On October 13th, 2022, Apollo 9 commander James McDivitt died at the age of 93 in Arizona, USA. NASA astronaut and engineer, James McDivitt, was the man behind the historical event of the landing on the moon.
McDivitt initiated his career in the American Air Force after graduating from Junior College, earning two Distinguished Flying Crosses. In the American Air Force, the war veteran participated in 145 combat missions during the Korean war, piloting the aircraft F-80 and F-86. Later, when returning to the United States, he graduated from the University of Michigan, first in his class, as an aeronautical engineer. He also acted as an experimental test pilot at Edwards Air Force base, California. After his experience as an Air Force pilot, James achieved one of his dreams: in September 1962, he was selected for NASA in order to complement the second astronaut class of the agency.
McDivitt's first flight outside of the Earth's orbit occurred in June 1965, with the purpose to enable astronauts to walk in space. McDivitt went with the companion of Ed. White, who acted as a commander of the Gemini IV Mission. In 1969, McDivitt performed his second spaceflight as the commander of Apollo 9. While in Earth's orbit, the crew performed an engineering test of the first crewed lunar module, nicknamed "Spider" — the spacecraft that would later allow the Apollo astronauts to land on the moon. He became the manager of Lunar landing operations, led the team that planned the lunar exploration program, and redesigned the spacecraft that on June 20th, 1969, finally landed on the moon with astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin aboard. He was awarded numerous awards including two NASA Distinguished Service Medals and the NASA Exceptional Service Medal.
According to NASA, James died while sleeping, surrounded by family and friends. In a post on Twitter, 4 days after his death, the space agency emphasized the astronaut's legacy with the following message: "With heavy hearts, we mourn the recent passing of Korean War veteran, former test pilot, astronautical engineer, and NASA astronaut Jim McDivitt. McDivitt was selected to be part of Astronaut Group 2 and went to common Gemini IV in 1965 and Apollo 9 in 1969. Rest in peace." James McDivitt leaves a wife, his children, step-children, and his name forever marked in American History.
Image Source: NASA
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