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| Russell Louis "Rusty" Schweickart | |
|---|---|
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| NASA Astronaut | |
| Born | October 25, 1935 Neptune, New Jersey |
| Other occupation | Scientist |
| Time in space | 10d 01h 00m |
| Selection | 1963 NASA Group |
| Missions | Apollo 9 |
| Mission insignia |
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Russell Louis "Rusty" Schweickart aka Schweikart (born October 25, 1935) is an American astronaut. Schweickart was born in Neptune, New Jersey. He earned an B.S. and M.S. in Aeronautics/Astronautics from MIT in 1956 and 1963 respectively.[1][2]
Astronaut experience
Schweickart became an astronaut in October 1963. He spent just over 241 hours in space as the Lunar Module pilot on the Apollo 9 mission in 1969, which he flew with mission commander Jim McDivitt and Command Module Pilot Dave Scott. This was the first manned test of the Apollo lunar module.
Schweickart was also due to perform an EVA, the first of the Apollo program, to test the Portable Life Support System that would be used to walk on the Moon. The original plan was for him to transfer from the Lunar Module to the Command Module using handrails on the LEM. Schweickart began to suffer from space sickness on the first day in orbit forcing the postponement of the EVA. Eventually he improved, and instead of the transfer, he performed a standup EVA outside the Lunar Module while Scott stood up in the hatch of the Command Module.
The time Schweickart spent post-flight studying space sickness contributed to his missing assignments on Apollo lunar missions. Schweickart instead served as backup commander for the first Skylab space station mission, which flew in the Spring of 1973. Following the loss of the space station's thermal shield during launch, he assumed responsibility for the development of hardware and procedures for erecting an emergency solar shade and deploying a jammed solar array wing, operations which saved the space station.
Schweickart was awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, and the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1973.
Rusty Schweickart has spoken and taught at the Esalen Institute. Schweickart is also cofounder of the B612 Foundation, a group that aims to defend Earth from asteroid impacts.
In the 1998 miniseries From the Earth to the Moon Schweickart was played by Kieran Mulroney.
He appeared in the series The Universe (TV series) on the episodes called The End of the Earth: Deep Space Threats to Our Planet and Stopping Armageddon
Schweickart received an Emmy Award in 1969 for the transmission of the first live television pictures from outer space. [3]
In May 2005 Rusty Schweickart told the U.S. Congress that a mission to attach a device such as a radio transponder to asteroid 99942 Apophis (formerly known as 2004 MN4) should be a high priority; it is estimated that this asteroid has a 1 in 6000 probability of striking the earth in the 21st century [1]. The latest data indicates that the chance of Apophis impacting the earth is 1 in 45,000 in 2036.
A Schweickart-approved account of his life and career appears in the 2007 book In the Shadow of the Moon.
References
- ^ Alumni list, MIT, webpage: MIT-alum.
- ^ "Schweikart" (no "ck") is an alternate spelling in astronaut bio books, New York Times, MSN Encarta & NASAwatch.com: 'First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong' (Hansen) 0743281713; "Asteroid Poses Tiny Danger, but It May Be Lured Away", URL: www.nytimes.com/2005/11/22/science/space/22aste; "Rusty Schweikart - MSN Encarta", URL: encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761583341/rusty_schweikart; "Stop Hyping Anousheh Ansari - Just Let Her Inspire People", URL: www.nasawatch.com/archives/2006/09/stop_hyping_ano.
- ^ Astronaut Bio: R. Schweickart (9/2006)
External links
- Personal page
- No Frames, No Boundaries Connecting with the whole planet—from space by Russell Schweickart
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