Former NASA astronaut Jim McDivitt has died at 93 - NPR

Astronaut Jim A. McDivitt's authoritative portrait, taken successful 1971. McDivitt has died astatine property 93. NASA hide caption

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NASA

Astronaut Jim A. McDivitt's authoritative portrait, taken successful 1971. McDivitt has died astatine property 93.

NASA

Jim McDivitt, an astronaut who played a cardinal relation successful making America's archetypal spacewalk and moon landing possible, has died. He was 93.

NASA confirmed his decease to NPR connected Monday, adding that helium was surrounded by household and friends erstwhile helium died connected Thursday.

Known for being a courageous trial aviator and dedicated leader, McDivitt commanded 2 of the astir important flights successful the aboriginal abstraction contention — Gemini 4 and Apollo 9.

McDivitt grew up successful Kalamazoo, Mich., and graduated from the University of Michigan. In 1951, helium joined the Air Force and fought during the Korean War, wherever helium flew 145 combat missions.

In 1962, McDivitt was selected by NASA to go an astronaut. He was chosen to aviator Gemini 4 — becoming the first-ever NASA rookie to bid a mission.

Considered NASA's most ambitious flight astatine the clip successful 1965, the Gemini 4 ngo was the archetypal clip the U.S. performed a spacewalk and the longest that a U.S. spaceflight had remained successful Earth's orbit: 4 days.

Four years later, McDivitt commanded Apollo 9 — a 10-day shakeout ngo orbiting the Earth successful March 1969 that progressive investigating the lunar landing spacecraft. It paved the mode for NASA to successfully onshore humans connected the satellite 4 months aboriginal successful July 1969.

Apollo 9 was his past travel to space. Despite his instrumental relation successful propelling NASA's satellite landing, McDivitt himself ne'er reached the moon. Francis French, a spaceflight historian, said McDivitt chose not to bid a satellite landing ngo and decided to instrumentality connected a absorption role.

American astronauts Jim McDivitt (right) and Edward White greeting their families aft returning location safely from their Gemini 4 abstraction formation successful June 1965. Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

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Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

American astronauts Jim McDivitt (right) and Edward White greeting their families aft returning location safely from their Gemini 4 abstraction formation successful June 1965.

Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

"It was much important to McDivitt that the wide programme was a occurrence than to personally onshore connected the moon," helium told NPR.

McDivitt became manager of Lunar Landing Operations successful May 1969, and successful August of that twelvemonth became manager of the Apollo Spacecraft Program. He was the programme manager for Apollo missions 12-16.

French said McDivitt stood retired arsenic a person for striking the cleanable equilibrium betwixt fun, witty and serious.

"It's precise antithetic to find radical successful beingness who are some light-hearted and truly dedicated to their job. And this feline was 1 of those uncommon examples of both," French said.

In 1972, he retired some from NASA and the Air Force, wherever helium had been promoted to brigadier general. He logged much than 5,000 flying hours successful his lifetime.

He aboriginal worked successful enforcement roles successful manufacturing companies.

McDivitt was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame successful 1993.

NPR's Russell Lewis contributed reporting.