Word: slaytons
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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Dehumanized or not, the crew fully measures up to Boss Astronaut Donald K. ("Deke") Slayton's tough requirements. "You're really looking for a damn good engineering test pilot," says Slayton. "They've got to be good stick and rudder men, and also real smart." Not many qualify. Of 1,400 applicants for the last batch of astronauts in 1967, only eleven were chosen. There are now only 49 astronauts and, in many ways, all are as precise as the laws of celestial mechanics?and as unforgiving as the machines that hurtle them through space. Says Slayton of his astronauts...
...first moon landing. Apollo 10 was then still a candidate for the mission; there was also the distinct possibility that if problems developed, the attempt would be postponed until Apollo 12, 13 or even 14. "There isn't any big magic selection that goes on for each mission," says Slayton, whose crew recommendations have never been overruled. "It is like every squadron of fighter pilots. You've got a mission to do and you've got so many flights to fly and you assign guys to fly them. It's that straightforward...
Then, too, there is Donald K. ("Deke") Slayton, the man who selects and trains the astronauts. The professionalism of the Apollo crews is a reflection of Slayton's success-but leaves him less than totally fulfilled. Though he was chosen as one of the original seven U.S. astronauts in 1959, a mild heart murmur prevented him from ever venturing into space. When he was asked recently what he would best like to be remembered for, Slayton replied: "As the pilot of Apollo 11." There was no smile on his craggy face...
...showdown came last month, when Haney and Head Astronaut Deke Slayton collided over whether or not the press could witness a lunar-landing practice session. Slayton won, and four days later NASA's chief public affairs officer, Julian Scheer, gave Haney the news: he was to lose his voice job and accept a special post out of harm's way in Washington. Haney flatly refused the new job, describing the proposed move "like being kicked out of the game on the two-yard line after coming 98 yards down the field." Scheer quickly accepted his resignation...
...scheduled once each morning during a 2,000-mile Apollo pass between Corpus Christi, Texas, and Cape Kennedy, the only two ground stations equipped to pick up the transmissions. The astronauts held up crudely lettered signs that read "Hello from the lovely Apollo Room, high atop everything" and "Deke Slayton, are you a turtle?" In accordance with a bar room tradition that has been adopted by the astronauts, Slayton was required to answer "You bet your sweet ass I am" -or pay the penalty of buying a drink for everyone within earshot. "I have recorded my answer," responded Slayton from...