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Richard F. Gordon Jr.

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For other people named Richard Gordon, see Richard Gordon (disambiguation).

Richard Francis "Dick" Gordon Jr. (October 5, 1929 – November 6, 2017) was an American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, and NASA astronaut, and a football executive. He was one of 24 people to have flown to the Moon, as command module pilot of the Apollo 12 mission, which orbited the Moon 45 times.[1] Gordon had already flown in space as the pilot of the 1966 Gemini 11 mission.

Dick Gordon
Gordon in 1964
Born
Richard Francis Gordon Jr.

(1929-10-05)October 5, 1929
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
DiedNovember 6, 2017(2017-11-06) (aged 88)
San Marcos, California, U.S.
Resting placeArlington National Cemetery
EducationUniversity of Washington (BS)
Naval Postgraduate School
AwardsDistinguished Flying Cross (2)
Distinguished Service Medal
NASA Distinguished Service Medal
NASA Exceptional Service Medal
Space career
NASA astronaut
RankCaptain, USN
Time in space
13d 3h 53m
SelectionNASA Group 3 (1963)
Total EVAs
2
Total EVA time
2h 41m
MissionsGemini 11
Apollo 12
Mission insignia
RetirementJanuary 1, 1972

Biography

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Early life and education

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Gordon was born in Seattle, Washington, on October 5, 1929, the first of five children of Richard Francis Gordon Sr. (1905–1963), a machinist, and his wife, Angela Frances Gordon (née Sullivan; 1903–1985), an elementary school teacher.[2] He was a Boy Scout, and earned the rank of Star Scout.[3] He graduated from North Kitsap High School in Poulsbo, Washington, in 1947, then entered the University of Washington, from where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry in 1951 and he was also a member of Phi Sigma Kappa.[4]

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After graduating from college, Gordon joined the United States Navy and received his wings as a Naval Aviator in 1953. He then attended All-Weather Flight School and jet transitional training, and was subsequently assigned to an all-weather fighter squadron at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida.[4]

In 1957, he attended the United States Naval Test Pilot School at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, and served as a flight test pilot until 1960. During this tour of duty, he did flight test work on the F-8U Crusader, F-11F Tiger, North American FJ Fury, and A-4D Skyhawk, and was the first project test pilot for the F4H-1 Phantom II. He served with Fighter Squadron 121 (VF-121) at the Naval Air Station Miramar, California, as a flight instructor in the F4H-1 and participated in the introduction of that aircraft to the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets. He was also flight safety officer, assistant operations officer, and ground training officer for Fighter Squadron 96 (VF-96) at Miramar. He logged more than 4,500 hours of flying time with 3,500 hours of those hours in jet aircraft. He was also a student at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School at Monterey, California.[4]

He won the Bendix Trophy race from Los Angeles to New York City in May 1961, flying an F4H-1 in which he established a new speed record of 869.74 miles per hour and a transcontinental speed record of 2 hours and 47 minutes.[4][5]

NASA career

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Gordon poses in his Apollo 12 space suit

Gordon was one of the third group of astronauts, named by NASA in October 1963, being the oldest astronaut in his selection. He had been a finalist for the second selection, in 1962.[4]

Project Gemini

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Main article: Gemini 11
 
Gordon during his Gemini 11 flight
 
Gordon during his Gemini 11 EVA

Gordon served as backup pilot for the Gemini 8 flight. In September 1966, he made his first space flight, as pilot of Gemini 11, alongside Pete Conrad. At the time, the flight set an altitude record of 1,369 kilometres (851 miles), which still stands as the highest-apogee Earth orbit.[6][7] Gordon was already good friends with Conrad, who had once been his roommate on the aircraft carrier USS Ranger. On the flight, Gordon performed two spacewalks, which included attaching a tether to the Agena and retrieving a nuclear emulsion experiment package.[4]

Apollo program

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Main article: Apollo 12
 
Pete Conrad, Dick Gordon, and Alan Bean pose with their Apollo 12 Saturn V Moon rocket in the background on the pad at Cape Canaveral on October 29, 1969

Gordon was assigned as the backup command module pilot for Apollo 9. In November 1969, he flew as command module pilot of Apollo 12, the second crewed mission to land on the Moon. While his crewmates, Pete Conrad and Alan Bean, landed in the Ocean of Storms, Gordon remained in lunar orbit aboard the command module Yankee Clipper, photographing tentative landing sites for future missions.[4]

After Apollo 12, Gordon served as the backup commander of Apollo 15. He was slated to walk on the Moon as commander of Apollo 18, but the mission was canceled because of budget cuts.[8]

Gordon logged a total of 315 hours and 53 minutes in space, of which 2 hours and 41 minutes were spent in EVA.[4]

Astronaut office

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After his flights, Gordon worked in the astronaut office. He became the chief of advanced programs in 1971. Gordon worked on the design of the Space Shuttle.[9]

He retired from NASA and the U.S. Navy in January 1972.[4]

