posted 01-08-2023 04:40 PM               

From the Albuquerque Journal as published on Dec. 5, 2021:

Skip signed on with NASA in April 1963; the Apollo program at Alamogordo, scheduled to last for three years. He worked as an electrical engineer for the first mission of the launch escape system, designed to carry the astronaut to safety. Following that first mission, he was promoted to spacecraft test conductor. By January 1964 Skip was promoted to NASA test director with operational control for all spacecraft and launch vehicle activities at the White Sands facility.

With the White Sands program concluded, Skip accepted a position working for NASA at the Kennedy Space Center, moving to Titusville, Florida. He worked as a test conductor with Apollo spacecraft operations until October of 1967 when he was put in charge of the Command & Service Module (CSM) Test Conductor office, overseeing a staff of test conductors. By January 1968 he was required to run all testing — including countdowns — for any tests where astronauts were required to participate.

Above: Skip Chauvin during checkout of Apollo 12 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 28, 1969.

From 1968 through 1975, Skip's test conductor group supported all Apollo missions, including the final lunar landings. This test conductor group supported the Skylab missions, including the final joint U.S./Russian mission demonstrating the docking capabilities between different spacecraft.

When the next manned space mission initiated, the Space Shuttle, Apollo personnel were given a couple of choices for the next assignment. With the opportunity to collaborate with several old friends from the White Sands projects, Skip selected the payload side, which he worked on from 1976 through 1991. These payloads included commercial satellites and Spacelab.

Above: Skip Chauvin receiving the NASA Distinguished Service Medal from Administrator Tom Paine on Sept. 30, 1969.

As the Space Shuttle became operational, Skip was selected to function as payload manager on select missions. He stated that by far the most satisfying of these missions for him was coded STR-26R, which constituted the successful return to flight following the first in-flight catastrophe.

Skip recalled that working with commercial satellite payloads and spacecraft owners "gave me a great insight into their world, and I believe heightened my feeling of success."

On January 3, 1992, Old Man Chauvin, as Skip occasionally referred to himself, retired from NASA.

Above: Skip Chauvin at his home in Titusville, Florida in 1991.