Stuart Roosa | |
|---|---|
 Roosa in 1971 | |
| Born | Stuart Allen Roosa (1933-08-16)August 16, 1933 Durango, Colorado, U.S. |
| Died | December 12, 1994(1994-12-12) (aged 61) Falls Church, Virginia, U.S. |
| Resting place | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Education | Oklahoma State University, Stillwater University of Arizona University of Colorado, Boulder (BS) |
| Spouse | Joan C. Barrett |
| Children | 4 |
| Awards | NASA Distinguished Service Medal |
| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
| Rank | Colonel,U.S. Air Force |
Time in space | 9 days, 1 minute |
| Selection | NASA Group 5 (1966) |
| Missions | Apollo 14 |
Mission insignia |  |
| Retirement | February 1, 1976 |
| Signature | |
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Stuart Allen Roosa (August 16, 1933 – December 12, 1994) was an Americanaeronautical engineer,smokejumper,United States Air Forcepilot,test pilot, andNASAastronaut, who was theCommand Module Pilot for theApollo 14 mission. The mission lasted from January 31 to February 9, 1971, and was the third mission to land astronauts (Alan Shepard andEdgar Mitchell) on theMoon. While Shepard and Mitchell spent two days on the lunar surface, Roosa conducted experiments from orbit in the Command ModuleKitty Hawk. He was one of24 men to travel to the Moon, which he orbited 34 times.[1]
Roosa was born on August 16, 1933, inDurango, Colorado, to parents Dewey Roosa (1903–1988) and Lorine Roosa (née DeLozier; 1908–1993) and grew up inClaremore, Oklahoma. He attended Justus Grade School andClaremore High School in Claremore, Oklahoma, from which he graduated in 1951. Thereafter, he studied atOklahoma State University and theUniversity of Arizona,[2] before graduating with aBachelor of Science degree inaeronautical engineering with honors from theUniversity of Colorado Boulder in 1960.[3]
_Test_Pilot_School_(TPS)_Class_64C.jpg)
Roosa began his career as asmokejumper with theU.S. Forest Service, dropping into at least four active fires inOregon andCalifornia during the 1953 fire season. He was a graduate of theAviation Cadet Program atWilliams Air Force Base, Arizona, where he received his flight training commission in theU.S. Air Force. He also attended theU.S. Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School (Class 64C) and was an experimentaltest pilot atEdwards Air Force Base in California before being selected for theastronaut class of 1966.[3]
From July 1962 to August 1964, Roosa was a maintenance flight test pilot atOlmstead Air Force Base, Pennsylvania, flyingF-101 Voodoo aircraft.[4] He was a fighter pilot atLangley Air Force Base, Virginia, where he flew theF-84F Thunderstreak andF-100 Super Sabre aircraft. Following graduation from the University of Colorado, under the U.S.Air Force Institute of Technology Program, he served as Chief of Service Engineering (AFLC) atTachikawa Air Base, Japan, for two years.[5]
Roosa was one of 19 people selected as part of theastronaut class of 1966.[6] He was theCapsule communicator (CAPCOM) at theLaunch Complex 34blockhouse during theApollo 1 fire on January 27, 1967.[7] In 1969, he served as a member of the astronaut support crew for theApollo 9 mission.[3]
OnApollo 14, he spent 33 hours in solo orbit around the Moon, conducting an extensive series of experiments. As part of a joint U.S. Forest Service/NASA project, he carried seeds fromloblolly pine,sycamore,sweet gum,redwood, andDouglas fir trees. The seeds were germinated on his return and planted throughout the United States, becoming known as the"Moon Trees".[8]
Roosa later served as backup Command Module Pilot forApollo 16 andApollo 17. Based on crew rotations, he would probably have commanded one of thelast missions had they not been cancelled. He was assigned to theSpace Shuttle program until his retirement as a colonel from the Air Force in 1976.[3]
Roosa logged 5,500 hours of flying time; 5,000 hours injet aircraft. He also logged 217 hours inspace.[3]
Roosa, who attendedHarvard Business School's six-weekAdvanced Management Program in 1973,[2] later held a number of positions in international and U.S. businesses.[9] He founded Gulf Coast Coors in 1981; he served as its president until his death.[9]
On December 12, 1994, Roosa died at age 61 in Washington, D.C., from complications ofpancreatitis.[3] He was survived by his wife Joan, three sons and a daughter, and seven grandchildren.[3]
Roosa is buried inArlington National Cemetery.[10][11] His wife Joan died on October 30, 2007, inGulfport, Mississippi. She was interred at Arlington with her husband.[12]
Roosa's memberships include theSociety of Experimental Test Pilots, New York Safari Club,Board of Directors, People-to-People Sports Committee, Hunting Hall of Fame, Circumnavigators Club,Explorers Club,Commemorative Air Force, Shikar-Safari-Club and Gulfport Yacht Club.[3]
Roosa's honors include theNASA Distinguished Service Medal; the MSC Superior Achievement Award (1970); theAir Force Command Pilot Astronaut Wings; theAir Force Distinguished Service Medal; theArnold Air Society'sJohn F. Kennedy Award (1971); the City ofNew York Gold Medal (1971); theAmerican Astronautical Society's Flight Achievement Award (1971); the Order of Tehad (1973); and the Order of the Central African Empire (1973). Additionally, an elementary school inClaremore, Oklahoma is named in his honor. He received anhonoraryLL.D. fromUniversity of St. Thomas, Houston in 1971.
He was one of five Oklahoman astronauts inducted into theOklahoma Aviation and Space Hall of Fame in 1980[13] and he was inducted into theInternational Space Hall of Fame in 1983.[14][15] Roosa was posthumously inducted into theU.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1997.[16][17]
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