University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa University of Maryland, College Park Air University (BS)
Awards
Legion of Merit
Distinguished Flying Cross (2)
NASA Distinguished Service Medal
NASA Exceptional Service Medal
Space career
NASA astronaut
Rank
Colonel, USAF
Time in space
9d 9h 14m
Selection
NASA Group 1 (1959)
Missions
Mercury-Atlas 9 Gemini 5
Mission insignia
Retirement
July 31, 1970
Leroy Gordon Cooper Jr. (March 6, 1927 – October 4, 2004) was an American aerospace engineer, test pilot, United States Air Force pilot, and the youngest of the seven original astronauts in Project Mercury, the first human space program of the United States. Cooper learned to fly as a child, and after service in the United States Marine Corps during World War II, he was commissioned into the United States Air Force in 1949. After service as a fighter pilot, he qualified as a test pilot in 1956, and was selected as an astronaut in 1959.
In 1963 Cooper piloted the longest and last Mercury spaceflight, Mercury-Atlas 9. During that 34-hour mission he became the first American to spend an entire day in space, the first to sleep in space, and the last American launched on an entirely solo orbital mission. Despite a series of severe equipment failures, he managed to successfully complete the mission under manual control, guiding his spacecraft, which he named Faith 7, to a splashdown just 4 miles (6.4 km) ahead of the recovery ship. Cooper became the first astronaut to make a second orbital flight when he flew as command pilot of Gemini 5 in 1965. Along with pilot Pete Conrad, he set a new space endurance record by traveling 3,312,993 miles (5,331,745 km) in 190 hours and 56 minutes—just short of eight days—showing that astronauts could survive in space for the length of time necessary to go from the Earth to the Moon and back.
Cooper liked to race cars and boats, and entered the $28,000 Salton City 500 miles (800 km) boat race, and the Southwest Championship Drag Boat races in 1965, and the 1967 Orange Bowl Regatta with fire fighter Red Adair. In 1968, he entered the 24 Hours of Daytona, but NASA management ordered him to withdraw due to the dangers involved. After serving as backup commander of the Apollo 10 mission, he was superseded by Alan Shepard. He retired from NASA and the Air Force with the rank of colonel in 1970.
Leroy GordonCooper Jr. (March 6, 1927 – October 4, 2004) was an American aerospace engineer, test pilot, United States Air Force pilot, and the youngest...
were publicly announced by NASA on April 9, 1959: Scott Carpenter, GordonCooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton...
2006. Cooper was again re-elected at the 2005 general election with a decreased vote share of 63.7% and a decreased majority of 15,246. After Gordon Brown...
Center Portland Campus Reno Campus Rockwell Campus Danforth Campus GordonCooper Technology Center Great Plains Technology Center Tillman-Kiowa Campus...
director of space programs for the Israel Ministry of Defense), astronauts GordonCooper and Edgar Mitchell, and former Canadian Defence Minister Paul Hellyer...
dramatic roles. Quaid's breakout role was for his portrayal of astronaut GordonCooper in the critically acclaimed Philip Kaufman directed historical epic...
eight-day space endurance record in 1965 along with his Command Pilot GordonCooper on his first spaceflight, Gemini 5. Later, Conrad commanded Gemini 11...
Madison House in Washington, D.C., on April 9, 1959: Scott Carpenter, GordonCooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton...
the only person to fly in the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. GordonCooper made the last flight of Project Mercury with Mercury-Atlas 9 on May...
rocks: Mercury 9 capsule (Faith 7) flown by GordonCooper in 1963 Gemini 5 capsule flown by GordonCooper and Pete Conrad in 1965 Apollo 17 Command Module...
February 2004 or 2043, Gordon Tracy revels in all aquatic sports, from skin-diving to water-skiing. Named after astronaut GordonCooper, he is a highly trained...
with astronaut L. GordonCooper in the capsule designated Faith 7. Cooper's 22-orbit mission was the last for the Mercury program. Cooper entered the spacecraft...
predetermined position in space. Command Pilot and Mercury veteran GordonCooper was the first person to fly two Earth orbital missions. He and Conrad...
Force Discoverer 8 satellite that had gone astray." In 1963, astronaut GordonCooper supposedly reported a UFO sighting during his 15th orbit in Mercury...
video Alice Cooper: Prime Cuts which chronicled his entire career using in depth interviews with Cooper himself, Bob Ezrin, and Shep Gordon. One critic...
replacement comedy called Breaking In. In 2015, Harrison signed on to play GordonCooper on ABC's The Astronaut Wives Club and played the role of Barry Burwood...
flight to space with 308 others, including Project Mercury astronaut GordonCooper. Launch on the SpaceLoft XL rocket was delayed to April 28, 2007, when...
along with fellow astronauts Neil Armstrong, Scott Carpenter, GordonCooper and Richard Gordon, he had attended the signing of the Outer Space Treaty and...
dansereaui 'Jenkyn Place' agm C. × florentinus - white flowers C. ’GordonCooper’ agm C. × hybridus - pink buds, white flowers C. × laxus ‘Snow White’...
the Moon, also playing a minor role as Trudy, the wife of astronaut GordonCooper. In 2000, she directed the feature film Beautiful. Field was a late...
presented an interview of reporter Yolanda Gaskins with veteran astronaut GordonCooper, where they discussed the possibility of aliens having visited Earth...
sample of his cremated remains on that mission. Mercury 7 astronaut L. GordonCooper, Star Trek actor James Doohan ("Mr. Scott"), and a host of others from...
notables have also expressed such views. Some examples are astronauts GordonCooper and Edgar Mitchell, Senator Barry Goldwater, Vice Admiral Roscoe H....
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