Gordon Cooper

Also known as Leroy Gordon "Gordo" Cooper, Jr., Leroy Gordon Cooper

American astronaut (1927–2004)

Film & TV

Shawnee, Oklahoma, USA

Leroy Gordon "Gordo" Cooper Jr. was an American aerospace engineer, test pilot, United States Air Force pilot, and the youngest of the seven original astronauts in Project Mercury, the first human space program of the United States.

Known for

The Phenomenon — Self - NASA Astronaut (archive footage)2020
Apollo: The Forgotten Films — Self (archive footage)2019
Apollo: Missions to the Moon — Self (archive footage)2019
Dan Aykroyd Unplugged On UFOs — Self2005
Out of the Blue — Self2003
The Real Men with 'The Right Stuff' — Self2003
Project Gemini: Bridge to the Moon — Self2003
Close Encounters: Proof of Alien Contact — Self - Astronaut2000
Rocket's Red Glare — Gordon Cooper2000
UFO — Self1999

via TMDB

Key facts

Born: Leroy Gordon Cooper Jr. , ( 1927-03-06 ) March 6, 1927, Shawnee, Oklahoma , U.S.
Died: October 4, 2004 (2004-10-04) (aged 77), Ventura, California , U.S.
Education: University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa , University of Maryland, College Park , Air University ( BS )
Spouses: Trudy B. Olson ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1947 ; divorced</span>"}]]}'>div. 1970 ) Suzan Taylor ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1972 )
Awards: Legion of Merit Distinguished Flying Cross (2) NASA Distinguished Service Medal NASA Exceptional Service Medal
Rank: Colonel , USAF
Time in space: 9d 9h 14m
Selection: NASA Group 1 (1959)
Missions: Mercury-Atlas 9 , Gemini 5
Retirement: July 31, 1970

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Part of: Mercury Seven
Family name: Cooper
Gender: male
Citizenship: United States
Place of birth: Shawnee
Place of death: Ventura
Occupation: racing automobile driver
Employer: NASA
Languages spoken: English language
Sport: auto racing
Military branch: United States Marine Corps
Military rank: colonel
Image: Gordon Cooper in Helmet and Pressure Suit - GPN-2000-001000.jpg

Show 9 more facts

Commons category: Gordon Cooper
date of birth: 1929-01-01
date of death: 2004-10-04
medical condition: Parkinson's disease
cause of death: Parkinson's disease
manner of death: natural causes
time in space: 13514
member of the crew of: Gemini 5
P450: Gemini 5

Sources (10)

via Wikidata · CC0

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Encyclopedic overview

Leroy Gordon Cooper Jr. (March 6, 1927 – October 4, 2004) was an American aerospace engineer, test pilot, United States Air Force pilot, and the youngest of the seven original astronauts in Project Mercury, the first human space program of the United States. Cooper learned to fly as a child, and after service in the United States Marine Corps during World War II, he was commissioned into the United States Air Force in 1949. After serving as a fighter pilot, he qualified as a test pilot in 1956 and was selected as an astronaut in 1959.

In 1963, Cooper piloted the longest and last Mercury spaceflight, Mercury-Atlas 9. During that 34-hour mission, he became the first American to spend an entire day in space, the first to sleep in space, and the last American launched on an entirely solo orbital mission. Despite a series of severe equipment failures, he completed the mission under manual control, guiding his spacecraft, which he named Faith 7, to a splashdown just 6.4 kilometres (4 mi) ahead of the recovery ship. Cooper became the first person to make a second orbital flight when he flew as command pilot of Gemini 5 in 1965. Along with pilot Pete Conrad, he set a new space endurance record by traveling 5,331,745 kilometres (3,312,993 mi) in 190 hours and 56 minutes—just short of eight days—showing that astronauts could survive in space for the length of time necessary to go from the Earth to the Moon and back.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Gordon Cooper” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.