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posted 06-02-2011 01:33 PM               

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quote:

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Originally posted by WAWalsh:
Armstrong (combat and X-15 program)

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If Armstrong had been that exemplary, surely he would have been selected as one of the 'Original 7'.

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posted 06-02-2011 08:56 PM               

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An interesting question and one that would take quite a bit of research to nail down. Armstrong certainly comes to mind, but mostly because of his accomplishments while in the NASA program.

Joe Engle also flew the X-15 and came to NASA with astronaut wings. Bill Pogue flew with the USAF Thunderbirds. The SR-71 on display at NASM's Udvar-Hazy museum has Jim Halsell's name painted on the right nose gear door.

But exemplary careers are not measured only by what great airplanes they flew before coming into the space program, particularly in the military. Many servicemen and servicewomen had great non-aviation career paths going before they took a chance with NASA, a move which some of the early astronauts saw as a serious diversion from their chances of reaching the higher ranks.

How many lives did M.D.'s like Bill and Anna Fisher, or Rhea Seddon save before becoming astronauts? How many discoveries were made or patents filed by the scientists and engineers?

All of these people are exemplary, but in different ways. Some excelled at being astronauts, while others did not.

Short of a scientific poll, one which includes votes from the astronauts themselves, we may never know the real answer to the question.

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posted 06-02-2011 09:33 PM               

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It depends on how you define exemplary.

In aviation terms there were many who were great pilots before they entered the program.

I always felt in many was one of the most extraordinary astronauts was Rhea Seddon. Amazing how she has been able to wear so many hats through her career as a Surgeon, astronaut, mother... most would find any one of those things a major accomplishment. Beside which it must be a full time job just keeping Hoot Gibson in line.

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From: Cardiff, S. Wales, UK
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posted 06-05-2011 08:26 AM               

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What about John Young? I'm not sure about if it's true, that he broke world record for climb to climb before he joined NASA's second group?

Joe Engle for an example, he flew X-15 plane before he join NASA. The late Donald Slayton, he flown in World War 2, before he join NASA... some of the astronauts who have fought in Vietnam war, too.

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posted 06-05-2011 09:19 AM            

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I was always impressed by some of the really diverse lines of work astronauts went into before NASA got them. Like Norm Thagard, who was a Marine pilot in Vietnam, becoming an engineer then a doctor. I mean, geez, talk about over-achieving...then you become an astronaut on top of that.

Dave Brown, and many others were cut from this mold.

I also was interested in the Astronauts who did space related work in their education, than got to do it. Like Buzz Aldrin and Dave Scott, who worked on rendezvous and orbital mechanics before any of this was really flown and was just a theory, and got then the experience of actually having to fly a spacecraft.