Elliot See

Elliot M. See, Jr.
NASA Astronaut
Nationality American
Status Deceased
Born (1927-07-23)July 23, 1927
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Died February 28, 1966(1966-02-28) (aged 38)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Other names
 Elliot McKay See, Jr.
Other occupation
 Test pilot, engineer,
naval aviator
UT Austin
USMMA, B.S. 1949
UCLA, M.S. 1962
Rank Commander, USNR
Selection 1962 NASA Group 2
Missions None

Elliot McKay See, Jr. (July 23, 1927 – February 28, 1966), (Cmdr, USNR), was an American engineer, naval aviator, test pilot, and NASA astronaut, selected in the second group of astronauts.[1] He died in 1966 in a NASA trainer jet crash in St. Louis enroute to training for what would have been his first space flight, Gemini 9.

Biography

Early life and education

See was born in Dallas, Texas on July 23, 1927, and attended Highland Park High School, from which he graduated in 1945. See was active in the Boy Scouts of America and earned the rank of Eagle Scout.[2] After initially attending The University of Texas where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity, he then attended the United States Merchant Marine Academy, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1949. He later obtained a Master of Science degree in Engineering from UCLA, in 1962.

He was married to Marilyn Denahy See, and had three children: Sally, born in 1956, Carolyn, born in 1957, and David, born in 1962.[3]

Navy service, General Electric and NASA career

Elliot See (standing row, left) with fellow The New Nine astronauts

Overwhelmed isn't the right word. I was amazed and certainly pleased. It's a very great honor.

— See's feelings about being selected as an astronaut[4]

He worked for General Electric before and after serving as a Naval Aviator from 1953 to 1956. He served as project pilot of J79-8 engine development program in connection with the F4H aircraft. See conducted powerplant flight tests on the J-47, J-73, J-79, CJ805, and CJ805 aft-fan engines. This work involved flying in F-86, XF4D, F-104, F11F-1F, RB-66, F4H, and T-38 aircraft.

He has logged more than 3,900 hours flying time, including more than 3,300 hours in jet aircraft.

In 1962 See was selected to be one of the new nine NASA astronauts. He served as backup pilot for Gemini 5 and was a CAPCOM in Houston during the Gemini 7/6A rendezvous mission in December 1965. He was in line to fly as Prime Crew Pilot for Gemini 8, but was promoted to be the Command Pilot of Gemini 9.[1][5] According to chief astronaut Deke Slayton's autobiography, Slayton did not assign See to Gemini 8 because he did not consider him physically capable of performing an extravehicular activity. Slayton further stated that he assigned See to Gemini 9 because he had become "sentimental" about getting him a flight.[6]

Death

Main article: 1966 NASA T-38 crash
Elliot See and Charles Bassett

See and fellow astronaut Charles Bassett, assigned as Pilot for Gemini 9, were killed before their mission flew on February 28, 1966, when their T-38 trainer jet crashed into McDonnell Aircraft Building 101, known as the McDonnell Space Center, located 1,000 feet (300 m) from Lambert Field airport in St. Louis, Missouri. Building 101 was where the Gemini spacecraft was built, and they were going there to train for two weeks in a simulator, along with their backup crew. Ironically, See and Bassett died within 500 feet (150 m) of their spacecraft; both were buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

A NASA investigative panel later concluded that pilot error caused by poor visibility due to bad weather had been the principal cause of the accident. The panel concluded that See was flying too low to the ground during his second approach, probably as a result of the poor visibility. Slayton would later express doubts about See's flying ability, claiming that See flew too slowly and "wasn't aggressive enough."[6]

The mission was launched three months later, in early June, as Gemini 9A. The shuffling of the Gemini prime and backup crew assignments that occurred after the deaths of See and Bassett impacted the crew selections for some of the early Apollo manned missions.[6]

Organizations

See was a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, and an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Legacy

See in a Gemini pressure suit

See also

References

  1. 1 2 National Aeronautics and Space Administration (February 1966). "Astronaut Bio: Elliot M. See, Jr.". NASA. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  2. ↑ Elliot M. See, Jr. at scouting.org
  3. ↑ "Elliot M. See, Jr.". The Astronauts Memorial Foundation, The Center for Space Education. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  4. ↑ Elliot See's quotation
  5. ↑ Slayton, Donald K. "Deke"; Cassutt, Michael (1994). Deke! U.S. Manned Space: From Mercury to the Shuttle (1st ed.). New York: Forge (St. Martin's Press). pp. 138, 168. ISBN 0-312-85503-6. LCCN 94-2463. OCLC 29845663.
  6. 1 2 3 Slayton and Cassutt, pp. 167–68.
  7. ↑ "Highland Park High School Distinguished Alumni List". Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  8. ↑ Burgess, Colin; Doolan, Kate; Vis, Bert (2003). Fallen Astronauts: Heroes Who Died Reaching for the Moon. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-6212-4.

Bibliography

External links

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