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Rusty Schweickart

American - (NASA)

Retired

Date of Birth: Oct. 25, 1935
Age: 89


Russell Louis "Rusty" Schweickart is an American aeronautical engineer, and a former NASA astronaut, research scientist, U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, as well as a former business executive and government executive. Selected in 1963 for NASA's third astronaut group, he is best known as the Lunar Module Pilot on the 1969 Apollo 9 mission, the first manned flight test of the Lunar Module, on which he performed the first in-space test of the Portable Life Support System used by the Apollo astronauts who walked on the Moon. As backup Commander of the first manned Skylab mission in 1973, he was responsible for developing the hardware and procedures used by the first crew to perform critical in-flight repairs of the Skylab station. After Skylab, he served for a time as Director of User Affairs in NASA's Office of Applications. Schweickart left NASA in 1977 to serve for two years as California Governor Jerry Brown's assistant for science and technology, then was appointed by Brown to California's Energy Commission for five and a half years, serving as chairman for three. In 1984–85 he co-founded the Association of Space Explorers and later in 2002 co-founded the B612 Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to defending Earth from asteroid impacts, along with fellow former astronaut Ed Lu and two planetary scientists. He served for a period as its chair before becoming its chair emeritus.

Saturn V | Apollo 9

National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of America
Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
March 3, 1969, 4 p.m.
Status: Success
Mission:

Apollo 9 was commanded by James McDivitt, Command Module Pilot Dave Scott and Lunar Module Pilot Rusty Schweickart. The mission tested the LM engines, backpack life support systems, navigation systems, and docking maneuvers.

Low Earth Orbit
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Acting Administrator: James Free

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. NASA have many launch facilities but most are inactive. The most commonly used pad will be LC-39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.


Falcon 9
Success
5 hours, 54 minutes ago
Starlink Group 11-18
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


New Shepard
Success
12 hours, 25 minutes ago
NS-32
West Texas Suborbital Launch Site/ Corn Ranch - Corn Ranch, Van Horn, TX, USA

NS-32 is the 12th crewed flight for the New Shepard program and the 32nd in its history.


Falcon 9
Success
1 day, 8 hours ago
GPS III SV08
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Eighth of ten GPS III missions.


Long March 4B
Success
2 days, 21 hours ago
Shijian 26
Launch Area 4 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Chinese experimental satellite claimed to be for "Earth observation & environmental management" purposes, details not known.


Long March 3
Success
3 days, 8 hours ago
Tianwen-2
Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Tianwen-2 is a planned Chinese asteroid sample return and comet orbiter mission due for launch in May 2025. The spacecraft will visit the Near Earth …