‘Cool guy and best possible crewmate’ Richard F Gordon Jr piloted orbiting command module while Alan Bean and Charles Conrad explored moon’s surfaceThe Apollo 12 astronaut Richard “Dick” F Gordon Jr, one of a dozen men who flew to the moon but didn’t land, has died aged 88. In 1969 Gordon circled the moon in the Apollo 12 command module Yankee Clipper while crewmates Alan Bean and Charles Conrad landed and walked on the lunar surface. He downplayed Apollo 12 being hit by lightning during liftoff; backup batteries saved the crew from having to abort the mission. “He’s a cool guy,” Bean recalled on Tuesday. During his first Gemini 11 spacewalk Gordon said he and crewmate Conrad “were so jacked up” that they were ready an hour early.

Source: The Guardian November 08, 2017 05:26 UTC