CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING
NEWS
JULY
5,
1965
Need for More Scientists-Astronauts Uncertain Progress of space program will dictate recruiting; chemical skills low on list Selection of future astronauts—with and without scientific backgroundswill depend on the needs of the space program. So said Dr. Robert L. Gilruth, director of NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center, at a press conference in Houston last week. The press conference was called to introduce to the public the six new astronauts, all of whom have scientific training. The space program will definitely require more astronauts, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration official emphasizes. But he could not pinpoint the time for selection of the next group, the number needed, or what their backgrounds might be, without disclosing details of the pace at which the program is progressing. Chemical skills, however, are not high on the list of requirements. What is needed now—and what was sought in the first group of scientistsastronauts—are people with backgrounds in the "field sciences," says Dr. Harry Hess, head of the Space Science Board of the National Academy of Sciences. (The board was involved in the selection.) The new group consists of one geologist, two physicians, and three physicists. A field biologist, for example, might have been chosen, Dr. Hess says. The new astronauts may be crosstrained in other fields. Dr. Hess suggests that one of the physicists could be trained as an astronomer. The training in astronomy would not be difficult, he adds, but training one of the group in chemistry would be. The six scientists-astronauts who will join the current team of 28 astronauts : • Dr. Owen K. Garriott, associate professor of physics at Stanford University. • Dr. Edward G. Gibson, senior
research scientist at Applied Research Laboratories, Aeronutronic Division of Philco Corp. • Dr. Duane E. Graveline, a flight surgeon at the NASA Houston installation. • D r . (Lt. Cmdr.) Joseph P. Kerwin, staff flight surgeon, U.S. Navy. • Dr. Frank C. Michel, assistant professor of space sciences, Rice University. • Dr. Harrison H. Schmitt, astrogeologist, U.S. Geological Survey. Two of the men, Dr. Kerwin and Dr. Michel, are qualified jet pilots. The other four will receive a 55-week
program of Air Force jet pilot training. The six astronauts were chosen from a group of 16 nominees submitted to NASA by the Space Science Board, which evaluated scientific qualifications. The board had selected 16 candidates from 422 applicants considered possibly qualified by NASA. Through January 1965, following announcement of the scientists-astronaut program (C&EN, Nov. 23, 1964, page 27), NASA had received 1492 applications, letters of intent, and other signs of interest from scientists, physicians, and engineers in the U.S. The training program for these astronauts will last three years. They will also aid in various research programs at MSC during their training. None of them will be in the spacecraft making the first lunar landing.
Garriott
Gibson
Graveline
Kerwin
Michel
Schmitt JULY
5, 1965
C&EN
13