Post-NASA career

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After leaving NASA, Gordon served as executive vice president of the New Orleans Saints Professional Football Club in the National Football League (1972–1976);[2] was general manager of Energy Developers, Limited (EDL), a Texas partnership involved in a joint venture with Rocket Research Corporation for the development of a liquid chemical explosive for use in the oil and gas industry (1977); president of Resolution Engineering and Development Company (REDCO), which provided design and operational requirements for wild oil well control and fire fighting equipment on board large semisubmersible utility vessels (1978); following REDCO merger with Amarco Resources, Gordon assumed the additional duties of vice president of marketing, Westdale, an oil well servicing subsidiary of AMARCO operating in North Central Texas and Oklahoma, and also served as vice president for operations, Texas Division (1980); served as director, Scott Science and Technology, Inc., Los Angeles Division (1981–1983).[4]

In March 1982 he became president of Astro Sciences Corporation. This company provides a range of services including engineering, project management, project field support teams, to software and hardware system design for control room applications. In the summer of 1984, Gordon was a technical advisor for and played the part of "Capcom" in the CBS miniseries Space by James A. Michener.[4]

Gordon served as chairman and co-chairman of the Louisiana Heart Fund, chairman of the March of Dimes (Mother's March), honorary chairman for Muscular Dystrophy, and on the boards of directors for the Boy Scouts of America and Boys' Club of Greater New Orleans.[4]

Personal life and death

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From his marriage (which ended in divorce) to his first wife Barbara Field, who died in 2014, Gordon had six children.[2][10] He died in San Marcos, California, on November 6, 2017, at the age of 88.[2][7][11] His hobbies included water skiing and golf.[4] He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.[12]

Organizations

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Gordon was a fellow of the American Astronautical Society, an associate fellow of Society of Experimental Test Pilots, a member of the Navy League, and a member of Phi Sigma Kappa.[4]

Awards and honors

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Grave of Capt. Richard Francis Gordon Jr. at Arlington National Cemetery

Gordon was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame with nine of his Gemini astronaut colleagues in 1982.[15] He was inducted into the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame on March 19, 1993.[16][17] In 2020, Gordon was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio.[18]

In media

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In the 1998 HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon Gordon was played by Tom Verica.[19]

Books authored

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Gordon wrote the foreword for astronaut Al Worden's 2011 book, Falling to Earth: An Apollo 15 Astronaut's Journey to the Moon,[20] as well as the foreword to the 2010 book Footprints in the Dust: The Epic Voyages of Apollo, 1969–1975, edited by Colin Burgess.[21]

Technical papers

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Gordon following his Apollo 12 flight
  • Gordon, R. F., F4H-1 Navy Preliminary Evaluation, Phase I, NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, September 1958;
  • Gordon, R. F., F4H-1 Navy Preliminary Evaluation, Phase I Supplement, October 1958;
  • Gordon, R. F., FJ-4B Fuel Consumption and Performance Report, Flight Test, NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, 1958;
  • Gordon, R. F., F11F Fuel Consumption and Performance Report, Flight Test, NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, 1958;
  • Gordon, R. F., Revised Roll Performance Requirements for MIL-SPEC-F-8785. All Aircraft in Configuration PA, Flight Test, NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, 1958;
  • Gordon, R. F., F8U Spin Evaluation Report, Flight Test, NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, 1959;
  • Gordon, R. F., Gemini XI, Gemini Program Mission Report, NASA Manned Spacecraft Center Report, October 1966;
  • Gordon, R. F., Apollo XII Mission Report, NASA Manned Spacecraft Center Report, December 1969.

References

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  1. ^ NASA Apollo 12 summary page   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ^ a b c d Goldstein, Richard (November 7, 2017). "Richard Gordon, Astronaut Who Reached for Moon and Very Nearly Made It, Dies at 88". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  3. ^ "Scouting and Space Exploration". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x "Biographical Data: Richard F. Gordon Jr" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved February 19, 2021.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ Grossnick, Roy A.; "Part 9 – The Sixth Decade 1960–1969." Archived February 27, 2008, at the Wayback Machine history.navy.mil, Retrieved: July 21, 2010.
  6. ^ "Gordon". NASA. Archived from the original on February 1, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2016.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  7. ^ a b "Remembering Dick Gordon". NASA. November 7, 2017. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2017.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  8. ^ "NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project". June 16, 1999. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  9. ^ "Gordon, Richard Francis, Jr. (1929–2017)". David Darling. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  10. ^ "Barbara Field Gordon Obituary". Asheville Mortuary Service. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  11. ^ "Richard Francis "Dick" Gordon Jr., Apollo Astronaut, Naval Aviator and "Renaissance Man", Dies At 88". Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  12. ^ "NASA Memorials and Burials at Arlington National Cemetery". nasa.gov. February 5, 2019. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  13. ^ "Agnew Confers Awards on Crews of 3 Apollos". Arizona Republic. Phoenix, Arizona. Associated Press. November 14, 1970. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "About Richard Gordon". Richard Gordon Elementary School. Archived from the original on November 10, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  15. ^ "Richard Gordon". New Mexico Museum of Space History. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  16. ^ "Dick Gordon". Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. Archived from the original on October 2, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  17. ^ Clark, Amy (March 14, 1993). "Activities Honor Gemini Astronauts". Florida Today. Cocoa, Florida. p. 41 – via newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Enshrinee Richard Gordon". nationalaviation.org. National Aviation Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  19. ^ "Filmography". IMDB. Archived from the original on May 25, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  20. ^ "Falling to Earth web site". Penguin Random House. Archived from the original on July 17, 2015. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  21. ^ "Footprints in the Dust – University of Nebraska Press". University of Nebraska Press. Archived from the original on January 7, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
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