, hunting and fishing as hobbies.

Cooper earned many awards during his distinguished career. Among them: the USAF Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross with cluster, NASA's Exceptional Service Medal, the Collier Trophy, and the Harmon Trophy. Cooper received an honorary Doctorate of Science degree from Oklahoma City University in 1967.

Throughout his life, Cooper held to his high principles, including a brand of honesty that often challenged the prim and proper public image the government was trying to encourage the original astronauts to adopt. In his post-NASA career, the Right Stuff astronaut confounded the agency when he revealed that he had two experiences with high performance and unidentified flying craft while working for the USAF in the 1950s -- one involved an order to intercept an unusual saucer-shaped object over Germany in his F-86, and the other, a saucer-shaped lifting body, he viewed on filmed footage taken by his crew on a dry lake bed at Edwards.

Cooper openly asserted that the U.S. government was covering up knowledge of extraterrestrial activity and was outspoken about the need for an open inquiry into UFOs. "I believe that these extraterrestrial vehicles and their crews are visiting this planet from other planets, which obviously are a little more technically advanced than we are here on Earth," he testified during a United Nations panel in 1985. "I feel that we need to have a top-level, coordinated program to scientifically collect and analyze data from all over the Earth concerning any type of encounter." He maintained the veracity of his experiences throughout his life.

"Cooper never said 'you can't do it,' he was gung-ho on everything," recalled Norris Gray, NASA's Fire Chief and Emergency Preparedness Officer during the Mercury and Gemini years. "He was a real gentleman from the word go. He led a full life, one that a lot of people would want to live."

Cooper, is survived by his wife, Susan, and four daughters. He also leaves behind his three Right Stuff colleagues, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, and Wally Schirra.