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- Charles P. "Pete" Conrad, the third human to
walk on the moon, died late Thursday night in a hospital in Ojai, CA, of
injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. He was 69.
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- Conrad was on a trip to Monterey, CA with his wife, Nancy,
and friends when his motorcycle crashed on a turn, according to the California
Highway Patrol. Conrad, who lived in Huntington Beach, CA, near Los Angeles,
died later at the hospital of internal injuries.
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- Conrad made history on Nov. 19, 1969, when, as commander
of the Apollo 12 mission, he and Astronaut Alan Bean set their lunar module
"Intrepid" down on the moon's Ocean of Storms, the second of
six Apollo landings.
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- Some five hours later, referring to Neil Armstrong's
historic "one small step" statement four months earlier, Conrad
said, "Whoopee! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but
that's a long one for me." Conrad and Bean conducted two excursions
on the moon, totaling almost eight hours, in which they set up experiment
packages and collected 75 pounds of lunar rocks and soil. They also retrieved
a camera and other gear from the nearby Surveyor 3 probe, which had landed
on the moon in April 1967.
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- "The whole NASA family was extremely sad to learn
of Pete Conrad's death," said NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin.
"He was known at NASA for his irrepressible spirit, his sense of
humor, his talents as a pilot and skill as an astronaut. He never lost
interest in space travel, even after he left NASA. We will all miss him."
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- Conrad was selected in the second class of NASA astronauts
in 1962 following a distinguished career as a Navy test pilot and instructor.
Following his graduation from Princeton University in 1953, Conrad entered
the Navy and attended test pilot school at Patuxent River, MD, where he
was assigned as a Project Test Pilot.
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- After being selected as an astronaut, Conrad was assigned
to fly on the Gemini 5 mission as the co-pilot to Gordon Cooper. In August
1965, Cooper and Conrad spent a record eight days in orbit, perfecting
techniques for use in later lunar missions and proving astronauts could
spend more than a week in space.
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- Conrad commanded the Gemini 11 mission in September 1966,
in which he and co-pilot Richard Gordon established the fastest rendezvous
and docking in history and a new altitude record of almost 850 miles above
the Earth.
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- Bean and Gordon joined Conrad on the Apollo 12 mission
in November 1969, forming an all-Navy crew. Conrad and Bean proved that
pinpoint landings could be made on the lunar surface and conducted the
first significant science operations during their 31 hours on the Ocean
of Storms.
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- Conrad's final space flight occurred in 1973 as the Commander
of the first crew to live and work on America's first space station, Skylab.
Conrad, Paul Weitz and Joseph Kerwin were launched on a modified Saturn
rocket on May 25, 1973. Eleven days earlier, the station had been launched
and had lost a solar panel during its climb to orbit.
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- Conrad and his crewmates freed the remaining solar array
on Skylab and set up a sunshade to help cool the station for the remainder
of its lifetime on orbit. He also conducted a space walk with Weitz late
in the mission to retrieve film packages and conduct other maintenance
procedures. In all, Conrad and his crew spent 28 days in space, establishing
another endurance record at the time.
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- Conrad left NASA and the Navy in 1974 to pursue a career
in private industry. Conrad first served as Vice President of American
Television and Communications Corporation, responsible for the operation
and development of cable television systems. In 1976, Conrad became Vice
President of McDonnell Douglas Corporation and later took on the responsibility
for all commercial and military sales for the Douglas Aircraft Company.
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- With an eye toward the commercialization of space and
the exploration of Mars, Conrad worked on the development of new spacecraft
and space transportation systems with McDonnell Douglas and a California
research firm called Universal Space Lines.
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- Among Conrad's numerous awards are the Congressional
Space Medal of Honor, two NASA Distinguished Service Medals, two NASA Exceptional
Service medals, two Navy Distinguished Service Medals and two Distinguished
Flying Crosses. He was enshrined in the Aviation Hall of Fame in 1980.
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- Conrad is survived by his wife, three sons and seven
grandchildren. A son preceded him in death.
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- Funeral arrangements are pending. --------------------------------------------
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- NASA ADMINISTRATOR DANIEL S. GOLDIN'S STATEMENT ON THE
DEATH OF CHARLES "PETE" CONRAD
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- The whole NASA family was extremely sad to learn of Pete
Conrad's death Thursday. America has lost one of the great aviators and
explorers of the 20th century. When we mark the 30th anniversary of the
first lunar landing on July 20, we will remember that Pete laid part of
the foundation for the program with the rendezvous and docking maneuvers
he conducted on Gemini V and XI.
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- He embodied the "can-do" spirit of NASA, taking
on problems and dealing with them without a lot of fuss. His steady hand
saw Apollo 12 through a frightening lightning strike during launch, and
on Skylab 2 he led a spacewalk that spread a thermal blanket over a damaged
section of the spacecraft and saved the program.
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- Pete Conrad even laid the groundwork for work that we
are continuing to do in the International Space Station program. Both
Gemini 5 and Skylab 2 set endurance records for their times, and we will
build on his and other astronauts' efforts when the first ISS crew launches
next year.
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- Over the last few years, he continued pioneering as an
entrepreneur. As president of Universal Space Lines, he sought to provide
a less expensive way for explorers to reach the space frontier.
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- He was known at NASA for his irrepressible spirit, his
sense of humor, his talents as a pilot and skill as an astronaut. He never
lost interest in space travel, even after he left NASA. We will all miss
him.
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